PUBLISHER: 'SEATTLE TIMES' MAY LEAVE CITY

By: Joe Strupp Blethen Cites Zoning, Environment Rules


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.



Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor for E&P.



Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.