Sound Publishing, Washington state’s largest community news organization and parent company of the Tacoma Daily Index, announced Wednesday it has purchased Seattle Weekly, a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle and nearby cities, from Village Voice Media Holdings.
Details of the purchase were not disclosed.
Seattle Weekly reaches over 200,000 unique print and digital readers every week with more than 1,500 outdoor news boxes and in-store racks throughout Seattle and nearby areas. It was founded in 1976 by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster.
Founded in 1987, Sound Publishing publications reach more than 500,000 homes weekly with over 700,000 monthly digital readers. Sound publishes 36 daily, weekly and monthly community newspapers and magazines in addition to the Little Nickel Classifieds in western Washington and northern Oregon. Sound also operates a print facility in Everett, Wash.
“The Weekly fits quite well into Sound Publishing’s culture of delivering unique and relevant content to both print and digital readers,” said Gloria Fletcher, President of Sound Publishing.
“The addition of the Seattle Weekly to Sound’s print and digital portfolio is very exciting,” said Josh O’Connor, Vice President of Sound Publishing’s East Sound Newspaper Operations. “The Weekly opens up many possibilities for readers, advertisers and the communities that we serve. We appreciate the editorial focus on local news, culture and the arts. This publication has been a leader in shaping Seattle for many decades and we look forward to managing this business in the future.”
The purchase of Seattle Weekly came in tandem with a separate purchase of SF Weekly by the San Francisco Examiner, which is owned primarily by David Black, Chairman of Black Press and other Black Press executives. Black Press is the parent company of Sound Publishing. Black Press operates more than 170 newspapers in western Canada and Washington in addition to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal.
Seattle Weekly and SF Weekly will be operated independently of one another.
Sound Publishing has executive offices in Bellevue and Poulsbo. Seattle Weekly will remain based in Seattle.
