''The Bellingham Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

, in the United States. It was founded on March 10, 1890, as ''The Fairhaven Herald'' and changed its name after Bellingham was incorporated as a city in 1903. ''The Bellingham Herald'' is the largest newspaper in

Whatcom County Whatcom County (, ) is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts) of the Canadian province of British Columbia to t ...

, with a weekday circulation of over 10,957. It employs around 60 people. It is owned by

The McClatchy Company McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it b ...

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 1903, owner Sidney Albert Perkins merged the newspaper with a competitor and renamed it ''The Bellingham Herald.'' ''The Herald'' fended off competition from the '' Puget Sound American'', which had been established in 1904 by ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' 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.

Federated Publications Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

bought ''The Herald'' from Sam Perkins 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 Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. It was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, allowing the latter to become the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States at the time ...

acquired ''The Bellingham Herald'' in 2005. Knight-Ridder was acquired by McClatchy in 2006, putting ''The Herald'' under their ownership. On February 13, 2020, The McClatchy Company and 54 affiliated companies filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wh ...

in the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York. Two of these are in New York Ci ...

. The company cited pension obligations and excessive debt as the primary reasons for the filing.

Herald building

''The Herald'' building is located in downtown Bellingham at the corner of State Street and Chestnut Street. Built in 1926, the six-story

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

building uses white

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

tiles and

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows depicting a

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

playing his

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

. The building was the first in downtown Bellingham to use a concrete-and-steel form and steam for heating. Bellingham_Herald_Building

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 A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

. 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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, 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 bulb An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a filament until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb that is either ...

s before changing to neon four years later. In 2016, Daylight Properties installed modern aluminum lights, "creating a programmable

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

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

External links

*
The McClatchy Company's subsidiary profile of ''The Bellingham Herald''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellingham Herald, The Newspapers published in Washington (state) McClatchy publications Mass media in Bellingham, Washington Newspapers established in 1890 1890 establishments in Washington (state)