The Seattle Times is the largest daily newspaper in Washington and the only major daily newspaper in the Seattle area.

The Times was founded in 1891 and has been owned since 1896 by the Blethen family, making it one of the last major family-run newspapers in the United States. (The McClatchy Co. owns a minority share.)

The Times had an unusually large staff for its size, but it was cut nearly in half in the late 2000s. After losing money since 2000, the Times began turning a profit again soon after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which whom it had a difficult joint operating agreement, became an online-only publication in 2009.

The paper won Pulitzers for its reporting in 2010 and 2012, its first Pulitzers since 1997.

The Times announced in 2013 it would launch an online paywall based on the metered model, with online and app access included in print subscriptions and weekly digital subscriptions for non-subscribers.

In 2009, the Times began a content-sharing partnership with several local blogs as part of the Networked Journalism project run by J-Lab and funded by a Knight Foundation grant.

The Times used Twitter and Google Wave to track developments in a 2009 manhunt in its area, making it among the first newsrooms to use Google Wave in its reporting. In 2011, the Times reorganized its newsroom into sections around creation, curation, and community.

The Times planned to introduce tablet and smartphone apps in early 2012, making them initially available for free.