The Seattle Times
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 The July 4, 2006 front page of The Seattle Times |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
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| Owner | The Seattle Times Company |
| Publisher | Frank A. Blethen |
| Editor | David Boardman |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Headquarters | 1120 John St. Seattle, WA 98109 United States |
| ISSN | 0745-9696 |
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| Website: seattletimes.nwsource.com | |
The Seattle Times is the leading daily newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States.
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[edit] History
It began as the Seattle Press-Times, a four-page newspaper founded in 1891 with a daily circulation of 3,500, which Maine teacher and attorney Alden J. Blethen bought in 1896.[5][6] Renamed the Seattle Daily Times, it doubled its circulation within half a year. By 1915, circulation stood at 70,000. As of October 2006, weekday circulation stood at 212,691.[7]
The Times is one of the few remaining major city dailies in the United States independently operated and owned by a local family (the Blethens). The Seattle Times Company, while owning and operating the Times, also owns three other papers in Washington, as well as Blethen Maine Newspapers, which operate five newspapers based in Maine. The McClatchy Company owns 49.5 percent of voting common stock in the Seattle Times Company, formerly held by Knight Ridder.
The Times reporting has received seven Pulitzer Prizes.[8]
[edit] Joint Operating Agreement - "JOA"
Since 1983, the Times and the Hearst-owned Seattle Post-Intelligencer are run under a "Joint Operating Agreement" (JOA) whereby advertising, production, marketing, and circulation are run by the Times for both papers.[9] They maintain separate news and editorial departments. The papers put out a combined Sunday edition, whose circulation is 469,853, to which the P-I contributes only a few pages of editorial content.
The Times tried to cancel the JOA in 2003, citing a clause in the JOA that three consecutive years of profit losses were cause for cancelling the agreement.[10] Hearst disagreed, arguing that a force majeure clause prevents the Times from claiming losses as reason to end the JOA when they result from extraordinary events (in this case, a seven week newspaper strike). Each side publicly accused each other of attempting to put its rival out of business, and Hearst soon filed suit. After several appeals, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Times on June 30, 2005, a decision that could determine the future of both papers. Hearst promises more suits to challenge other aspects of the Times' attempt to pull out of the JOA.
[edit] Delivery
The Times was an afternoon paper until 2000, when it switched to morning delivery (like the P-I). The main reason stated was that delivery vehicles would be able to get around better in the early morning hours when street traffic was low; critics suspected the actual rationale was to compete more directly with the P-I.
[edit] Criticisms
The Times has been accused of conservative bias on several occasions, most notably for its coverage of the war in Iraq.[1]
[edit] Political Endorsements
In 2000, the paper endorsed liberal Democrat Bill Bradley for president early in the primary process, but ultimately went with George W. Bush when Bradley failed to win his party's nomination, amid speculation that publisher Frank Blethen had overruled the editorial board due to his opposition to the estate tax.
In 2004, the paper endorsed John Kerry. In 2006, the Times came under fire for endorsing the re-election bids of Dave Reichert for Congress and Mike McGavick for Senate.[2] [3] Many critics believed Blethen's opposition to the Estate Tax was again at play in the paper's endorsements.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Mike Fancher, Bias complaints increase in climate of Iraq war, election, May 23, 2004 [1]
- ^ Seattle Times, Reichert in the 8th, October 15, 2006 [2]
- ^ Mike McGavick for U.S. Senate, October 22, 2006[3]
- ^ Repeal the Death Tax, October 9, 2006[4]
