The Seattle Times

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Seattle Times)
Jump to: navigation, search
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times logo.svg
Seattletimes-frontpage.jpg
The July 4, 2006 front page of
The Seattle Times
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) The Seattle Times Company
Publisher Frank A. Blethen
Editor Kathy Best
Founded 1891
Headquarters 1000 Denny Way
Seattle, Washington 98109
US
Circulation 229,764 Daily
336,363 Sunday
(March 2013)[1]
ISSN 0745-9696
OCLC number 9198928
Website seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington, largest Sunday circulation in the Pacific Northwest and largest in the west north of San Francisco. It has been Seattle's only major daily print newspaper since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer.[2]

History[edit]

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.

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. 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 10 Pulitzer Prizes,[3] most recently for its breaking news coverage of the 2014 landslide that killed 43 people in Oso, Wash. It has an international reputation for its investigative journalism, in particular.[5] In April 2012, investigative reporters Michael Berens and Ken Armstrong won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for a series documenting more than 2,000 deaths caused by the state of Washington's use of methadone as a recommended painkiller in state-supported care.[6] In April 2010, the Times staff won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting "for its comprehensive coverage, in print and online, of the shooting deaths of four police officers in a coffee house and the 40-hour manhunt for the suspect."[7] The city was on edge during the manhunt, and The Seattle Times had around-the-clock staff monitoring the search and investigating the killer's history in the criminal justice system.

Controversies[edit]

Headline controversy[edit]

In February 2002, the Seattle Times ran a subheadline 'American outshines Kwan, Slutskaya in skating surprise' after Sarah Hughes won the gold medal at the 2002 Olympics. Many Asian Americans felt insulted by the Times actions even after the newspaper apologized, because Michelle Kwan is also American.[8]

Election controversy[edit]

On October 17, 2012, the publishers of the Seattle Times launched advertising campaigns in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna and a state referendum to legalize same-sex marriage. The newspaper's management said the ads were aimed at "demonstrating how effective advertising with The Times can be."[9] The advertisements in favor of McKenna represent an $80,000 independent expenditure, making the newspaper the third largest contributor to his campaign.[10] More than 100 staffers signed a letter of protest sent to Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen, calling it an "unprecedented act".[11]

The Joint Operating Agreement[edit]

"Quarters of the news editor", one a group of four photos in the brochure Seattle and the Orient (1900) collectively captioned "The Seattle Daily Times—Editorial Department"

From 1983 to 2009, the Times and Seattle's other major paper, the Hearst-owned Seattle Post-Intelligencer, were run under a "Joint Operating Agreement" (JOA) whereby advertising, production, marketing, and circulation were controlled by the Times for both papers.[3] The two papers maintained their own identities with separate news and editorial departments.

The Times announced its intention to cancel the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) in 2003, citing a clause in the JOA contract that three consecutive years of losses allowed it to pull out of the agreement.[12] 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 strike by members of the Newspaper Guild). 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.[13] 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.[14]

This arrangement JOA was terminated when the Post-Intelligencer ceased publication; its final printed edition was March 17, 2009.

Content[edit]

The Times contains different sections every day.

Monday: Main News & Business; NW Monday; Sports

Tuesday: Main News & Business; NW Tuesday; Sports

Wednesday: Main News & Business; NW Wednesday; Sports

Thursday: Main News & Business; NW Thursday; Sports

Friday: Main News & Business; NW Friday; Sports; NW Autos; Weekend Plus

Saturday: Main News & Business; NW Saturday; Sports; NW Homes

Sunday: Main News; NW Sunday; Sports; Business; ShopNW; NW Jobs; NW Arts&Life; NW Traveler; Pacific NW Magazine

Pacific NW is a glossy magazine published every week and inserted in the Sunday edition.

Delivery and page width[edit]

The Seattle Times was an afternoon paper for 104 years until March 6, 2000.[15] It switched to morning delivery to avoid the fate of other afternoon newspapers that had shut down.[16] This placed the Times in direct competition with its JOA partner, the morning Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Nine years later, the P-I became an online-only publication.

For decades, the broadsheet page width of the Times was 13 1⁄2 inches (34 cm), printed from a 54-inch web, the four-page width of a roll of newsprint. Following changing industry standards, the width of the page was reduced in 2005 by 1 inch (2.5 cm), to 12 1⁄2 inches (32 cm), now a 50-inch web standard. In February 2009, the web size was further reduced to 46 inches, which narrowed the page by another inch to 11 1⁄2 inches (29 cm) in width.[17]

Prices[edit]

The Times prices are: $1 daily, $2 Sunday/Thanksgiving Day in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties; prices may be higher in other areas of Washington state.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Total Circulation for US Newspapers". Alliance for Audited Media. March 31, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013. 
  2. ^ Pryne, Eric (March 16, 2009). "Last edition of print P-I set for Tuesday, Hearst says". The Seattle Times. 
  3. ^ a b c "Overview of the Seattle Times". The Seattle Times Company. 
  4. ^ Crowley, Walt (August 10, 2006). "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. ^ Outing, Steve (November 16, 2005). "Investigative Journalism: Will It Survive?". NetNovinar.org. 
  6. ^ "The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners". 
  7. ^ "The 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners". 
  8. ^ Fancher, Mike (March 3, 2002). "Times won't forget readers' reminder on Kwan headline". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 20, 2007. 
  9. ^ Brunner, Jim (October 17, 2012). "Seattle Times Co. launches ad campaigns for McKenna and gay marriage, draws criticism". The Seattle Times. 
  10. ^ Gill, Kathy (October 22, 2012). "Seattle Times Ad Buy Leads To Newsroom, Reader Protests". The Seattle Times. 
  11. ^ Brunner, Jim (October 18, 2012). "Seattle Times news staffers protest company’s political-ad campaign". The Seattle Times. 
  12. ^ Richman, Dan; Phuong Lee (January 26, 2006). "JOA fight between P-I, Times may heat up". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 
  13. ^ "The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Court sides with Seattle Times in JOA dispute"
  14. ^ Pryne, Eric (April 17, 2007). "Seattle Times, P-I reach agreement to keep both newspapers publishing". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 16, 2007. 
  15. ^ Seattle Times quick facts
  16. ^ American Journalism Review: 40 Years Of Death In The Afternoon
  17. ^ "Seattle Times making move to 46-inch web". News and Tech.com, February 2008
  18. ^ Newsstands Pricing. The Seattle Times

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seattle Times.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Seattle_Times&oldid=687999993"