# The Seattle Times

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{{short description|Daily newspaper published in Seattle, Washington}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = The Seattle Times
| logo = The Seattle Times logo.svg
| image = seattletimes-frontpage.jpg
| caption = The July 4, 2006 front page<br />of ''The Seattle Times''
| type = [Daily newspaper](/source/Daily_newspaper)
| format = [Broadsheet](/source/Broadsheet)
| founded = {{start date and age|1886}}
| language = English
| owners = [The Seattle Times Company](/source/The_Seattle_Times_Company)
| headquarters = 1000 Denny Way<br />[Seattle](/source/Seattle), Washington<br />98109
| editor = Michele Matassa Flores
| founder = Thomas H. Dempsey<br/>Jud R. Andrews
| publisher = [Ryan Blethen](/source/Ryan_Blethen)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Lindsay |date=November 20, 2025 |title=Seattle Times names Ryan Blethen Publisher and Alan Fisco Chief Executive Officer |url=https://company.seattletimes.com/seattle-times-names-ryan-blethen-publisher-and-alan-fisco-chief-executive-officer/ |access-date=January 19, 2026 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US |type=Press release}}</ref>
| ISSN = 0745-9696
| oclc = 9198928
| circulation = 58,900 Average print circulation<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooker |first1=Alice
|title=US newspaper circulations 2025: Washington Post print declines 21% in a year
|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/north-america/us-newspaper-circulations-2025-washington-post-print-declines-21-in-a-year/ |access-date=24 March 2026 |publisher=Press Gazette |date=March 24, 2026}}</ref> <br /> 108,000 Digital Subscribers <ref>{{cite news |last1=Mapes |first1=Lynda |title=Why Frank Blethen spent his family's fortune to save Seattle's newspaper |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/why-frank-blethen-spent-his-familys-fortune-to-save-seattles-newspaper/ |access-date=March 26, 2026 |publisher=The Seattle Times |date=March 15, 2026}}</ref>
| website = [https://www.seattletimes.com/ seattletimes.com]
}}
'''''The Seattle Times''''' is an American daily newspaper based in [Seattle](/source/Seattle), Washington. Founded in 1886, it has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the [Pacific Northwest region](/source/Pacific_Northwest). [The Seattle Times Company](/source/The_Seattle_Times_Company), which publishes the paper, has been owned by the Blethen family for five generations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Richards|first=Bill|date=June 2009|title=Blethen's Choice|work=Seattle Business Magazine|url=http://www.seattlebusinessmag.com/article/blethens-choice|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mapes |first=Lynda V. |date=June 16, 2009 |title=Times Co. completes long-stalled sale of Maine newspapers |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/business/times-co-completes-long-stalled-sale-of-maine-newspapers/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref>

In 2006, [The McClatchy Company](/source/The_McClatchy_Company) inherited the 49.5% of voting common stock formerly held by [Knight Ridder](/source/Knight_Ridder),<ref>{{cite news |date=March 14, 2006 |title=McClatchy Now Gets 49% of 'Seattle Times'–And Gains 2 Other Washington Papers |url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/mcclatchy-now-gets-49-of-seattle-times-and-gains-2-other-washington-papers/ |work=[Editor & Publisher](/source/Editor_%26_Publisher) |access-date=June 28, 2016 |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828100133/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/mcclatchy-now-gets-49-of-seattle-times-and-gains-2-other-washington-papers/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and sold it back to the Blethens in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sylvester |first=Diane |last2= |first2= |date=March 3, 2026 |title=Five-generation family ownership fuels The Seattle Times |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/five-generation-family-ownership-fuels-the-seattle-times,260407 |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=[Editor & Publisher](/source/Editor_%26_Publisher) |language=en}}</ref>

''The Seattle Times'' has received 11 [Pulitzer Prize](/source/Pulitzer_Prize)s, the last being in 2015, and is widely renowned for its [investigative journalism](/source/investigative_journalism).<ref name="overview">{{cite web |url=http://www.seattletimescompany.com/communication/overview.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131022007/http://www.seattletimescompany.com/communication/overview.htm |archive-date=January 31, 2014 |title=Overview of the Seattle Times |work=The Seattle Times }}</ref>

==History==
On May 3, 1886, Thomas H. Dempsey and Jud R. Andrews published the first edition of ''The Seattle Times''. Andrews soon left.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meany |first=Edmond S. |date=July 1923 |title=Newspapers of Washington Territory [Continued] |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23908638 |journal=The Washington Historical Quarterly |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=196 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> In March 1887, George G. Lyon became co-owner.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1887 |title=Short Stops. |work=Columbia Twice-A-Week Chronicle |location=Dayton, Washington |pages=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In February 1891, Dempsey and Lyon sold the paper to William E. Bailey, who merged it with ''The Press'' to form the ''Seattle Press-Times.''<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 11, 1891 |title=The "Press-Times." |work=The Post-Intelligencer |location=Seattle, Washington |pages=3}}</ref> In August 1896, [Alden J. Blethen](/source/Alden_J._Blethen) bought paper and renamed it to the ''Seattle Daily Times.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crowley |first=Walt |date=August 10, 2006 |title=The Seattle Times publishes its first edition edited by new co-owner Alden J. Blethen on August 10, 1896. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7896 |access-date=2026-03-10 |website=[HistoryLink](/source/HistoryLink)}}</ref> The paper doubled its circulation to 7,000 within half a year. By the time Blethen died in 1915, circulation stood at 70,000.<ref name="overview" />

The newspaper moved to the [Times Square Building](/source/Times_Square_Building) at 5th Avenue and Olive Way in 1915. It built a new headquarters, the [Seattle Times Building](/source/Seattle_Times_Building), north of Denny Way in 1930.<ref name="Times-Building">{{cite news |last=Mapes |first=Lynda |date=February 16, 2017 |title=History coming down: Old Seattle Times building tumbling |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/history-coming-down-old-seattle-times-building-tumbling/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 12, 2025}}</ref> The paper moved to its current headquarters at 1000 Denny Way in 2011<ref name="Times-Building"/> and is scheduled to move to a new location in the [Cascade](/source/Cascade%2C_Seattle) neighborhood in 2026.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 12, 2025 |title=Times has permit for Alley 24 move |url=https://www.djc.com/news/re/12172873.html |work=[Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce](/source/Seattle_Daily_Journal_of_Commerce) |url-access=subscription |accessdate=November 12, 2025}}</ref> In 1966, the publication changed to its current name of ''The Seattle Times''.<ref name="LOChistory">{{cite web |title=The Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Wash.) 1896-1966 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86072007/ |website=Library of Congress |publisher=United States |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>

''The Seattle Times'' switched from afternoon delivery to mornings on March 6, 2000, citing that the move would help them avoid the fate of other defunct afternoon newspapers.<ref>[http://www.ajr.org/article_printable.asp?id=73 ''American Journalism Review'': 40 Years Of Death In The Afternoon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060330063606/http://www.ajr.org/article_printable.asp?id=73 |date=March 30, 2006 }}</ref> This placed the ''Times'' in direct competition with its [Joint Operating Agreement](/source/Joint_Operating_Agreement) (JOA) partner, the morning ''[Seattle Post-Intelligencer](/source/Seattle_Post-Intelligencer)''.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 5, 2000 |title=Seattle Times Shifts to Mornings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/05/us/seattle-times-shifts-to-mornings.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 28, 2016}}</ref> Nine years later, the ''Post-Intelligencer'' became an online-only publication.<ref name="PI-2009">{{cite news |last=Pérez-Peña |first=Richard |date=March 11, 2009 |title=As Cities Go From Two Papers to One, Talk of Zero |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/business/media/12papers.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 28, 2016}}</ref>

==Awards==

''The Seattle Times'' has received 11 [Pulitzer Prize](/source/Pulitzer_Prize)s,<ref name="overview" /> most recently in 2020 for its national reporting of the [Boeing 737 MAX](/source/Boeing_737_MAX_groundings) crashes<ref>{{cite news |last=Baruchman |first=Michelle |date=May 4, 2020 |title=Seattle Times wins Pulitzer Prize for Boeing 737 MAX coverage |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/inside-the-times/seattle-times-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-boeing-737-max-coverage/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=May 4, 2020}}</ref> by reporters Dominic Gates, Mike Baker, Steve Miletich and Lewis Kamb. It has an international reputation for its investigative journalism in particular.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netnovinar.org/netnovinar/dsp_page.cfm?articleid=3445&urlsectionid=987&specialsection=ART_FULL&pageid=491&PSID=4390 |title=Investigative Journalism: Will It Survive? |first=Steve |last=Outing |date=November 16, 2005 |work=NetNovinar.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004212317/http://www.netnovinar.org/netnovinar/dsp_page.cfm?articleid=3445&urlsectionid=987&specialsection=ART_FULL&pageid=491&PSID=4390 |archive-date=October 4, 2007  }}</ref> In April 2012, investigative reporters Michael Berens and Ken Armstrong won the [Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting](/source/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Investigative_Reporting) for a series documenting more than 2,000 deaths caused by the state of Washington's use of [methadone](/source/methadone) as a recommended painkiller in state-supported care.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2012-Investigative-Reporting|title=The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners}}</ref> In April 2010, the ''Times'' staff won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage, in print and online, of the [shooting deaths of four police officers](/source/2009_Lakewood_shooting) in a [Lakewood](/source/Lakewood%2C_Washington) coffee house and the 40-hour manhunt for the suspect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2010-Breaking-News-Reporting|title=The 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners}}</ref> A tenth Pulitzer Prize was awarded in 2015 for breaking news coverage of the [Oso mudslide](/source/Oso_mudslide).<ref>{{cite news |date=April 20, 2015 |title=Seattle Times awarded Pulitzer Prize for Oso landslide coverage |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-times-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-oso-landslide-coverage/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=May 4, 2020}}</ref>

''Times'' photographer Jerry Gay won the 1975 [Spot News Photography](/source/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Spot_News_Photography) prize for "[Lull in the Battle](/source/%3AFile%3ALull_in_the_Battle.jpg)", an image of firefighters resting after fighting a house fire. In 1982, reporter [Paul Henderson](/source/Paul_Henderson_(journalist)) won the [Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting](/source/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Investigative_Reporting) for his coverage of the case of [Steve Titus](/source/Wrongful_conviction_of_Steve_Titus). Titus had been wrongfully convicted of rape, and in a series of articles Henderson challenged the circumstantial evidence in the case, convincing the judge to reverse Titus' conviction.<ref>[https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/paul-henderson-pulitzer-prize-winning-seattle-times-reporter-who-championed-the-underdog-dies-at-79/ Paul Henderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Seattle Times reporter who championed the underdog, dies at 79 {{!}} The Seattle Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Controversies==
===2002 headline controversy===
In February 2002, ''The Seattle Times'' ran a subheadline "American outshines [Kwan](/source/Michelle_Kwan), [Slutskaya](/source/Irina_Slutskaya) in skating surprise" after [Sarah Hughes](/source/Sarah_Hughes) won the gold medal at the [2002 Olympics](/source/Figure_skating_at_the_2002_Winter_Olympic_Games).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chang|first1=Iris|title=The Chinese in America: A Narrative History|date=2003|publisher=[Penguin Books](/source/Penguin_Books)|isbn=978-1-101-12687-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1a7gXiXnKF0C&pg=PT283|access-date=February 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Tewari|editor1-first=Nita|editor2-last=Alvarez|editor2-first=Alvin N.|title=Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives|date=2009|publisher=[Taylor & Francis Group](/source/Taylor_%26_Francis)|page=421|isbn=9781136678028|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFmmCEe8VicC&pg=PA421|access-date=February 20, 2018}}</ref> Many Asian Americans felt insulted by the headline because Michelle Kwan is also American.<ref name="TimesKwanApology">{{cite news|last1=Fancher|first1=Mike|title=Times won't forget readers' reminder on Kwan headline|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020303/fancher03/times-wont-forget-readers-reminder-on-kwan-headline|access-date=February 20, 2018|work=The Seattle Times|date=March 3, 2002}}</ref> Asian American community leaders criticized the subheadline as perpetuating a stereotype that people of color can never be truly American.<ref name="TimesKwanApology"/> The incident echoed a similar incident that happened with an [MSNBC](/source/MSNBC) article during the [Winter games](/source/1998_Winter_Olympics) in 1998,<ref name="TimesKwanApology"/> which was reported on by ''Times''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sorensen|first1=Eric|title=Asian Groups Attack Msnbc Headline Referring To Kwan – News Web Site Apologizes For Controversial Wording|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19980303/2737594/asian-groups-attack-msnbc-headline-referring-to-kwan----news-web-site-apologizes-for-controversial-wording|access-date=February 20, 2018|work=The Seattle Times|date=March 3, 1998}}</ref> The newspaper's Executive Editor at the time of the controversy, Mike Fancher, issued an apology.<ref name="TimesKwanApology"/>

===2012 election controversy===
On October 17, 2012, the publishers of ''The Seattle Times'' launched advertising campaigns in support of [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) [gubernatorial candidate](/source/Washington_gubernatorial_election%2C_2012) [Rob McKenna](/source/Rob_McKenna) and a [state referendum](/source/Washington_Referendum_74_(2012)) to legalize [same-sex marriage](/source/same-sex_marriage). The newspaper's management said the ads were aimed at "demonstrating how effective advertising with ''The Times'' can be."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2012/10/17/seattle-times-co-sponsors-full-page-newspaper-ad-for-rob-mckenna/|title=Seattle Times Co. launches ad campaigns for McKenna and gay marriage, draws criticism|date=October 17, 2012|first=Jim|last=Brunner|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=October 25, 2012|archive-date=January 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120011724/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2012/10/17/seattle-times-co-sponsors-full-page-newspaper-ad-for-rob-mckenna/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The advertisements in favor of McKenna represented an $80,000 independent expenditure, making the newspaper the third largest contributor to his campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/uwelectioneye/2012/10/22/seattle-times-ad-buy-leads-to-newsroom-reader-protests/ |title=Seattle Times Ad Buy Leads To Newsroom, Reader Protests |date=October 22, 2012 |work=The Seattle Times |first=Kathy |last=Gill |access-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-date=April 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413195737/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/uwelectioneye/2012/10/22/seattle-times-ad-buy-leads-to-newsroom-reader-protests/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> More than 100 staffers signed a letter of protest sent to ''Seattle Times'' publisher Frank Blethen, calling it an "unprecedented act".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2012/10/18/seattle-times-news-staffers-protest-companys-political-ad-campaign/ |title=Seattle Times news staffers protest company's political-ad campaign |date=October 18, 2012 |work=The Seattle Times |first=Jim |last=Brunner |access-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026224833/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2012/10/18/seattle-times-news-staffers-protest-companys-political-ad-campaign/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Joint Operating Agreement==
thumb|"Quarters of the news editor", one in 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](/source/Hearst_Corporation)-owned ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', were run under a "[Joint Operating Agreement](/source/Joint_Operating_Agreement)" (JOA) whereby advertising, production, marketing, and circulation were controlled by the ''Times'' for both papers.<ref name="overview" /> The two papers maintained their own identities with separate news and editorial departments.

The ''Times'' announced its intention to cancel the JOA in 2003, citing a [clause](/source/clause) in the JOA contract that three consecutive years of losses allowed it to pull out of the agreement.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Richman |author2=Phuong Lee  |title=JOA fight between P-I, Times may heat up |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/business/257031_joa26.html |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=January 26, 2006}}</ref> Hearst sued, arguing that a ''[force majeure](/source/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](/source/state_supreme_court) on June 30, 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bishop |first=Todd |last2=Richman |first2=Dan |date=2005-06-30 |title=Court sides with Seattle Times in JOA dispute |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/court-sides-with-seattle-times-in-joa-dispute-1177287.php |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003669389_joa17.html
|first=Eric
|last=Pryne
|title=Seattle Times, P–I reach agreement to keep both newspapers publishing
|date=April 17, 2007
|work=The Seattle Times
|access-date=November 16, 2007
}}</ref>

The JOA was terminated when the ''Post-Intelligencer'' ceased publication; its final printed edition was March 17, 2009.<ref name="PI-2009"/>

==Page width==

For decades, the [broadsheet](/source/broadsheet) page width of the ''Times'' was {{convert|13+1/2|in|cm}}, printed from a 54-inch web, the four-page width of a roll of [newsprint](/source/newsprint). Following changing industry standards, the width of the page was reduced in 2005 by {{convert|1|in|cm}}, to {{convert|12+1/2|in|cm}}, now a 50-inch web standard. In February 2009, the web size was further reduced to 46&nbsp;inches, which narrowed the page by another inch to {{convert|11+1/2|in|cm}} in width.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20070702190453/http://www.newsandtech.com/issues/2008/February/nt/02-08_seattle-newsize.htm "Seattle Times making move to 46-inch web"]}}. News and Tech.com, February 2008</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|The Seattle Times}}
* [https://www.seattletimes.com/ Official website]
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{{Blethen|Seattle Times}}
{{PulitzerPrize BreakingNews 2001–2025}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seattle Times, The}}
Category:Newspapers established in 1886
Category:1886 establishments in Washington Territory
Category:2002 controversies in the United States
Category:2012 controversies in the United States
Category:Companies based in Seattle
Category:Newspapers published in Seattle
Category:Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers
Category:Daily newspapers published in the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Seattle Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seattle_Times) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seattle_Times?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.