The family, who owns one of Washington’s largest and oldest heritage daily newspapers, donates the publication to nonprofits as part of their efforts to maintain community journalism.
The Cowles Company, a multi-generational business that has owned and operated Spokane’s spokesman-Review since its consolidation in 1893, announced the move and $2 million donation to the Comma Community Journalism Lab, which was receiving on April 15th.
The plan is subject to a comma established in 2022 by newspaper executive editor Rob Carly, and according to the release, it secures a $2 million matching fund.
In a statement, William “Stacy” Cowles, the company’s president and spokesman and review publisher, said that community ownership would set the path to community engagement that allows newspapers to remain integral to their homeland for another century.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to maintain the newspaper and create new models of journalism that serve as examples for other communities,” Cowles said.
In addition to the spokesman review, Cowles Company owns and operates the Spokane Journal of Business and Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. Contracts with Commas do not alter the ownership or operation of those publications.
Comma has been based at Gonzaga University for the past year and was designated as a non-profit in September. He currently publishes Black Lens, a monthly magazine focusing on people from blacks, indigenous peoples and color communities in eastern Washington. The organization is also affiliated with spokesman reviews for Northwest Passage, Book Club and Event Forum.
The plan is to implement commas of partnerships with universities, school districts and other nonprofit news organizations to run the spokesperson review.
Carly said creating a hybrid of operating newspapers with educational and community partners and using charitable support at multiple levels would help make this a different model from other nonprofit newspapers across the country.
