 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Cowles Company |
| Publisher | William Stacey Cowles |
| Editor | Rob Curley[1] |
| Founded | June 29, 1894; 131 years ago (1894-06-29) inSpokane, Washington, U.S.(merger) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 999 W. Riverside Ave. Spokane,Washington |
| Country | United States |
| Circulation | 56,629 (as of 2022)[2] |
| ISSN | 2993-1274 |
| OCLC number | 11102529 |
| Website | spokesman.com |
The Spokesman-Review is a dailybroadsheetnewspaper based inSpokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base ineastern Washington andnorthern Idaho.
The Spokesman-Review was formed from the merger of theSpokane Falls Review (1883–1894) and theSpokesman (1890–1893) in 1893 and first published under the present name on June 29, 1894.[3][4] TheSpokane Falls Review was a joint venture between local businessman, A.M. Cannon andHenry Pittock andHarvey W. Scott ofThe Oregonian.[5][6]The Spokesman-Review later absorbed its competing sister publication, the afternoonSpokane Daily Chronicle.[7][8] Long co-owned, the two combined their sports departments in late 1981 and news staffs in early 1983.[9] The middle name "Daily" was dropped in January 1982,[10][11] and its final edition was printed 33 years ago on Friday, July 31, 1992.[7][8]
The newspaper formerly published three editions, a metro edition covering Spokane and the outlying areas, aSpokane Valley edition and an Idaho edition coveringnorthern Idaho. After a large downsizing of the newsroom staff in November 2007, the paper moved to a single zoned edition emphasizing localized "Voices" sections staffed primarily by non-union employees. The "Voices" section still caters to the three original editions, publishing a Valley "Voices", a North Spokane "Voices" and a South Spokane "Voices".
Owner of both papers since 1897,[9] W.H. Cowles set theChronicle on a course to be independent andThe Spokesman-Review to supportRepublican Party causes.Time magazine related the papers' success gaining lowered rates for freight carried to theNorthwest and an improved park system and that helped the region. Increasing its reputation for comprehensive local news and by opposing "gambling, liquor and prostitution,"The Spokesman-Review gained popularity. The paper's opposition to building theGrand Coulee Dam was not quite so universally applauded, and when it opposed theNew Deal and theFair Deal, it so disturbedPresidentHarry Truman that during a visit in 1948 he declaredThe Spokesman-Review to be one of the "two worst" newspapers in the nation (Chicago Tribune, the other).[12][13][14] TheScripps League's Press closed in 1939, making Cowles the only newspaper publisher in Spokane. Cowles created four weeklies, theIdaho Farmer,Washington Farmer,Oregon Farmer, andUtah Farmer.[15] Cowles died in 1946. When William H. Cowles Jr. succeeded his father as publisher, James Bracken received much more news and editorial control as managing editor.[15]
The Spokesman-Review has been described as moderate-to-liberal, especially in issues aroundhate groups in the region. In 1997, threeextreme-rightmilitants were tried and eventually convicted of bombing the Spokane Valley office ofThe Spokesman-Review as well as an abortion clinic (seeCitizens Rule Book).[16]
The Spokesman-Review is also one of the few remaining family-owned newspapers in the United States. It is owned byCowles Company, which also ownsKHQ-TV/Spokane andThe KHQ Television Group. While the newspaper wins awards, it also draws opposition from local critics and activists who suspect the Cowles family of using its alleged vast local media influence to sway public opinion. In particular, a (1997–2004) issue regarding a public-private partnership wherein the Cowles family may have profited, some claim, up to $20 million. This is referred to as the "River Park Square Parking Garage" issue. The newspaper underwent an independent review by the WashingtonNews Council regarding its River Park Square coverage and was found to be at fault for its news bias.[17][18]
In 2004, SpokanemayorJames E. West became the target of asting operation conducted byThe Spokesman-Review.[19][20] Some journalists and academics criticized the paper for what they saw as a form of entrapment.[21] West was later cleared of criminal charges by theFBI but not before the mayor lost arecall vote by the citizens of Spokane in December 2005;[22][23] the following summer, West died of cancer.[24][25][26]
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, as reported in thePuget Sound Business Journal on April 29, 2010, the newspaper's average Sunday circulation totaled 95,939 and weekly circulation averaged 76,291. That represented a year-over-year decrease of about 10.5 percent; a trend widely reflected during the same year in newspapers throughout Washington state. With the demise of the print edition of theSeattle Post-Intelligencer,The Spokesman-Review is the state's third-largest paper, after theSeattle Times andThe News-Tribune ofTacoma.
A 2017 Rotary Club article stated that under editor Rob Curley, hired in 2016, circulation increased from 68,000 to 82,000 in one year.[27]
In April 2020, the paper ceased printing its Saturday edition.[28] In 2025, the Cowles family announced it will donateThe Spokesman-Review to the nonprofit Comma Community Journalism Laboratory.[29] A few months later Hagadone Media Group of Coeur d’Alene announced it will printThe Spokesman-Review after the paper's previous in-house printer Northwest Offset Printing announced it was ceasing operations.[30]
47°39′28″N117°25′34″W / 47.6578°N 117.4262°W /47.6578; -117.4262