Both Dailies to Stick Around for Now

Seattle will continue to have two daily newspapers, at least for the immediate future. It sounds like both papers were unwilling to leave things entirely in the hands of the arbitrator who was set to deliver a binding verdict on the dispute: They settled with each other and the terms include the Times buying the P-I out of JOA stipulation that the smaller paper would continue to receive revenue in the event that that paper ceased publishing.

From the Seattle Times:

The Seattle Times Company, which is owned by the Blethen family, will pay $49 million to Hearst. Hearst will pay $25 million to continue the joint operating agreement, which allows Hearst to run the P-I's newsroom and the Seattle Times Company to run circulation and advertising for both papers. The Times company has also dropped all claims against Hearst.

Also, the agreement now contains a provision to try to assist the P-I's Circulation.

The P-I's article indicates that open hostilities might be suspended until 2016:

All outstanding litigation has been settled, and the Hearst Corp. will end its 32 percent contingent interest in the joint-operating agreement for the two newspapers. That 32 percent interest is what Heast would get if the P-I folded and the JOA continued.

Hearst will pay the Seattle Times $25 million in exchange for the newspaper to agree not to issue any loss notice until at least 2016, according to a Hearst press release.

The Stranger has a memo that went out to Times employees:

We are pleased to announce our long legal battle with the Hearst Corporation has been settled. Today Hearst and The Seattle Times Company signed a settlement agreement that ends four long years of litigation. A copy of the press announcement and a summary of the key elements of the agreement are attached.

The settlement is a good outcome for the Times, Hearst and the community. The JOA will continue with both papers continuing to publish for now. This allows us to refocus on the transformation we have talked about as we try to establish the business model for the future and deal with our continuing revenue problems.

Crosscut quotes the P-I publisher Roger Ogelsby: "I honestly believe this is a good settlement for everyone. It preserves a 144-year-old newspaper, saves a lot of jobs and continues to give Seattle two daily newspapers."

Here's the press release.