The Tacoma Times

The Tacoma Times was an American newspaper brand published in Tacoma, Washington, during the first half of the twentieth century. It began publication in 1903 under the direction of E. W. Scripps, whose newspaper interests included a network of regional and metropolitan papers built around relatively accessible, mass-market journalism. The Tacoma Times was established as part of that broader publishing tradition and served readers in Tacoma and the surrounding area. The paper’s launch was connected to the wider newspaper market of the Pacific Northwest. Its initial editorial personnel were drawn from the Seattle Star, another newspaper associated with the Scripps organization. This staffing connection suggests that the new Tacoma publication was developed with existing newsroom experience and a recognizable editorial model rather than as an entirely independent local experiment. During its operating life, The Tacoma Times functioned as a daily or regularly issued local newspaper, providing the type of general news, civic coverage, regional reporting, commentary, and advertising typically associated with metropolitan newspapers of its period. Available reference material does not establish a complete account of its circulation, ownership changes, editorial leadership, political orientation, or specific publishing frequency, so those details remain undocumented here. The newspaper continued publication until 1949, when it ceased operations. Its closure places the title within the period of substantial change affecting American newspapers, including competition for readers and advertising, shifts in urban media markets, and the growing importance of radio. The Tacoma Times is now a historical newspaper title rather than an active media business. An incomplete surviving archive is available through the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America collection, which provides access to digitized issues and preserves part of the paper’s record.

The Tacoma Times was founded in Tacoma, Washington, in 1903 by E. W. Scripps. Its creation took place within the expansion of the Scripps newspaper system, which developed publications aimed at broad urban and regional audiences. The newspaper’s editorial staff was recruited from the Seattle Star, linking the new Tacoma title to an existing Pacific Northwest newsroom and to the editorial practices of the Scripps press network. The paper served Tacoma during a period when newspapers were central institutions in civic and commercial life. Although the available reference material does not provide a complete chronology of its editors, ownership arrangements, circulation, or major editorial campaigns, the title’s principal role was that of a local newspaper covering the city and its surrounding region. Its issues would have combined locally relevant reporting with broader news, opinion, and advertising, but the surviving reference material does not support a more detailed reconstruction of its regular sections or commercial model. The Tacoma Times remained in publication for approximately four and a half decades. It ended in 1949, making it a defunct newspaper brand. The end of publication occurred during a period when American newspapers faced changing competitive conditions, including the rise of broadcast media and evolving patterns of local advertising and readership. No specific closure transaction, merger, bankruptcy proceeding, or successor title is identified in the supplied sources, so the immediate reason for discontinuation is not established here. Part of the newspaper’s historical record survives in the Library of Congress Chronicling America collection. The archive is incomplete, but it provides digitized issues for research into Tacoma’s local history, journalism, politics, commerce, and public life. The Tacoma Times should therefore be understood as a historical American newspaper title associated with Tacoma and the Scripps publishing tradition, rather than as a currently operating media organization.

• 1949

  Publication ends

  [1]The Tacoma Timesen.wikipedia.org

  The Tacoma Times ceased publication after operating as a Tacoma newspaper for approximately 46 years.

• 1903

  Newspaper founded in Tacoma

  [1]The Tacoma Timesen.wikipedia.org

  E. W. Scripps established The Tacoma Times in Tacoma, Washington. Its editorial personnel were recruited from the Seattle Star.

A locally focused Tacoma newspaper operating within the Scripps newspaper tradition.

• Newspaper · 1903

  The Tacoma Times

  The newspaper’s principal product was its printed issue, providing local and regional news for Tacoma readers along with the general editorial and advertising content associated with an American metropolitan newspaper of the early twentieth century. The available sources do not document a separate product portfolio or named editions.

1. 1The Tacoma Timesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Tacoma Times issues in Chronicling Americaloc.gov