Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Seattle Newspaper Deathwatch Begins

Post-Intelligencer put up for sale, could stop printing if there's no buyer

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 9, 2009 4:10 PM CST
Email

(Newser) – The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will be closed or converted to a digital publication if a buyer doesn't emerge within 60 days, the Seattle Times reports. "Our losses have reached an unacceptable level," the executive of owner Hearst who made the announcement told the stunned newsroom today. "People cried, people are still crying, editors are slamming their doors," said a staff member.

The 145-year-old newspaper has struggled for years and lost $14 million in 2008, KING-TV reported. The Hearst exec shot down rumors that the company was interested in buying the family-owned Times, which publishes under a joint operating agreement with the P-I. Under federal regulations, a party to a JOA can't be sold unless it can demonstrate that there's no interest in buying it.

Newspaper vendor Chad Smith displays copies of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, left, and the Seattle Times, featuring the election of President-elect Barack Obama, Nov. 5, 2008.
Newspaper vendor Chad Smith displays copies of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, left, and the Seattle Times, featuring the election of President-elect Barack Obama, Nov. 5, 2008.   (AP Photo)
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in a newspaper box near the WaMu Tower in downtown Seattle, Sept. 26, 2008.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in a newspaper box near the WaMu Tower in downtown Seattle, Sept. 26, 2008.   (AP Photo)
The Oct. 21, 2008, issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which will be closed or converted to a digital publication if it isn't sold within 60 days.
The Oct. 21, 2008, issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which will be closed or converted to a digital publication if it isn't sold within 60 days.   (AP Photo)
Breaking news editor Candace Heckman speaks on the phone as she holds a package labeled anthrax at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper on Wednesday Oct. 29, 2008.
Breaking news editor Candace Heckman speaks on the phone as she holds a package labeled "anthrax" at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper on Wednesday Oct. 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Joshua Trujillo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Reader33968906
Jan 10, 2009 10:00 PM CST
Print newspapers are going out of style. They'll all be digital soon and just think of all the trees that will be saved. Time to look at things through 21st Century eyes instead of Disney Fantasyland eyes.
Guest
Jan 9, 2009 11:15 PM CST
Whose time is that? Conservatives? I am a conservative. i did not vote for Obama. I have almost never agreed with the P.I. I think it would be terrible thing for it to fold. The loss of any newspaper is a sad thing. Don't paint many because of a few.
Guest
Jan 9, 2009 9:44 PM CST
The previous two comments speak for themselves - your time has past.

The very local angle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

More on the sale and the terms of the JOA
Editor & Publisher

Union official suspected something was up
Puget Sound Business Journal

Money • Media

 
media • newspaper • Seattle • news organization • newspaper industry • Seattle Post-Intelligencer • Seattle Times • Hearst

More Newser Stories

Seattle P-I Prints Final Issue Today

Seattle Paper Poised to Switch to Online-Only

Newspaper Circulation Off 10%

Rather: Prez Must Save Newspapers

Papers Can't Ask for Bailout, Seek Rule Change Instead
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne