overview of the seattle times

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This overview provides a summary look at The Seattle Times Company and The Seattle Times newspaper. More detailed information on these aspects of our company is available throughout our site. Introduction Family-Owned and Independent Committed to Quality Extensive Local Coverage A Comprehensive Source Information Online State-of-the-Art Production A Joint Operating Agreement Circulation and Readership Advertising Value The Company in the Community Newspapers In Education Seattle Times Company Subsidiaries Introduction The Seattle Times Company publishes The Seattle Times, the largest daily newspaper in Washington state, and the largest Sunday circulation newspaper in the Northwest. Well respected for its comprehensive local coverage, The Seattle Times, winner of seven Pulitzer Prizes, is also recognized nationally and internationally for in-depth, quality reporting and award-winning photography and design. The Seattle Times is part of a family of affiliated newspapers and web sites. Each is autonomously operated, but strategically part of the company's focus on being a leading news and information provider. The company has three Northwest-based comprehensive online news, information and advertising Web sites: seattletimes.com, NWsource.com and NWclassifieds.com. The Seattle Times Company owns the Yakima Herald-Republic, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and The Issaquah Press, all in Washington state. The company also owns Blethen Maine Newspapers which includes the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram; Kennebec Journal, in Augusta; Morning Sentinel, in Waterville; Coastal Journal, in Bath; and the web site MaineToday.com. back to top Family-owned and Independent The Seattle Times is the largest locally and family-owned and operated metropolitan newspaper in the United States. For over a century, the newspaper has been under the continuous ownership of the Blethen family. It was founded in 1896 by Colonel Alden J. Blethen, a schoolteacher and attorney in his home state of Maine, who came to Seattle and purchased the four-page Seattle Press-Times. In six months, circulation of the newly named Seattle Daily Times doubled to 7,000. By Blethen's death in 1915, daily circulation had reached 70,000, with Sunday circulation growing to 82,000. Today, under the guidance of the fourth generation of Blethens, more than 1.5 million people read The Seattle Times over the course of each week, making it the region's most widely read daily newspaper. back to top Committed to Quality The Seattle Times Company is dedicated to remaining independent and to serving the community through quality journalism. The professional recognition of the company's flagship newspaper, The Seattle Times, reflects this commitment and demonstrates that its staff is among the best in the country. In 1997, The Seattle Times received two Pulitzer Prizes for a total of seven. Year after year, The Seattle Times receives other top honors for outstanding reporting on topics of wide-reaching interest, including subjects that impact the community's and the nation's well being and safety. Supporting one of the largest investigative teams in the region, The Seattle Times has uncovered important stories on such issues as questionable research experiments on cancer patients, fraud and mismanagement in federally funded tribal-housing programs, commercial airline safety, and the widespread use of contaminated industrial wastes in agricultural fertilizer. Excellence is a hallmark of many aspects of The Seattle Times. The Society of American Business Editors and Writers named the Business section one of the four best among newspapers of its size. The Seattle Times also won top honors from the National Awards for Education Reporting, a topic given special emphasis at The Seattle Times. The Best of the West awards recognized The Seattle Times for quality reporting in Spot News, Environmental, Explanatory and Online Enterprise categories. The Seattle Times earned a National Headliner Award for the series "The Terrorist Within," and the Associated Press Sports Editors awarded The Seattle Times Sports department a "triple-crown" for their work in 2002. In a recent Society for News Design international competition, The Seattle Times won 19 awards, including a silver medal, vying with more than 15,000 entries from around the world. In addition, the same organization ranked The Seattle Times among 16 newspapers from four countries chosen as the world's best-designed newspapers. The photographic excellence of The Seattle Times also receives consistent recognition in photojournalism competitions. Recently, The Seattle Times was selected for an Award of Excellence in the "Best Use of Pictures" category in the prestigious annual Pictures of the Year competition. The Seattle Times tradition of quality content and design extends throughout the paper. For the eighth consecutive year, The Seattle Times was named among the best newspapers in the country for its features sections by the Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards competition. back to top Extensive Local Coverage Reporting that connects Northwest news, people and places is at the heart of The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times provides focused, local coverage of topics like education, transportation, natural resources and other defining issues of the region. In addition to our regional and metro coverage, our news bureaus in Snohomish County and on the Eastside report on business, politics, schools, prep sports, events and other topics of interest to readers in these communities. Seattle Times bureaus in Olympia, Washington and Washington, D.C. stay abreast of news from those two capital cities that may affect readers in The Seattle Times coverage area. back to top A Comprehensive Source The Seattle Times weekday and Sunday newspapers carry sections covering a wide variety of interests. Each day The Seattle Times features: a Main News or A-section, with complete local, national and international news; Local News, devoted to coverage of the region and editorial analysis and insights; Northwest Life, focusing on lifestyle issues and gardening; Business, covering companies and the economy; Sports, with information on professional, college and prep sports, as well as recreation activities; and Northwest Classifieds, a popular marketplace for the exchange of goods and services. Weekly sections include: Opinion, with expanded editorials, columns and reader letters from a diversity of viewpoints; Ticket and Movie Times, a guide to arts and entertainment, and films and the film industry; Families, focusing on family life and activities; Job Market, a section highlighting employment trends and current openings; Food, featuring extensive wine coverage and stories catering to culinary interests; Entertainment and the Arts, covering people and trends behind Seattle's vibrant art scene; Northwest Weekend, devoted to outdoor recreation; and Sunday Travel, bringing the world a little closer. Other sections cover Real Estate, Motoring and Religion. Pacific Northwest, a popular full-color Sunday magazine, profiles unique Northwest people and places. back to top Information Online The leading information provider in the region, The Seattle Times also produces the Northwest's most visited newspaper site on the Web. The Seattle Times Company continually explores new technology to offer readers more effective connections to the community. Offering the latest news and information, seattletimes.com complements the content of The Seattle Times newspaper and provides users with easy access and enhanced services. Online news is updated throughout the day, allowing readers to follow breaking news as well as current local, national and world events, sports and business news. In addition to seattletimes.com, The Seattle Times Company owns NWclassifieds.com, a complete online classified and employment advertising site, and NWsource.com, an in-depth guide to entertainment, restaurants, outdoor activities, shopping and more. back to top State-of-the-Art Production As part of its dedication to remaining the Northwest's most progressive, comprehensive and reliable information provider, The Seattle Times built a state-of-the-art production plant known as the North Creek Facility. The plant's four Goss Colorliner presses use the latest technology to provide bold color, clear contrast and sharp imagery in the newspapers produced by The Seattle Times Company. Advanced storage, production and distribution methods enable The Seattle Times to deliver a high-quality product in a timely way to a growing market. back to top A Joint Operating Agreement In 1983, a Joint Operating Agreement took effect between The Seattle Times Company and the New York-based Hearst Corporation, owners of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle P-I). Under this agreement, all advertising, production, marketing and circulation operations, as well as most business functions for both papers, are managed by The Seattle Times Company. The news and editorial operations of the two newspapers are separate and competitive. The Seattle P-I independently produces a three-page editorial section for a combined Sunday edition which is otherwise produced by The Seattle Times. If you are interested in learning more about recent developments regarding potential changes in the JOA, and a related Hearst Corporation lawsuit against The Seattle Times, we've provided links to selected news releases and news coverage taken from The Seattle Times, Seattle P-I and other news sources. back to top Circulation and Readership Circulation * The Seattle Times (weekday) 234,274 Seattle Post-Intelligencer (weekday) 150,876 The Seattle Times and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (weekday) 385,150 Sunday Seattle Times and Seattle P-I 469,853 Readership **