News historian George S. Turnbull opined in his 1939 History of Oregon Newspapers that despite the city's small size, the paper had been "lively and well made up.
"[3] Newspapers from larger population centers in Oregon have continued to cite the New Era's coverage of the Sweet Home area since its establishment.
The Oregonian cited the New Era's coverage of a local Stewart Holbrook speech, in analyzing the controversial nature of the writer's advocacy around migration to Oregon.
[1] John T. Russell was the publisher as of 1939; Turnbull identified his principal goal as preserving the town during the planning of dams for the Willamette Valley hydroelectric project.
[1][12] Russell, who had previously been in the newspaper business in Ohio, owned the paper until 1946, including a period of partnership with Dave MacMillan.
[14][15] Dave Cooper, who had served as news editor for the New Era and more recently for newspapers in Astoria, purchased the paper with his wife in 1972.