| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Newspapers |
| Founded | 1896 |
| Headquarters | 1120 John Street, Seattle, Washington 98109 United States |
| Products | The Seattle Times and several other newspapers in Maine and Washington |
| Website | seattletimescompany.com |
The Seattle Times Company is a privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Washington. Founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1896, the company is now in its fourth and fifth generations of ownership by the Blethen family.
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In its headquarters city of Seattle, the company owns the Washington's largest-circulation daily newspaper, The Seattle Times. Elsewhere in Washington, the company owns the Yakima Herald-Republic and Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.
Maine-native schoolteacher and attorney Alden J. Blethen bought the Seattle Press-Times in 1896, renaming it the Seattle Daily Times and doubling its circulation to 7,000 six months later. When he died in 1915, the Times' circulation was 70,000.[1]
The two smaller dailies were added much later. The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin was purchased from the Kelly family in 1971, while the Yakima Herald-Republic was bought in 1991.
The Seattle Times Company acquired Issaquah Press Inc. July 1, 1995, from Pacific Media Group. Originally consisting of one newspaper, the King County chain added two more in the 1990s. Based at 45 Front Street South, Issaquah, Washington.
In addition to various websites associated with its newspaper properties, The Seattle Times Company also owns Rotary Offset Press, a printing company in Kent, Washington.
An "independent subsidiary" of The Seattle Times Company, formed in 1998, published newspapers in Maine, including the state's largest daily, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram. The other two dailies in the Blethen chain are the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and Morning Sentinel in Waterville.[6]
Blethen Maine Newspapers was built in one acquisition, Seattle Times' purchase of all the newspapers formerly published by Guy Gannett Communications. Guy Gannett's television stations were sold separately, to Sinclair Broadcasting.[7]
Guy Gannett -- no relation to the larger Gannett communications chain -- was a family-owned business consisting of newspapers in Maine and a handful of television stations in the eastern United States. The company was founded by its namesake, Guy P. Gannett, in 1921, and managed by a family trust from 1954 onward. Guy Gannett managers said they sold to The Seattle Times Company because of shared values -- both companies were fourth-generation family-owned news organizations.
"Of all the companies in the newspaper business, The Seattle Times is one most like our company in the sense of independence, of family ownership, and commitment to the community," said Guy Gannett spokesman Tim O'Meara.[8]
Three weeklies make up the Maine Community Publications division of Blethen Maine Newspapers, The Coastal Journal in Bath, The Community Leader of Falmouth, and The Maine Switch, a lifestyle magazine in Portland.
In 2009, the Blethen Maine newspapers were acquired by MaineToday Media.
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