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Outlet profile

The Seattle Times

U.S. center-left (liberal-leaning editorial page; mainstream metro newsroom)

Owned byThe Seattle Times Company, controlled by the Blethen family, which has held a majority stake since 1896. In 2024 the family bought out McClatchy's long-held minority stake, so the company is now fully family-owned. Ryan Blethen (fifth generation) became publisher on January 1, 2026, and Frank Blethen remains board chair.
FundingMainly digital and print subscriptions and advertising. It also gets philanthropic support for some reporting projects (Seattle Times Investigative Journalism Fund, Education Lab and similar initiatives). It has no billionaire or state backer.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The paper was founded in 1891 and was bought by Alden J. Blethen in 1896, beginning the family's ownership. In the 20th century it was Seattle's main afternoon rival to the Post-Intelligencer, and for decades the two papers ran under a joint operating agreement. McClatchy held a minority stake from 1980 until the Blethen family bought it out in 2024. The Blethens have often described their model as local, family-owned journalism that resists chain consolidation, and the company's own materials make this point. Frank Blethen was publisher and CEO for about 40 years. On January 1, 2026, his son Ryan Blethen became publisher and Alan Fisco became CEO. The paper has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes, including for investigative and breaking-news reporting. The editorial board's endorsements generally favor Democrats in partisan races, though it has at times backed moderate or business-friendly positions on local issues such as policing, homelessness policy and development, which has drawn criticism from the left. Its 2026 editorials have criticized what they describe as largely unchecked presidential authority and have urged Democrats to win the House so Congress can investigate the administration. News coverage and opinion pages are separate, and the newsroom's coverage is more straightforward than the editorials.

Sources

  1. Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen hands reins to son Ryan Blethen (Spokesman-Review/AP)
  2. Seattle Times names Ryan Blethen Publisher and Alan Fisco Chief Executive Officer
  3. The Seattle Times Company (Wikipedia)
  4. Five-generation family ownership fuels The Seattle Times (Editor & Publisher)
  5. Seattle Times endorses Rep. Randall for 6th Congressional District (Daily World)
  6. The Seattle Times editorial board

Profile compiled 2026-10-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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