Media in Seattle
Encyclopedia
Seattle, Washington
, supports a multitude of media, from long-established newspaper
s, television
and radio station
s to a continually evolving panoply of smaller, local art, culture, neighborhood and political publications, filmmaking and, most recently, Internet media. As of the fall of 2009, Seattle has the
20th largest newspaper and the 13th largest radio and television market in the United States. The Seattle media market
also serves Puget Sound
and Western Washington
.
Seattle has been at the verge of new media developments for the past decade. In 1999 the protesters of a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle spurred the formation of the city's Independent Media Center
, which covered and disseminated the breaking news online to a worldwide audience. The location of Microsoft just outside Seattle in nearby Redmond, WA, and the growth of numerous interactive media companies have given Seattle the advantage of benefiting from new media innovations, so it is not surprising that Seattle media in the 21st century is notable for being at the forefront of digital media.
Seattle's major daily newspaper is the Seattle Times
. The local Blethen family owns 50.5% of the Times, the other 49.5% being owned by the McClatchy Company
. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(now online only) is owned by the Hearst Corporation
. The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
covers economic news, and The Daily of the University of Washington
, the University of Washington
's school paper, is published five days per week during the school year.
The Seattle newspaper landscape changed dramatically in 2009, when The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased print publication. Previously, the Post-Intelligencer and The Seattle Times had shared a joint-operating agreement under which The Times handled business operations outside the newsroom for its competitor. When the Post-Intelligencer went online-only as SeattlePI.com, The Seattle Times felt the blow financially but continues to be a profit-earning publication and even increased its print circulation in 2009 by 30 percent. Nonetheless, the P-Is move to online-only resulted in 145 jobs lost at that publication, while The Seattle Times cut 150 editorial positions shortly before that, in December 2008.The Times reaches 7 out of 10 adults in King and Snohomish Counties. With fewer resources, the Times took steps to consolidate some of its news coverage: for example, folding the daily business section into the paper's A section. The Seattle Times has been recognized for its editorial excellence: The newspaper has been the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. In recent years, The Times has begun to partner with other types of media outlets, including collaborations with several local bloggers that are funded by American university's J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The most prominent weeklies are the Seattle Weekly
and The Stranger
. Both consider themselves alternative papers
. The Stranger, founded in 1992, is locally owned and has a younger and hipper readership. The Seattle Weekly, founded in 1976, has a longstanding reputation for in-depth coverage of the arts and local politics. It was purchased in 2000 by Village Voice Media, which in turn was acquired in 2005 by New Times Media
. New Times Media has decreased the Weekly's emphasis on politics. Other weekly papers are the Seattle Gay News
and Real Change
, an activist paper sold by homeless and low-income people. The Puget Sound Business Journal
covers the local economy. The Rocket
, a long-running weekly paper devoted to the music scene, stopped publishing in 2000.
Seattle is also home to several ethnic newspapers. Among these are the African American
papers The Facts
and the Seattle Medium
; the Asian American
papers the Northwest Asian Weekly
, Seattle Chinese Post
, and the International Examiner
; and the JTNews
(formerly the Jewish Transcript). There are also numerous neighborhood newspapers, such as the Seattle Sun and Star
, the West Seattle Herald
, the Ballard News-Tribune
, North Seattle Journal
, and the papers of the Pacific Publishing Company
, which include the Queen Anne News, Magnolia News, North Seattle Herald-Outlook, Capitol Hill Times, Beacon Hill News & South District Journal, and the Madison Park Times.
and Seattle's Child, are published monthly. The multiethnic glossy Colors NW publishes a companion Colors NW video podcast. Seattle Magazine and Seattle Metropolitan
, local lifestyle magazines, are published monthly. Northwest Woman Magazine is a regional bimonthly publication for the Northwest woman.
The Seattle-based online magazines Worldchanging
and Grist.org were two of the "Top Green Websites" in 2007, according to Time
.
, Canada
(Vancouver and its surrounding area on broadcast and cable).
Seattle is served by numerous television stations. The major network affiliates are KOMO
4 (ABC
), KING
5 (NBC
), KIRO
7 (CBS
), KCTS
9 (PBS
) and KCPQ
13 (Fox
), which are also seen across Canada
via digital cable
and satellite
providers. Also broadcasting in English are KSTW
11 (The CW
), KONG 16 (Independent), KTBW
20 (TBN
), KZJO 22 (MyNetworkTV
), KBTC
28 (PBS
), KVOS 12, KWPX
33 (ION). Most of these can be seen in Canada
via digital cable
or satellite
. There are also two Spanish-language stations: KUNS 51 (Univision
) and KFFV 45 (Azteca America
).
Seattle's commercial TV stations distinguish themselves from one another in various ways. KING 5, owned by the Belo Corporation, has been nominated for 56 Regional Emmy Awards. The station allows viewers to submit their own photo and video content via its website and also highlights the work of average citizens in the community on-air in the recurring feature, "Home Team Heroes." The parent company of KOMO, Fisher Communications, launched a network of hyperlocal websites in 2009, which include blogs about issues related to community service, news of interest to families, crime news, and news about events occurring around the neighborhood. Finally, KIRO, owned by Cox Communications, maintains three reporters in a Washington, DC, bureau to cover news of interest to viewers back in Washington State.
Seattle also has three public television stations. The Seattle Channel
, Government-access television (GATV) run by the city, airs public affairs, community service, and arts programming. The station is funded partly by Cable television franchise fee
s and partly by a $5 million grant from Comcast
, which will be paid over 10 years to support arts programming. After first focusing on civic programming, the Seattle Channel has become known for its arts programming. As the station's on-air priorities have begun to emphasize arts programs, it has shifted much of the government accountability-oriented programming to live streaming on the Internet, best accessed by viewers with high-speed Internet access. KCTS 9 is Seattle's PBS affiliate and operates three strands: a primary, high-definition, general interest station; KCTS 9 V-ME, which serves that Spanish-speaking community; and KCTS 9 Create, which features DIY, cooking, arts and crafts, and travel programs. In 2009 KCTS aired 160 episodes in a regularly occurring series on local public affairs, personal finance, economic issues, and business affairs. While KCTS is a popular source for viewing nationally-produced PBS shows, it features less programming on local public affairs than the region's other two public TV stations. The third public station, SCAN, is Seattle's Public-access television
cable TV network. A 501(c)3 nonprofit, it provides equipment, production facilities, and media instruction for residents of Seattle and other King County communities. Although its funding is limited, SCAN often airs more locally-produced public affairs programming each week than all the city's broadcast networks combined.
Cable networks based out of the area include FSN Northwest
, NWCN, ResearchChannel
, & UWTV
. Seattle cable viewers also receive CBUT
2 (CBC
) from Vancouver, British Columbia, often as cable channel 99.
market in the United States, though this ranking does not take into account Canadian audiences. The radio market stretches across Puget Sound
and Western Washington
. The Seattle PI ran an article in February 2010 about the start of the radio industry in Seattle.
FM RADIO STATIONS
AM RADIO STATIONS
Coverage of news and public affairs across Seattle's radio dial is inconsistent. KIRO (97.3 FM), which has a newsroom of 30 people, airs 34 hours of news programming per week, with a primary focus on local reporting; counting news analysis segments and related programming, this reaches 91 hours per week. KOMO-AM (97.7 FM) airs news and commentary 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Kris Bennett Broadcasting, a trio of stations serving the black community, airs 5 hours of local talk radio programming each week.
Many Seattle radio stations are also available through internet radio
, with KEXP being the first radio station to offer real-time playlists, broadcast uncompressed CD quality music over the internet 24 hours a day, and offer internet archives of its shows (Podcast
s). Hollow Earth Radio is also online-only and emphasizes local artists outside the mainstream music scene.
Across the Seattle region, 43% of adults read news online on a regular basis and another 21% read or contribute to blogs. In addition to blogs, other online media outlets that offer wider-ranging coverage include Crosscut
, started by Seattle Weekly founder David Brewster
, Publicola.net, Investigate West & Seattle Post Globe
. Sea Beez, a content-sharing online portal for ethnic media outlets, is in the process of launching a local news site.
Seattle is served by a number of online media outlets: The City of Seattle Information Technology department identified 260 websites focused on Seattle's local neighborhoods and communities, including non-traditional, linked news and information outlets. Much of this online activity is driven by the rich hyperlocal
news scene in the city, which has seen an exponential growth this past decade. This has been led in the area by sites such as westseattleblog.com and myballard.com, but also old media companies such as KOMO. There's a pair of articles here and here covering the ad scene for hyperlocal
in January 2010.
Seattle's online hyperlocal media vary greatly in terms of web traffic, scope, and resources. Some sites are run by journalists first trained in traditional media, such as Next Door Media, a network of 10 neighborhood blogs that nets a combined 1 million page views per month. (By comparison, SeattleTimes.com and SeattlePI.com average 45 million and 40 million monthly page views, respectively.) Capitol Hill Seattle, another popular hyperlocal blog, commands 200,000 monthly page views, and West Seattle Blog, 900,000. Despite varied audiences, a content analysis conducted by the New America Foundation
found that online media are filling gaps in news coverage left by traditional media. The study looked at Capitol Hill Seattle, West Seattle Blog, My Ballard, Wallyhood, SeattlePI.com, and SeattleTimes.com, and found that the first four sources (all hyperlocal blogs) devoted a greater percentage of their news coverage to issues specific to Seattle's neighborhoods. SeattleTimes.com and SeattlePI.com, on the other hand, covered more metro, national, and international news. The blogs devoted a greater percentage of their coverage to the combined subjects of politics, health, education, employment, social services, and arts and entertainment.
The background to Seattle's extensive coverage on the Internet is the city's history of flourishing alternative media, ranging from small presses to low power FM radio broadcasting. The independent, volunteer-run KRAB-FM radio, a high powered station that operated on 107.7 MHz in the regular broadcast band, influenced a generation of listeners during the 1960s and 1970s. Later, before Internet radio became practical, a number of very low power, microradio FM stations broadcast on the few FM frequencies not allocated to high power stations. Currently, FCC deliberations and rulings about Internet radio are followed not only by Internet entrepreneurs, but also by those Seattleites who produced and listened to local radio as well as by those who produce and read the numerous local print publications.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, supports a multitude of media, from long-established newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, television
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
and radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s to a continually evolving panoply of smaller, local art, culture, neighborhood and political publications, filmmaking and, most recently, Internet media. As of the fall of 2009, Seattle has the
20th largest newspaper and the 13th largest radio and television market in the United States. The Seattle media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
also serves Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
and Western Washington
Western Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains.It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which...
.
Seattle has been at the verge of new media developments for the past decade. In 1999 the protesters of a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle spurred the formation of the city's Independent Media Center
Independent Media Center
The Independent Media Center is a global participatory network of journalists that report on political and social issues. It originated during the Seattle anti-WTO protests worldwide in 1999 and remains closely associated with the global justice movement, which criticizes neo-liberalism and its...
, which covered and disseminated the breaking news online to a worldwide audience. The location of Microsoft just outside Seattle in nearby Redmond, WA, and the growth of numerous interactive media companies have given Seattle the advantage of benefiting from new media innovations, so it is not surprising that Seattle media in the 21st century is notable for being at the forefront of digital media.
Newspapers
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
. The local Blethen family owns 50.5% of the Times, the other 49.5% being owned by the McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company is a publicly traded American publishing company based in Sacramento, California. It operates 30 daily newspapers in 15 states and has an average weekday circulation of 2.2 million and Sunday circulation of 2.8 million...
. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
(now online only) is owned by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
. The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce is a daily newspaper based in Seattle. Specializing in business, construction, real estate, and legal news and public notices, it began publication in 1895 as the Bulletin, later the Daily Bulletin and the Seattle Daily Bulletin...
covers economic news, and The Daily of the University of Washington
The Daily of the University of Washington
The Daily of the University of Washington, usually referred to in Seattle simply as The Daily, is the student newspaper of the University of Washington in Seattle, USA.-History:...
, the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
's school paper, is published five days per week during the school year.
The Seattle newspaper landscape changed dramatically in 2009, when The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased print publication. Previously, the Post-Intelligencer and The Seattle Times had shared a joint-operating agreement under which The Times handled business operations outside the newsroom for its competitor. When the Post-Intelligencer went online-only as SeattlePI.com, The Seattle Times felt the blow financially but continues to be a profit-earning publication and even increased its print circulation in 2009 by 30 percent. Nonetheless, the P-Is move to online-only resulted in 145 jobs lost at that publication, while The Seattle Times cut 150 editorial positions shortly before that, in December 2008.The Times reaches 7 out of 10 adults in King and Snohomish Counties. With fewer resources, the Times took steps to consolidate some of its news coverage: for example, folding the daily business section into the paper's A section. The Seattle Times has been recognized for its editorial excellence: The newspaper has been the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. In recent years, The Times has begun to partner with other types of media outlets, including collaborations with several local bloggers that are funded by American university's J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The most prominent weeklies are the Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
and The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
. Both consider themselves alternative papers
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
. The Stranger, founded in 1992, is locally owned and has a younger and hipper readership. The Seattle Weekly, founded in 1976, has a longstanding reputation for in-depth coverage of the arts and local politics. It was purchased in 2000 by Village Voice Media, which in turn was acquired in 2005 by New Times Media
New Times Media
Village Voice Media is a privately held corporation headquartered in Phoenix.The company owns the Village Voice, America's oldest and largest alternative weekly newspaper, as well as LA Weekly, OC Weekly in Orange County, California, Seattle Weekly, City Pages in Minneapolis-St...
. New Times Media has decreased the Weekly's emphasis on politics. Other weekly papers are the Seattle Gay News
Seattle Gay News
The Seattle Gay News is a weekly newspaper aimed at the Seattle, and Puget Sound area LGBT community.SGN files are preserved in the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Washington.-Circulation:...
and Real Change
Real Change
Real Change is a weekly street newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is sold by the poor, many of whom are homeless, providing them an alternative to panhandling. It is written and produced, however, by professional staff, and covers mainstream news as well as homelessness issues...
, an activist paper sold by homeless and low-income people. The Puget Sound Business Journal
Puget Sound Business Journal
The Puget Sound Business Journal is a weekly American City Business Journals publication containing articles about business people, issues, and events in the greater Seattle, Washington area. The publication also publishes a technology news website named TechFlash...
covers the local economy. The Rocket
The Rocket (newspaper)
The Rocket was a free biweekly newspaper serving the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, published from 1979–2000. The newspaper's chief purpose was to document local music. This focus distinguished it from other area weeklies such as the Seattle Weekly and the Willamette Week, which...
, a long-running weekly paper devoted to the music scene, stopped publishing in 2000.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
papers The Facts
The Facts (Seattle)
The Facts is an African American weekly newspaper that serves Seattle, Washington. Headquartered in the Central District, it was founded in 1961 by Fitzgerald Redd Beaver...
and the Seattle Medium
Seattle Medium
The Seattle Medium is an African American newspaper that serves Seattle, Washington. It was founded in January 1970. Its parent company, the Seattle Medium Newspaper Group, also publishes the Seattle Metro Homemaker, the Tacoma True Citizen , and the Portland Medium...
; the Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
papers the Northwest Asian Weekly
Northwest Asian Weekly
The Northwest Asian Weekly is a weekly Asian American newspaper based in Seattle, Washington's International District. Distributed free, it was founded in 1982 by Assunta Ng, founder of the Seattle Chinese Post. It has a circulation of 16,000....
, Seattle Chinese Post
Seattle Chinese Post
The Seattle Chinese Post is a weekly Chinese-language newspaper based in Seattle, Washington's International District. It was founded in 1982 by Assunta Ng, founder of the Northwest Asian Weekly, and has a circulation of 10,000....
, and the International Examiner
International Examiner
The International Examiner is a free biweekly Asian American newspaper based in Seattle, Washington's International District. It was founded in 1974 by Gerald Yuasa and Lawrence Imamura to serve what the founders thought were the business interests of the Asian American community in Seattle's...
; and the JTNews
JTNews
The JTNews is a Jewish-American newspaper that serves the U.S. state of Washington. The biweekly paper, published in Seattle, is owned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and has a readership of 16,000...
(formerly the Jewish Transcript). There are also numerous neighborhood newspapers, such as the Seattle Sun and Star
Seattle Sun and Star
The Seattle Sun and Star was a free, bi-weekly neighborhood newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA formed in 2005 by the merger of the Seattle Star and Seattle Sun newspapers. The new publication put out only two issues: May 18-31, 2005, and July 1, 2005....
, the West Seattle Herald
West Seattle Herald
The West Seattle Herald is a weekly newspaper and website www.westseattleherald.com serving the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1923. It is part of Robinson Newspapers, which includes the Ballard News-Tribune, White Center News, Highline Times, Des Moines News,...
, the Ballard News-Tribune
Ballard News-Tribune
The Ballard News-Tribune is a weekly newspaper serving the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 and has a circulation of 9,500. It is one of the Robinson Newspapers, a group of newspapers in the Seattle-Tacoma area which includes the West Seattle Herald, White Center...
, North Seattle Journal
North Seattle Journal
The North Seattle Journal is a community newspaper in Seattle serving the neighborhoods of Broadview, Greenwood, Crown Hill, Blue Ridge, Haller Lake, Bitter Lake, and Green Lake....
, and the papers of the Pacific Publishing Company
Pacific Publishing Company
The Pacific Publishing Company in Seattle, Washington, in addition to its commercial printing operations, publishes neighborhood newspapers in the Seattle area...
, which include the Queen Anne News, Magnolia News, North Seattle Herald-Outlook, Capitol Hill Times, Beacon Hill News & South District Journal, and the Madison Park Times.
Magazines
Two locally owned magazines for parents, ParentMap NewsmagazineParentMap Newsmagazine
ParentMap is a free monthly newsmagazine for parents in the Puget Sound area of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, published since April 2003....
and Seattle's Child, are published monthly. The multiethnic glossy Colors NW publishes a companion Colors NW video podcast. Seattle Magazine and Seattle Metropolitan
Seattle Metropolitan
Seattle Metropolitan, or Seattle Met, is a monthly, local magazine for Seattle, Washington. Its first issue was published in March 2006 and features reporting and feature articles on Seattle events, people, dining and restaurants, popular places and attractions.-Staff:Editor-in-chief Katherine...
, local lifestyle magazines, are published monthly. Northwest Woman Magazine is a regional bimonthly publication for the Northwest woman.
The Seattle-based online magazines Worldchanging
Worldchanging
Worldchanging is an American non-profit online magazine and blog about sustainability and social innovation. At 19/09/2011, it was taken over by Architecture for Humanity....
and Grist.org were two of the "Top Green Websites" in 2007, according to Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
.
Television
The Seattle television market is the 13th largest in the United States; and additional viewers from British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Vancouver and its surrounding area on broadcast and cable).
Seattle is served by numerous television stations. The major network affiliates are KOMO
KOMO-TV
KOMO-TV, virtual channel 4, is a television station in Seattle, Washington. It is an affiliate of ABC and broadcasts on digital channel 38. KOMO-TV is the flagship station of Fisher Communications, and its studios and offices are co-located with sister radio stations KOMO , KVI , and KPLZ-FM ...
4 (ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), KING
KING-TV
KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
5 (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), KIRO
KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...
7 (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
), KCTS
KCTS-TV
KCTS-TV is a public television station in Seattle, Washington, that is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service , that broadcasts on digital channel 9. Its offices and broadcasting center are located at the northeast corner of Seattle Center...
9 (PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
) and KCPQ
KCPQ
KCPQ, channel 13, is the Fox television affiliate licensed to Tacoma, Washington serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company...
13 (Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), which are also seen across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
via digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
and satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
providers. Also broadcasting in English are KSTW
KSTW
KSTW is a television station serving the Seattle, Washington media market. It is owned by CBS Corporation, and is a part of The CW Television Network. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 11...
11 (The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
), KONG 16 (Independent), KTBW
KTBW-TV
KTBW-TV is a religious television station in Seattle, Washington, broadcasting locally on digital channel 14 as an affiliate of TBN. KTBW originally signed on the air with the call letters, KQFB on March 30, 1984. As KQFB, the station was originally locally owned by Family Broadcasting based in...
20 (TBN
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
), KZJO 22 (MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
), KBTC
KBTC-TV
KBTC-TV is an American public television station in Tacoma, Washington, affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service . It broadcasts on digital channel 27, and Comcast cable channel 12. Its offices and broadcasting center are located on the campus of owner Bates Technical College...
28 (PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
), KVOS 12, KWPX
KWPX
KWPX-TV is an Ion television station serving the Seattle, Washington DMA, owned by ION Media Networks, formerly Paxson Communications. KWPX signed on the air as KBGE on May 17, 1989...
33 (ION). Most of these can be seen in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
via digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
or satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
. There are also two Spanish-language stations: KUNS 51 (Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
) and KFFV 45 (Azteca America
Azteca América
Azteca América is a broadcast television network marketed toward Spanish-speaking families residing in the United States. As a rapidly-growing Spanish language network, Azteca América now reaches 89% of the Hispanic households in the U.S., operating in sixty-two markets nationwide. Wholly owned by...
).
Seattle's commercial TV stations distinguish themselves from one another in various ways. KING 5, owned by the Belo Corporation, has been nominated for 56 Regional Emmy Awards. The station allows viewers to submit their own photo and video content via its website and also highlights the work of average citizens in the community on-air in the recurring feature, "Home Team Heroes." The parent company of KOMO, Fisher Communications, launched a network of hyperlocal websites in 2009, which include blogs about issues related to community service, news of interest to families, crime news, and news about events occurring around the neighborhood. Finally, KIRO, owned by Cox Communications, maintains three reporters in a Washington, DC, bureau to cover news of interest to viewers back in Washington State.
Seattle also has three public television stations. The Seattle Channel
Seattle Channel
The Seattle Channel, cable channel 21 in Seattle, Washington, USA, is a government-access television channel. It also operates an extensive web site....
, Government-access television (GATV) run by the city, airs public affairs, community service, and arts programming. The station is funded partly by Cable television franchise fee
Cable television franchise fee
A cable television franchise fee in the United States, the stems from a community's basic right to charge for use of the property it owns. The cable television franchise fees represent part of the compensation a community receives in exchange for the cable operator's occupation and the right-of-way...
s and partly by a $5 million grant from Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, which will be paid over 10 years to support arts programming. After first focusing on civic programming, the Seattle Channel has become known for its arts programming. As the station's on-air priorities have begun to emphasize arts programs, it has shifted much of the government accountability-oriented programming to live streaming on the Internet, best accessed by viewers with high-speed Internet access. KCTS 9 is Seattle's PBS affiliate and operates three strands: a primary, high-definition, general interest station; KCTS 9 V-ME, which serves that Spanish-speaking community; and KCTS 9 Create, which features DIY, cooking, arts and crafts, and travel programs. In 2009 KCTS aired 160 episodes in a regularly occurring series on local public affairs, personal finance, economic issues, and business affairs. While KCTS is a popular source for viewing nationally-produced PBS shows, it features less programming on local public affairs than the region's other two public TV stations. The third public station, SCAN, is Seattle's Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV network. A 501(c)3 nonprofit, it provides equipment, production facilities, and media instruction for residents of Seattle and other King County communities. Although its funding is limited, SCAN often airs more locally-produced public affairs programming each week than all the city's broadcast networks combined.
Cable networks based out of the area include FSN Northwest
FSN Northwest
Root Sports Northwest is a United States regional sports network available in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska...
, NWCN, ResearchChannel
ResearchChannel
The Research Channel was an educational television network based at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and operated by a consortium of leading research and academic institutions who contribute science-related programming to viewers in the United States and in other countries via...
, & UWTV
UWTV
UWTV is an educational television service from the University of Washington , originating from Seattle. Through on air, online and mobile distribution formats, UWTV serves as an ambassador to the scholarship, discoveries and breakthrough science of the nation’s top ranked public research...
. Seattle cable viewers also receive CBUT
CBUT
CBUT-DT is the CBC's television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the flagship CBC Television station for the Pacific Time Zone. The station transmits its main terrestrial signal from a tower atop Mount Seymour....
2 (CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
) from Vancouver, British Columbia, often as cable channel 99.
Broadcast TV
| Channel | Call Sign | Network | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | KOMO KOMO-TV KOMO-TV, virtual channel 4, is a television station in Seattle, Washington. It is an affiliate of ABC and broadcasts on digital channel 38. KOMO-TV is the flagship station of Fisher Communications, and its studios and offices are co-located with sister radio stations KOMO , KVI , and KPLZ-FM ... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... |
Fisher Broadcasting |
| 5 | KING KING-TV KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... |
Belo Corporation |
| 7 | KIRO KIRO-TV KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill... |
CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... |
Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920... |
| 9 | KCTS KCTS-TV KCTS-TV is a public television station in Seattle, Washington, that is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service , that broadcasts on digital channel 9. Its offices and broadcasting center are located at the northeast corner of Seattle Center... |
PBS Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.... |
KCTS Television |
| 11 | KSTW KSTW KSTW is a television station serving the Seattle, Washington media market. It is owned by CBS Corporation, and is a part of The CW Television Network. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 11... |
The CW The CW Television Network The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB... |
CBS Corporation CBS Corporation CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's... |
| 12 | KVOS | Independent | Newport Television Newport Television Newport Television, LLC is a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. In September 2007, Newport agreed to sell KFTY and KVOS-TV to LK Station Group LLC for $26.6... |
| 13 | KCPQ KCPQ KCPQ, channel 13, is the Fox television affiliate licensed to Tacoma, Washington serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company... |
Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... |
Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting... |
| 16 | KONG | Independent | Belo Corporation |
| 20 | KTBW KTBW-TV KTBW-TV is a religious television station in Seattle, Washington, broadcasting locally on digital channel 14 as an affiliate of TBN. KTBW originally signed on the air with the call letters, KQFB on March 30, 1984. As KQFB, the station was originally locally owned by Family Broadcasting based in... |
TBN Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New... |
Trinity Broadcasting Network Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New... |
| 22 | KZJO | MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation... |
Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting... |
| 24 | KBCB KBCB KBCB is a television station in Bellingham, Washington, which airs on digital UHF channel 19, though through PSIP the station appears as 24.1 and 24.2. It is carried on Comcast, Dish Network, and Verizon FiOS and a strong over the air signal that blankets Vancouver, BC and Victoria, BC.The station... |
ShopNBC ShopNBC ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal... |
World Television of Washington, LLC |
| 28 | KBTC KBTC-TV KBTC-TV is an American public television station in Tacoma, Washington, affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service . It broadcasts on digital channel 27, and Comcast cable channel 12. Its offices and broadcasting center are located on the campus of owner Bates Technical College... |
PBS Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.... |
Bates Technical College Bates Technical College Bates Technical College, located in Tacoma, Washington, is the state’s largest public technical college. Accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, it offers two-year Associate of Technology degrees, academic certificates, and industry certifications, and maintains... |
| 33 | KWPX KWPX KWPX-TV is an Ion television station serving the Seattle, Washington DMA, owned by ION Media Networks, formerly Paxson Communications. KWPX signed on the air as KBGE on May 17, 1989... |
ION | ION Media Networks ION Media Networks ION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:... |
| 42 | KWDK KWDK KWDK is a Christian television station owned by the Daystar Television Network, broadcasting out of Tacoma, Washington, formerly broadcasting on channel 56... |
Daystar Television Network Daystar Television Network The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas... |
Daystar Television Network Daystar Television Network The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas... |
| 44 | KFFV | AMGTV AMGTV AMGTV is an American family-oriented television network, featuring programming including sitcoms, lifestyle programs, sports, films and more... |
North Pacific International Television, Inc. |
| 46 | KUSE-LD | Gems TV Gems TV Gems TV was a jewellery manufacturer and reverse auction TV shopping network headquartered in Chanthaburi, Thailand. It began its operations in October 2004 in the UK, and then expanded to Germany, America, Japan and China... |
Mako Communications |
| 51 | KUNS | Univision Univision Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva... |
Fisher Broadcasting |
Cable TV
| Cable Network | Owner |
|---|---|
| FSN Northwest FSN Northwest Root Sports Northwest is a United States regional sports network available in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska... |
DirecTV Sports Networks |
| KO-AM TV KO-AM TV KO-AM TV, short for Korean-American Television, is a digital cable network based in Seattle, Washington, United States broadcasting programming for the local Korean American community in Western Washington... |
KO-AM |
| NWCN | Belo Corporation |
| ResearchChannel ResearchChannel The Research Channel was an educational television network based at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and operated by a consortium of leading research and academic institutions who contribute science-related programming to viewers in the United States and in other countries via... |
ResearchChannel ResearchChannel The Research Channel was an educational television network based at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and operated by a consortium of leading research and academic institutions who contribute science-related programming to viewers in the United States and in other countries via... |
| SCAN TV Seattle Community Access Network Seattle Community Access Network is one of the Public, educational, and government access cable tv channels in Seattle, Washington. The station provides camera equipment, TV studios and training that allow residents of King County to create and cablecast their own television shows for a small fee... |
SCAN Seattle Community Access Network Seattle Community Access Network is one of the Public, educational, and government access cable tv channels in Seattle, Washington. The station provides camera equipment, TV studios and training that allow residents of King County to create and cablecast their own television shows for a small fee... |
| Seattle Channel Seattle Channel The Seattle Channel, cable channel 21 in Seattle, Washington, USA, is a government-access television channel. It also operates an extensive web site.... |
City of Seattle |
| UWTV UWTV UWTV is an educational television service from the University of Washington , originating from Seattle. Through on air, online and mobile distribution formats, UWTV serves as an ambassador to the scholarship, discoveries and breakthrough science of the nation’s top ranked public research... |
University of Washington University of Washington University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University... |
Radio
Seattle has the thirteenth largest radioRadio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
market in the United States, though this ranking does not take into account Canadian audiences. The radio market stretches across Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
and Western Washington
Western Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains.It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which...
. The Seattle PI ran an article in February 2010 about the start of the radio industry in Seattle.
FM RADIO STATIONS
- KPLU-FMKPLU-FMKPLU-FM is a news & jazz format National Public Radio member station in Tacoma, Washington, USA, owned by Pacific Lutheran University....
88.5, licensed by Tacoma'sTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
Pacific Lutheran UniversityPacific Lutheran UniversityPacific Lutheran University is located in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington. In September 2009, PLU had a student population of 3,582 and approximately 280 full-time faculty...
studio in Tacoma, but run out of downtown Seattle - KNHC-FM 89.5, owned by the Seattle Public SchoolsSeattle Public SchoolsSeattle Public Schools is the school district serving Seattle, Washington, USA. Its headquarters are in the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence.-List of schools:...
and operated by students at Nathan Hale High SchoolNathan Hale High SchoolNathan Hale High School is a public high school in Seattle, Washington. Nathan Hale is part of the Coalition of Essential Schools.-Early years:...
. - KEXP-FMKEXPKEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
90.3, licensed by the University of Washington and supported by the Experience Music ProjectExperience Music ProjectThe EMP Museum is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction located in Seattle, Washington...
, it plays a variety of contemporary alternative and genre music - KBCS-FM 91.3, affiliated with Bellevue College, Bellevue, WashingtonBellevue, WashingtonBellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
- KQMVKQMVKQMV , known as "Movin' 92.5," is a Rhythmic-leaning CHR radio station serving the Puget Sound area. The Sandusky Radio outlet operates at 92.5 MHz with an ERP of 56.8 kW and its community of license is Bellevue, Washington...
92.5 (Rhythmic Adult Contemporary) - KUBEKUBEKUBE is a rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed in Seattle. The station's slogan is "Hits & Hip Hop." KUBE offers a mix of personality-driven DJs and current-based hit driven R&B/Hip-Hop fare...
93.3 (Rhythmic Contemporary Hits) - KMPS-FM 94.1 (Country MusicCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
) - KUOW-FMKUOW-FMKUOW-FM 94.9 is a National Public Radio affiliate radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is a top-ranked radio station in the Seattle/Tacoma media market...
94.9, licensed by the University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and run by Puget Sound Public Radio. - KJR-FMKJR-FMKJR-FM is a Seattle, Washington,radio station that is broadcasting a classic hits format. It operates at 95.7 MHz at 98 kW, and also on the Internet via streaming audio. KJR-FM is owned by Clear Channel Communications, Inc.- KJR :...
95.7 (Classic HitsClassic hitsClassic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
) - KJAQ-FMKJAQKJAQ is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. KJAQ airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack FM".-History:...
96.5 (Adult HitsAdult hitsAdult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
) - KIRO-FM 97.3 (NewsNewsNews is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, TalkTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
) - KING-FMKING-FMKING-FM is a classical music radio station in Seattle, Washington. Its transmitter is located in Issaquah, Washington....
98.1 (Classical Music), one of the last commercial classical music stations in the United States. - KLCK-FM 98.9 (Hot Adult Contemporary, Alternative RockAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
), changed from smooth jazzSmooth jazzSmooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
format on December 27, 2010, after 19 years. - KISW-FM 99.9 (RockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
) - KKWF-FM 100.7 (Country MusicCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
) - KPLZ-FMKPLZ-FMKPLZ-FM is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. KPLZ-FM airs an adult top 40 music format branded as "Star 101.5".-History:...
101.5 (Hot Adult Contemporary) - KZOK-FMKZOK-FMKZOK-FM is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington, broadcasting on 102.5 FM. It is owned by CBS Radio and airs a classic rock music format.-History:KZOK signed on in 1964 as KTW-FM and simulcasted KTW-AM...
102.5 (Classic rockClassic rockClassic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
) - KMTT-FMKMTTKMTT , marketed as "103-7 The Mountain", is an adult album alternative FM radio station in the Seattle, Washington market.The station broadcasts at 103.7 MHz and is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station's transmitting antenna is on Reichert's Hill on Cougar Mountain...
103.7 (Album Adult AlternativeAdult album alternativeAdult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
) - KMCQ-FMKMCQKMCQ , is a radio station based in Covington, Washington, targeting the Seattle market. The First Broadcasting outlet broadcasts an oldies music format at 104.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 7.1 kW.-History:...
104.5 (OldiesOldiesOldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
) - KCMS-FMKCMS-FMKCMS 105.3 FM, known as "Spirit 105.3", is a Contemporary Christian music FM radio station in the Seattle, Washington, market. Spirit 105.3 is selective about what content it airs, thereby ensuring that it maintains an atmosphere friendly to its target audience of families...
105.3 (Contemporary Christian) - KBKS-FMKBKS-FMKBKS-FM , better known as "106.1 KISS FM", is a radio station in the Seattle, Washington area that plays current popular music. The Clear Channel outlet broadcasts at 106.1 MHz with an ERP of 68 kW and is licensed to Tacoma, Washington.-History:KBKS signed on the air in 1959 as KLAY-FM,...
106.1 (Contemporary Hits/Top-40) - KRWMKRWMKRWM , "Warm 106.9", is an Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Puget Sound region. The Sandusky Broadcasting outlet broadcasts at 106.9 MHz with an ERP of 49 kW and is licensed to Bremerton, Washington...
106.9 (Adult Contemporary) - KNDDKNDDKNDD , also known as "107.7 The End", is an alternative rock radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is operated by Entercom Communications Its studios are located in the Metropolitan Park West tower between Downtown and South Lake Union in Seattle...
107.7 (Alternative RockAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
)
AM RADIO STATIONS
- KVI AM 570 (TalkTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
) - KCISKCISKCIS is a radio station broadcasting a religious radio format. Licensed to Edmonds, Washington, it serves the Seattle area. The station is currently owned by Crista Ministries....
AM 630 (Christian Talk) - KIRO-AMKIRO (AM)KIRO is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington on the shores of Lake Union with 2 towers on Maury Island, broadcasting on 710 kHz in the AM radio spectrum...
710 (Sports) - KTTHKTTHKTTH is a conservative talk radio station, owned by Bonneville International, broadcasting at 770 kHz in Seattle, Washington.-Programming:...
AM 770 (TalkTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
) - KGNWKGNWKGNW is a Christian radio station that operates in Seattle, Washington.-Programming:Most of KGNW's programming consists of paid sermons by various Christian groups. The focus is on family-oriented, Christian encouragement and preaching. Conservative Christian talk show hosts that agree with the...
AM 820 (Christian Talk) - KHHOKHHOKHHO is a radio station broadcasting a Sports radio format. Licensed to Tacoma, Washington, USA, the station serves the Tacoma portion of the Seattle-Tacoma radio market. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel and features programing from Fox Sports Radio and Premiere Radio Networks...
AM 850 (Sports) - KIXIKIXIKIXI is an AM radio station licensed to Mercer Island-Seattle, Washington on the frequency of 880 kHz. It operates 24 hours a day with a daytime power of 50,000 watts and a nighttime power of 10,000 watts.-Format:...
AM 880 (Adult StandardsAdult standardsAdult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
) - KJR AM 950 (Sports)
- KOMOKOMO (AM)KOMO is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington. Its format is primarily news. From 2003 to 2008, it was also the flagship station of the Seattle Mariners Radio Network...
1000 (All NewsAll-news radioAll-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
) - KBLEKBLEKBLE is a radio station broadcasting a religious radio format. The station was originally licensed to Kirkland. The station signed on in 1948 as KRKL, then in 1953 the station switched its call sign to KNBX. In 1963, it changed call sign to KNBK; then, in 1964, it switched to the current KBLE and...
AM 1050 (Religious) - KPTKKPTKKPTK is a Progressive talk radio station based in Seattle, Washington, broadcasting at 1090 kHz.Billing itself as "Seattle's Progressive Talk," KPTK broadcasts syndicated progressive/liberal talk programs hosted by personalities such as Ed Schultz, Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Rachel...
AM 1090 (TalkTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
) - KKNWKKNWKKNW is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format licensed to serve the Seattle, Washington, USA area. The station is currently owned by Sandusky Radio, Inc. and features programing from CNN Radio.-History:...
AM 1150 (TalkTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
) - KTBKKTBKKMIA is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish hits format. Licensed to Auburn, Washington, USA, it serves the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Adelante Media Group. The station began as KASY in 1958 , running an MOR format until 1989...
AM 1210 (Regional MexicanRegional MexicanRegional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States....
) - KKDZKKDZKKDZ is a radio station in Seattle, Washington, that serves as the Radio Disney outlet for the Puget Sound region. The ABC O&O operates at 1250 kHz with an ERP of 5 kW-D/1 kW-N.-History:...
AM 1250 (KidsChildBiologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
) - KKOL AM 1300 (Business NewsBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
) - KKMOKKMOKKMO is a commercial radio station located in Tacoma, Washington.-Programming:KKMO airs a Regional Mexican music format branded as "El Rey". Notable on-air personalities include nationally syndicated host Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo on mornings and local hosts the rest of the broadcast day...
AM 1360 (Regional MexicanRegional MexicanRegional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States....
) - KRKOKRKOKRKO is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Everett, Washington, USA. The station broadcasts an All Sports format to the Seattle metropolitan area...
AM 1380 (Sports RadioSports radioSports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
) - KRIZKrižKriž is a village and a municipality of western Moslavina, located southeast from Zagreb, near Ivanić-Grad. In the 2011 Croatian census, the population of the Križ municipality numbers 6,962 people, with 1,834 residents in the village itself.-Settlements:...
AM 1420 (Urban Oldies) - KKARKKARKKAR 1290 AM is an Omaha, Nebraska area Talk Station that airs national talk shows such as Dr. Laura, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Tammy Bruce and Jerry Doyle...
AM 1460 (Christian Talk) - KBROKBROKBRO in Bremerton and KNTB in Lakewood, both Washington, are a pair of simulcasting Spanish-language radio stations serving the Puget Sound region. KBRO broadcasts at 1490 kHz with an ERP of 1 kW-U, while KNTB broadcasts at 1480 kHz with an ERP of 1 kW-D/0.111 kW-N. Both...
AM 1490 (Spanish SportsESPN DeportesESPN Deportes is a cable television and radio network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day to the Spanish-speaking community in the United States...
) - KKXAKKXAKKXA is an American radio station broadcasting under program test authority while waiting to be licensed to serve Snohomish, Washington, USA. The station's broadcast license is held by CAAM Partnership, LLC...
AM 1520 (TBDTBDTBD is an abbreviation often meaning in ordinary writing "to be discussed" "to be done", "to be defined", "to be decided", "to be determined", etc...
) - KXPAKXPAKXPA is a radio station serving the Seattle metropolitan area. It is part of the much larger, nationwide Multicultural Radio Broadcasting network. It is one of 30 stations in owner Arthur Liu's empire of stations, which cater to minority and immigrant communities with programs in their native...
AM 1540 (Regional MexicanRegional MexicanRegional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States....
) - KLFEKLFEKLFE is a radio station broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. Licensed to Seattle, Washington, USA, it serves the Seattle metropolitan area...
AM 1590 (Christian Talk) - KYIZKYIZKYIZ is a radio station broadcasting an Urban Contemporary format. Licensed to Renton, Washington, USA, it serves the Seattle area. The station is currently owned by the Seattle Medium....
AM 1620 (Urban Adult Contemporary) - KNTS AM 1680 (Spanish Christian Talk)
Coverage of news and public affairs across Seattle's radio dial is inconsistent. KIRO (97.3 FM), which has a newsroom of 30 people, airs 34 hours of news programming per week, with a primary focus on local reporting; counting news analysis segments and related programming, this reaches 91 hours per week. KOMO-AM (97.7 FM) airs news and commentary 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Kris Bennett Broadcasting, a trio of stations serving the black community, airs 5 hours of local talk radio programming each week.
Many Seattle radio stations are also available through internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
, with KEXP being the first radio station to offer real-time playlists, broadcast uncompressed CD quality music over the internet 24 hours a day, and offer internet archives of its shows (Podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s). Hollow Earth Radio is also online-only and emphasizes local artists outside the mainstream music scene.
Internet
Seattle's first significant foray into Internet media came along with Indymedia, a co-op started in 1999 that has since spread to many cities around the world. In the decade since the founding of Indymedia, all of the city's mainstream media outlets have established or augmented their online presence, and numerous blogs have sprung up to supplement traditional media. The city hit another first when the Seattle Post-Intelligencer became the first online-only newspaper in the nation, and as SeattlePI.com, that outlet has experimented with its growth by adding reader blogs and neighborhood-focused blogs. The P-I first began experimenting with blog-driven community engagement with the "Big Blog," a local news blog whose founding reporter used to hold regular public meet-ups with Seattle residents, a practice now embraced by other local bloggers, as well.Across the Seattle region, 43% of adults read news online on a regular basis and another 21% read or contribute to blogs. In addition to blogs, other online media outlets that offer wider-ranging coverage include Crosscut
Crosscut.com
Crosscut.com is a nonprofit, online newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Crosscut's stated purpose is to "produce journalism in the public interest"...
, started by Seattle Weekly founder David Brewster
David Brewster (journalist)
David Clark Brewster is an American journalist and the founder, editor and publisher of the Seattle Weekly and the online Northwest "newspaper" Crosscut.com...
, Publicola.net, Investigate West & Seattle Post Globe
Seattle Post Globe
The Seattle Post Globe is an Internet news site containing Web logs , photography and links to editorial sources covering events and issues in Seattle, Washington state. The online-only news operation is partnered with KCTS public television and KPLU public radio in Washington state...
. Sea Beez, a content-sharing online portal for ethnic media outlets, is in the process of launching a local news site.
Seattle is served by a number of online media outlets: The City of Seattle Information Technology department identified 260 websites focused on Seattle's local neighborhoods and communities, including non-traditional, linked news and information outlets. Much of this online activity is driven by the rich hyperlocal
Hyperlocal
The term hyperlocal can be used as a noun in isolation or as a modifier of some other term . It connotes having the character of being oriented around a well defined, community scale area with primary focus being directed towards the concerns of its residents...
news scene in the city, which has seen an exponential growth this past decade. This has been led in the area by sites such as westseattleblog.com and myballard.com, but also old media companies such as KOMO. There's a pair of articles here and here covering the ad scene for hyperlocal
Hyperlocal
The term hyperlocal can be used as a noun in isolation or as a modifier of some other term . It connotes having the character of being oriented around a well defined, community scale area with primary focus being directed towards the concerns of its residents...
in January 2010.
Seattle's online hyperlocal media vary greatly in terms of web traffic, scope, and resources. Some sites are run by journalists first trained in traditional media, such as Next Door Media, a network of 10 neighborhood blogs that nets a combined 1 million page views per month. (By comparison, SeattleTimes.com and SeattlePI.com average 45 million and 40 million monthly page views, respectively.) Capitol Hill Seattle, another popular hyperlocal blog, commands 200,000 monthly page views, and West Seattle Blog, 900,000. Despite varied audiences, a content analysis conducted by the New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
found that online media are filling gaps in news coverage left by traditional media. The study looked at Capitol Hill Seattle, West Seattle Blog, My Ballard, Wallyhood, SeattlePI.com, and SeattleTimes.com, and found that the first four sources (all hyperlocal blogs) devoted a greater percentage of their news coverage to issues specific to Seattle's neighborhoods. SeattleTimes.com and SeattlePI.com, on the other hand, covered more metro, national, and international news. The blogs devoted a greater percentage of their coverage to the combined subjects of politics, health, education, employment, social services, and arts and entertainment.
The background to Seattle's extensive coverage on the Internet is the city's history of flourishing alternative media, ranging from small presses to low power FM radio broadcasting. The independent, volunteer-run KRAB-FM radio, a high powered station that operated on 107.7 MHz in the regular broadcast band, influenced a generation of listeners during the 1960s and 1970s. Later, before Internet radio became practical, a number of very low power, microradio FM stations broadcast on the few FM frequencies not allocated to high power stations. Currently, FCC deliberations and rulings about Internet radio are followed not only by Internet entrepreneurs, but also by those Seattleites who produced and listened to local radio as well as by those who produce and read the numerous local print publications.
Movies
A number of movies have been set or filmed in the Seattle area (although many were actually filmed in Vancouver), including:External links
- City of Seattle News
- Northwest Broadcasters
- Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association
- Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild
- Society of Professional Journalists Washington State Chapter
- Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
- Puget Sound Radio
- Puget Sound Radio Broadcasters Association
- Washington State Association of Broadcasters
- Seattle Office Of Film & Music