Speaking of media...PUBLISHER: 'SEATTLE TIMES' MAY LEAVE CITY
What is very interesting about this is that the Seattle Times has consistently endorsed most liberal candidates for various governmental offices...... And now they are concerned about the "ULTRA LIBERAL, PRO-LABOR Stance of the City"...... ?????
Monday, June 11, 2001
editorandpublisher.com
PUBLISHER: 'SEATTLE TIMES' MAY LEAVE CITY
Blethen Cites Zoning, Environment Rules
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by Joe Strupp
Fed up with what he considers an anti-business climate in Seattle, Publisher Frank Blethen of The Seattle Times is threatening to move his newspaper out of the city if officials don't make things more economically attractive, he told E&P.
Citing unfair zoning policies and environmental controls, Blethen contended that Mayor Paul Schell and other government leaders have made it more difficult for businesses to operate.
"The city has taken a strong ultra-liberal, pro-labor stance," said Blethen, whose great-grandfather started the paper in 1896. "We have seen zoning changes at the whim of whoever is in charge and the city uses the Clean Air Act to penalize employees who have cars."
Blethen, who is organizing a committee of Times executives to study the pros and cons of moving the paper's 1,200 city-based workers to a suburban location, also criticized Schell for refusing to talk to Times replacement reporters during last winter's newspaper strike. He said the mayor's pro-labor stand caused the walkout to drag on and the paper to lose more money. "The city sided with the (Newspaper) Guild to turn the paper into a non-profit," he said. Blethen also blamed the city for failing to protect businesses during the World Trade Organization conference riots in 1999.
A Seattle Times defection would deal another blow to a downtown economy that is still smarting from last year's new- media stock crash. Since 1999, the downtown office vacancy rate has jumped from 2.76% to 6.5%, according to the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Seattle and King County. At the same time, lease rates have been on a roller coaster, rising from $31 per square foot in 1999 to $39 at the end of 2000 to $37 earlier this year.
Schell's office did not return calls seeking comment, but King County Executive Ron Sims said Blethen's threat should be taken seriously. "The repercussions would be profound," Sims said of a Times exodus. "If you have the major daily paper saying this isn't a place conducive to business, other businesses will follow." Sims vowed to negotiate with Blethen on a package of incentives aimed at keeping the paper in the city, but said nothing specific had been developed.
EDC Vice President Richard Chapman offered little hope that major business incentives would be offered to the newspaper, saying his office is targeting mostly manufacturing and high-tech companies with breaks. He also said a company moving to a suburb is not considered as serious as one moving across the country. "If it keeps jobs in the area, it still uses all of our services," he said.
While any move would be at least two years away, Blethen said he would likely relocate 18 miles north of the city to Bothell, Wash., where the Times' printing plant has about 700 employees. The newspaper owns its downtown Seattle headquarters, which spans five buildings on 12 acres at Fairview and John streets.
The Times has had several run-ins with the city in recent years over expansion and renovation projects at the downtown location, Blethen said. He claims a $10 million renovation to the advertising and circulation building was delayed four year ago when zoning laws were changed, and complains that city officials blocked the construction of a day care center on site after seeking to take over the land for a public park. "They are uncooperative and hostile," he said.
The publisher said the move would be part of an overall refocus of coverage on suburban readers, who make up 60% of circulation. "It is possible the city would become a zone and we would focus on the suburban areas, but have a small office in the city," Blethen explained. "You turn the traditional model on its ear." Blethen added that Seattle's demographic had changed in recent years, with more single people and fewer families living in the city. "It is becoming increasingly isolated," he said.
The potential move comes as the paper is still dealing with the aftermath of the recent winter strike that resulted in serious budget and staff cuts, as well as last year's switch from afternoon to morning publication, which put the Times head-to-head with its JOA partner, the Hearst Corp.-owned Post-Intelligencer.
The Times has seen a circulation increase since moving to mornings. Audit Bureau of Circulation figures released in March showed the Times circulation went from 218,032 to 225,222 during the previous 12 months, while the Post- Intelligencer dropped from 185,888 to 168,951 during the same period.
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Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor for E&P. |
