[2] Author George Stanley Turnbull described Jackson as "a character which has been one of the most influential in the history of Oregon journalism.
Jackson's father, thinking the wage too low, in a letter wrote "Don't take the money; you're not worth it.
"[4] As a second job, Jackson contributed local news stories about those who came and went on the stage line for the East Oregonian, a Democratic weekly newspaper.
At the same time Jackson kept working his stage job until the railroad reached Pendleton in 1884 and the line was discontinued.
Jackson had accused the man of opposing a school tax levy because he made money from brothels and preferred to keep young girls uneducated.
The day after the brawl, Jackson wrote: "A man who is afraid of bodily injury or personal attacks is not a newspaperman or capable of becoming one.
[2] As publisher, Jackson wrote in support of a single-tax system exposed by Henry George in his book Progress and Poverty.
"[1] By 1913, he still owned a third of the Eastern Oregonian, which at that time he sold (aside from two shares he kept for sentimental reasons) to the paper's editor Edwin B.
[7] Author George Stanley Turnbull wrote "The little Journal was unimpressive in those few months when it was struggling merely to keep alive."
[7] In his first editorial at the helm of the paper, Jackson declared that: The Journal in head and heart will stand for the people, be truly Democratic and free from political entanglements and machinations, believing in the principles that promise the greatest good to the greatest number – to ALL MEN, regardless of race, creed or previous condition of servitude....
He soon recruited journalists like Fred Lockley, who said Jackson in a letter to him wrote: "Fight for the right but not on lines of prejudice, revenge, or malice.
[8] In 1917, Jackson donated 88 acres (356,000 m²) on Marquam Hill in Portland to the University of Oregon Medical School.
The site, then known as Sam Jackson Park, became part of the campus of the Oregon Health & Science University.
[10][11] In 1943, the SS Sam Jackson, a Liberty ship the late-publisher's widow sponsored and named in his honor, was launched.