The Spokesman-Review was formed from the merger of the
Spokane Falls Review (1883–1894) and the
Spokesman (1890–1893) in 1893 and first published under the present name on June 29, 1894. The
Spokane Falls Review was a joint venture between local businessman, A.M. Cannon and
Henry Pittock and
Harvey W. Scott of
The Oregonian.
The Spokesman-Review later absorbed its competing sister publication, the afternoon
Spokane Daily Chronicle. Long co-owned, the two combined their sports departments in late 1981 and news staffs in early 1983. The middle name "Daily" was dropped in January 1982, and its final edition was printed on Friday, July 31, 1992. The ''Scripps League's Press
closed in 1939, making Cowles the only newspaper publisher in Spokane. Cowles created four weeklies, the Idaho Farmer
, Washington Farmer
, Oregon Farmer
, and Utah Farmer''.
The Spokesman-Review has been described as moderate-to-liberal, especially in issues around
hate groups in the region. In 1997, three
extreme-right militants were tried and eventually convicted of bombing the Spokane Valley office of
The Spokesman-Review as well as an abortion clinic (see
Citizens Rule Book).
The Spokesman-Review is also one of the few remaining family-owned newspapers in the United States. It is owned by
Cowles Company, which also owns
KHQ-TV/Spokane and
The KHQ Television Group. While the newspaper wins awards, it also draws opposition from local critics and activists who suspect the Cowles family of using its alleged vast local media influence to sway public opinion. In particular, a (1997–2004) issue regarding a public-private partnership wherein the Cowles family may have profited, some claim, up to $20 million. This is referred to as the "
River Park Square Parking Garage" issue. The newspaper underwent an independent review by the Washington
News Council regarding its River Park Square coverage and was found to be at fault for its news bias. In 2004, Spokane
mayor James E. West became the target of a
sting operation conducted by
The Spokesman-Review. Some journalists and academics criticized the paper for what they saw as a form of entrapment. West was later cleared of criminal charges by the
FBI but not before the mayor lost a
recall vote by the citizens of Spokane in December 2005; the following summer, West died of cancer. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, as reported in the
Puget Sound Business Journal on April 29, 2010, the newspaper's average Sunday circulation totaled 95,939 and weekly circulation averaged 76,291. That represented a year-over-year decrease of about 10.5 percent; a trend widely reflected during the same year in newspapers throughout Washington state. With the demise of the print edition of the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
The Spokesman-Review is the state's third-largest paper, after the
Seattle Times and
The News-Tribune of
Tacoma. A 2017 Rotary Club article stated that under editor Rob Curley, hired in 2016, circulation increased from 68,000 to 82,000 in one year. In 2025, the Cowles family announced it will donate
The Spokesman-Review to the nonprofit Comma Community Journalism Laboratory. A few months later Hagadone Media Group of Coeur d’Alene announced it will print
The Spokesman-Review after the paper's previous in-house printer Northwest Offset Printing announced it was ceasing operations. == References ==