The Bellingham Herald

History

The Fairhaven Herald published its first edition on March 10, 1890, and was originally based in Fairhaven. The tri-weekly newspaper was one of several established in the Bellingham area in the late 19th century. The first editor, William "Lightfoot" Visscher, worked for the paper for 18 months before falling out with Nelson Bennet, the landowner. Visscher was fired in April 1891 and returned to his previous occupation in Tacoma. In 1900 the newspaper purchased the first linotype on the West Coast.

In August 1903, Sidney Albert Perkins, owner of the Tacoma News and Tacoma Ledger, acquired the Fairhaven Herald. That December, the name was changed to The Bellingham Herald.The Herald fended off competition from the Puget Sound American, which had been established in 1904 by Seattle Times publisher Joseph Blethen. The American had merged with another existing daily, the Reveille, but was unable to overtake The Herald in circulation. The Reveille was acquired by The Herald in 1927.

The newspaper moved its offices to the newly-constructed Herald Building in 1926. Perkins died in 1955. Federated Publications bought The Herald and The Olympian from the Perkins Press company in 1967, and merged with the Gannett Corporation in 1971. The Herald switched to morning delivery in May 1997 and launched its website on February 15, 2000. Knight-Ridder acquired The Herald in 2005. Knight-Ridder was acquired by McClatchy in 2006, putting The Herald under its ownership.

On February 13, 2020, The McClatchy Company and 54 affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The company cited pension obligations and excessive debt as the primary reasons for the filing.

Herald building

The Bellingham Herald Building is located in downtown Bellingham at the corner of State Street and Chestnut Street. It was built in 1926. The newspaper's main offices were located on the second floor, while tenant businesses occupied the remaining space, including a dentist, a restaurant, and the local chamber of commerce. Prior to the construction of the Bellingham Towers in 1930, the Herald Building was the tallest in the city. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the State Historic Register. The employee offices were relocated to the Barkley Village area in 2019 after the newsroom was downsized.

Herald sign

The Herald rooftop sign, standing 40'x10', is managed by Daylight Properties. Morse Hardware had a similar sign for decades - and boaters would use the two illuminated signs at night for navigation. The original sign was lit by more than 300 incandescent bulbs before changing to neon four years later. In 2016, Daylight Properties installed modern aluminum lights, "creating a programmable LED lighting system that shows a variety of colors beyond the traditional neon red". The colors change to a bright red and green for the holiday season and can display multiple colors in accord with local festivals and holidays.

Subscription

The Bellingham Herald produces newspaper articles in print and digital form. The newspaper is printed alongside the Skagit Valley Herald in Skagit County and distributed to businesses, homes, and newspaper boxes in Whatcom County, excluding Point Roberts. The newspaper ended its Saturday print edition in 2019.

On April 26, 2023, the newspaper announced its daily print edition will be delivered via the U.S. Mail instead of by a local carrier effective June 26. Beginning January 29, 2024, the paper will publish print editions only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while an e-edition will continue to be published daily.

References

References

1. "McClatchy Company hires Scot Heisel to lead Bellingham Herald newsroom as senior editor".
2. "McClatchy {{!}} Markets".
3. "McClatchy Markets". [[The McClatchy Company]].
4. (2013). "New Editions: The Northwest's newspapers as they were, are, and will be". Ridenbaugh Press.
5. (November 19, 2006). "Cart and pony given to top paper carriers". The Bellingham Herald.
6. (August 2, 1903). "Perkins Buys Fairhaven Paper". The Sunday Oregonian.
7. (December 22, 1903). "It Is Now Bellingham". The Bellingham Herald.
8. Redtfeldt, Colton. (June 5, 2018). "Whatcom's Newspaper War". [[Whatcom Museum]].
9. (October 31, 1955). "Aged Publisher 'Sam' Perkins Dies in Tacoma". Santa Barbara News-Press.
10. (April 7, 1967). "Federated Group Acquires Herald". The Bellingham Herald.
11. (June 29, 1971). "Federated Publications Merge With Gannett". Bonner County Daily Bee.
12. Porretto, John. (August 4, 2005). "Several Knight Ridder, Gannett newspapers to change hands". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
13. Seelye, Katharine Q.. (March 13, 2006). "Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion". The New York Times.
14. Ronalds-Hannon, Eliza. (2020-02-13). "Newspaper Chain McClatchy Files for Bankruptcy Protection".
15. "Publisher McClatchy Co. Files For Bankruptcy, Disrupting 30 Newspapers". [[NPR]].
16. (13 February 2020). "Newspaper Publisher McClatchy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". The Wall Street Journal.
17. "Our New Home," ''The Bellingham Herald'', June 26, 1925, pg 6.
18. Gallagher, Dave. (August 19, 2019). "With the newspaper staff moving, here's what's happening to the iconic Herald sign". The Bellingham Herald.
19. (November 10, 2015). "BellinghamHerald.com evolves to meet readers' needs". The Bellingham Herald.
20. staff, Seattle Times. (September 24, 2010). "New publisher named for The Bellingham Herald".
21. Kepferle, Amy. (May 10, 2023). "What's the Deal With: The colors in the Herald sign?".
22. (June 4, 2019). "The Bellingham Herald launches expanded weekend newspapers". The Bellingham Herald.
23. (2023-04-26). "Changes coming to The Bellingham Herald newspaper delivery".
24. Heisel, Scot. (November 30, 2023). "Bellingham Herald to change print schedule as digital transition evolves".