Frank A. Blethen (born April 20, 1945) is an American executive who serves as the

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

The Seattle Times Company The Seattle Times Company is a privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Washington. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1896, the company is in its fourth generation of control by the Blethen family as of 202 ...

, based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. A fourth-generation member of the Blethen family, which has owned the newspaper since 1896, he became a publisher in 1985. He has also served as a publisher of the ''

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin The ''Walla Walla Union-Bulletin'' (U-B) is a newspaper based in Walla Walla, Washington and owned by the Seattle Times Company. It publishes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. History The modern ''Union-Bulletin'' can trace its origins to ...

'', another newspaper that was owned by the company in the 1970s. During his tenure as publisher, the family's control over the newspaper decreased, consistent with the

profitability In economics, profit is the difference between revenue that an economic entity has received from its outputs and total costs of its inputs, also known as surplus value. It is equal to total revenue minus total cost, including both Explicit co ...

across the newspaper industry. The newspaper entered into a

joint operating agreement The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Richard Nixon, authorizing the formation of joint operating agreements among competing newspaper operations within the same media market area. It ...

with the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

'' that lasted until it ceased printing in 2009.

Early life and education

Francis Alden Blethen Jr. was born in

on April 20, 1945, the second of two children of Francis Alden Blethen and his third wife, Kathleen Mary Ryan. He is a fourth-generation member of the Blethen family and the great-grandson of ''Seattle Times'' founder

Alden J. Blethen Alden Joseph Blethen (December 27, 1845 – July 12, 1915) was a teacher and attorney who was editor-in-chief of the ''The Seattle Times, Seattle Daily Times'' from August 10, 1896 until his death. He was often referred to as Colonel Blethen ...

. His parents divorced in 1951, and Blethen moved to

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, with his mother and elder sister, Diane. He was the only member of the Blethen family to have been raised outside of Seattle. He returned to Seattle in the summers and spent time with his aunts, uncles, and cousins, but rarely saw his father. As a teenager, Blethen worked in the advertising department as a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

but had no intention of working in the newspaper business. Blethen has described himself as the "accidental publisher" because he had no intention of running the business until the 1980s. Blethen attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, where he majored in business studies. In 1978, he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

After completing his senior year at Arizona State University, Blethen returned to Seattle after the death of his estranged father in 1967.Blethen began his career at the ''Seattle Times'' as the assistant credit manager and was promoted to credit manager when his boss took a leave of absence. Blethen held a variety of positions at the ''Seattle Times'', including building manager, where he negotiated janitorial and security contracts and oversaw the remodeling of the cafeteria. Blethen also spent four years working at the ''Walla Walla Union-Bulletin'' in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

, beginning in 1974. He returned to the Seattle Times Company in 1980 and held various executive positions in advertising, circulation, marketing, and labor. Blethen and his family also own the ''

Yakima Herald-Republic The ''Yakima Herald-Republic'' is a newspaper published in Yakima, Washington, and distributed throughout Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties as well as northwest Benton County. History The ''Herald'' was founded in 1889. The paper was ...

'', ''Walla Walla Union-Bulletin'', and several other Seattle-area weeklies, including the '' Issaquah Press''. He has been the publisher of the ''Times'' for over 30 years. While the Blethen family controls the Seattle Times Company, Frank Blethen's grandfather sold part interest in the company to the Ridder Bros., known today as

Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. It was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, allowing the latter to become the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States at the time ...

. On May 13, 2024, Blethen announced that he would retire from his position as CEO and publisher of the ''Seattle Times'' in late 2025.

Activism

Blethen has donated to educational institutions and helped create the two-year Greater Good Campaign, a movement against the state legislature's defunding of higher public education. He has also been criticized for campaigning against taxes that would fund public education. He has received awards for contributions to promoting diversity in publishing. He has also been criticized for mixing business interests with content issues, which are traditionally separated at newspapers.

Awards

* Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievements in Journalism from WSU's School of Communications (1998). * Asian American Journalist Associations' Special Recognition Award (2011) * Northwest Journalist of Color Diversity Award (2011) * AAJA Leadership in Diversity Award (2014) In 2018, the Seattle Times newsroom won the same award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blethen, Frank 1945 births Living people American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Seattle The Seattle Times Company Arizona State University alumni Harvard Business School alumni