The Seattle Times

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The July 4, 2006 front page of
The Seattle Times
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner The Seattle Times Company
Publisher Frank A. Blethen
Editor David Boardman
Founded 1891
Headquarters 1120 John Street
Seattle, Washington 98109
Flag of the United States United States
Circulation 215,311 Daily [1]
420,587 Sunday (JOA)[2]
ISSN 0745-9696
Website: seattletimes.nwsource.com

The Seattle Times, one of two daily newspapers serving Seattle, Washington, United States, is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. Since 1983, the Times and Seattle's other major paper, the Hearst-owned Seattle Post-Intelligencer have been run under a "Joint Operating Agreement" (JOA) whereby advertising, production, marketing, and circulation are run by the Times for both papers.[3] They maintain separate news and editorial departments. The papers put out a combined Sunday edition, to which the P-I contributes only a few pages of editorial content.

Contents

[edit] History

The Seattle Times originated 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.[3][4] Renamed the Seattle Daily Times, it doubled its circulation within half a year. By 1915, circulation stood at 70,000. As of September 2007, weekday circulation stood at 215,311.[5]

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.[3] It has an international reputation for its investigative journalism, in particular.[6]

Editorially, the Times is slightly more conservative than its sister paper, the P-I. It endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2000 (while the P-I endorsed Al Gore), but endorsed John Kerry in 2004.

On December 15, 2006 only 13,000 copies of the Seattle Times were printed as a result of a power outage caused by the December 2006 Pacific Northwest storms.

[edit] JOA dispute

The Times announced its intention to cancel the JOA in 2003, citing a clause in the JOA contract that three consecutive years of profit losses allowed it to pull out of the agreement.[7] Hearst sued, arguing that a force majeure clause prevented 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). While a district judge ruled in Hearst's favor, the Times won on appeal, including a unanimous decision from the Washington State Supreme Court on June 30 2005.[8] Hearst continued to argue that the Times fabricated its loss in 2002. The two papers announced an end to their dispute on April 16, 2007.[9]

[edit] Delivery

The Times was an afternoon paper until 2000, when it switched to morning delivery to avoid the fate of other afternoon newspapers that had shut down.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003996002_circulation06.html
  2. ^ Circulation figures include combined Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Seattle Times for Sunday edition.
  3. ^ a b c Overview of the Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company web site.
  4. ^ Crowley, Walt (2006-08-10). The Seattle Times publishes its first edition edited by new co-owner Alden J. Blethen on August 10, 1896. HistoryLink.org - The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History.
  5. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003996002_circulation06.html
  6. ^ Outing, Steve (2005-11-16). Investigative Journalism: Will It Survive?. NetNovinar.org.
  7. ^ Richman, Dan; Phuong Lee. "JOA fight between P-I, Times may heat up", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-01-26. 
  8. ^ The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Court sides with Seattle Times in JOA dispute
  9. ^ Pryne, Eric. "Seattle Times, P-I reach agreement to keep both newspapers publishing", The Seattle Times, 2007-04-17. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  10. ^ American Journalism Review: 40 Years Of Death In The Afternoon

[edit] External links

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The Seattle Times Company
The Seattle Times   •  Yakima Herald-Republic   •  Walla Walla Union-Bulletin   •   Issaquah Press Inc. weeklies
Blethen Maine Newspapers:    Kennebec Journal   •  Morning Sentinel   •  Portland Press Herald   •   Maine Community Publications weeklies
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