Cowles Company

Last updated

Cowles Company
Company type Private
Industry Publishing, manufacturing, media, real estate
Founded1894;130 years ago (1894)
Founder William H. Cowles
Headquarters
Spokane, Washington
,
U.S.
Area served
 Spokane, Washington, Spokane Valley, Washington, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Inland Empire
Key people
Elizabeth A. Cowles
(Chair)
W. Stacey Cowles
(Publisher)
Website cowlescompany.com
Footnotes /references
Real Cities, McClatchy Interactive

The Cowles Company is an American diversified media company based in Spokane, Washington. The company owns and operates The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, founded in 1894, and owned the Spokane Daily Chronicle until it was shut down in 1992. Built by William H. Cowles, the publishing business eventually constructed striking buildings in downtown Spokane for both papers. The Chronicle Building was eventually converted into offices and then residential. The company also owned several other papers and operates Inland Empire Paper Company, television stations, and interests in real estate, insurance, marketing and financial services. [1]

Contents

William Stacey Cowles, the publisher of The Spokesman-Review, is the great-grandson of the company's founder, William H. Cowles, and the fourth generation of the Cowles family to run the paper. His sister, Elizabeth A. Cowles, is chairwoman of the parent company. Rob Curley is the editor.

History

Spokesman-Review tower in Spokane Review Tower Spokane.jpg
Spokesman-Review tower in Spokane

William H. Cowles came to Spokane at age 24 to be the business manager of the Spokesman, which was founded less than two years before, and excelled at local news coverage. He had experience as a police reporter for the Chicago Tribune and was the son of the Tribune's treasurer, Alfred Cowles Sr. He soon bought the Spokesman from his partners. In 1893, he bought a rival paper, the Review, and merged the two papers into The Spokesman-Review. He acquired the Spokane Chronicle in 1897.

According to Time in 1952, he was a "determined man" who had an artificial leg yet walked two miles to the office each day. [2]

Cowles set the Chronicle on a course to be independent, and The Spokesman-Review to support Republican Party causes. Time magazine related the paper's success gaining lowered rates for freight carried to the Northwest United States and an improved park system and that helped the region. Increasing its reputation for comprehensive local news and by opposing "gambling, liquor and prostitution", The Spokesman-Review gained popularity. The paper's opposition to building the Grand Coulee Dam was not quite so universally applauded and when it opposed the New Deal and the Fair Deal, it so disturbed President of the United States Harry Truman that he declared the Spokesman-Review to be one of the "two worst" newspapers in the United States. [3] The Scripps League's Press closed in 1939, making Cowles the only newspaper publisher in Spokane. Cowles created four weeklies, the Idaho Farmer, Washington Farmer, Oregon Farmer and Utah Farmer. [2] Cowles died in 1946. When William H. Cowles Jr. succeeded his father as publisher, James Bracken received much more news and editorial control as managing editor. [2] William H. Cowles III succeed his father as publisher. [4]

The original Review Building, designed by Seaton & Ferris in 1891 in a style closest to Richardson Romanesque, is ten stories with a tower that reaches 146 feet (45 m). In 1975, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. [5]

Television

Cowles' television operations are centered around the two NBC affiliates in eastern Washington. The flagship is KHQ-TV in Spokane, which was founded by Cowles as Washington's second television station. Cowles also owns KNDO in Yakima and its Tri-Cities semi-satellite KNDU (licensed to Richland). [6] As of September 2007, Cowles planned to acquire two CBS affiliate television stations for US$41 million from Newport Television, one of the holding companies formed by Providence Equity Partners when Providence planned to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. They are KCOY-TV in Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo, California and KION-TV in Monterey, California. KION carries The CW on a separate digital channel. Cowles would also have a management agreement with KCBA, the Fox affiliate serving Salinas, Monterey and Santa Cruz, California, and would acquire two low power stations, KKFX-CA, also Fox in San Luis Obispo, California and the Telemundo affiliate KMUV-LP in Monterey. [7] The deal closed on May 7, 2008.

On September 20, 2013, News-Press & Gazette Company announced that it would purchase Monterey stations, KION-TV and KMUV-LP, as well as San Luis Obispo station KKFX-CA. NPG will also take over some of the operations of Santa Maria sister station KCOY-TV, which Cowles will retain, under a shared services agreement (as NPG's holdings in the area already include KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara). [8] The existing LMA for KCBA was terminated on December 1, 2013, as that station's operations were assumed by Entravision Communications through a joint sales agreement (the license was retained by Seal Rock Broadcasters). On September 30, 2013, Cowles announced that it would acquire Max Media's Montana television station cluster for $18 million. [9] [10] The sale was finalized on November 29.

In October 2022, Cowles introduced the standardized branding NonStop Local for all of its stations' news programming, as part of an effort to promote them as multi-platform news sources. [11]

Current

(**) - indicates a station built and signed on by Cowles.

Cowles Montana Media Company

City of license / Market StationChannel
TV (RF)		Owned sinceAffiliation
Billings, MT KULR-TV 8 (11)2013 NBC
Miles City, MT KYUS-TV [A] 3 (3) [a] NBC
Butte, MT KWYB 18 (19)2013
Bozeman, MT KWYB-LD [B] 18 (19)2013
  • ABC
  • Fox (DT2)
Great Falls, MT KFBB-TV 5 (8)2013
  • ABC
  • Fox (DT2)
Helena, MT KHBB-LD [C] 21 (21)2013
  • ABC
  • Fox (DT2)
Missoula, MT KTMF 23 (23)2013
  • ABC
  • Fox (DT2)
Kalispell, MT KTMF-LD [D] 42 (42)2013
  • ABC
  • Fox (DT2)
  1. ↑ Satellite of KULR-TV.
  2. ↑ Satellite of KYWB.
  3. ↑ Satellite of KFBB-TV.
  4. ↑ Satellite of KTMF.

KHQ, Incorporated

City of license / Market StationChannel
TV (RF)		Owned sinceAffiliation
Spokane, WA KHQ-TV**6 (15)1952
Yakima, WA KNDO 23 (16)1999
  • NBC
  • SWX (DT2)
Richland, WA KNDU [A] 25 (26)1999
  • NBC
  • SWX (DT2)
  1. ↑ Satellite of KNDO.

Former

MarketStationChannelYears ownedCurrent status
Monterey - Salinas, CA KMUV-LP 112008-2013 Telemundo affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company
KCBA 352008-2013 [b] Fox affiliate owned by Seal Rock Broadcasters, LLC [c]
KION-TV 462008-2013 CBS affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company
Santa Barbara - Santa Maria -
San Luis Obispo, CA 		KCOY-TV 122008-2015 [d] Telemundo affiliate owned by VistaWest Media, LLC [e]
KKFX-CA242008-2013Fox affiliate KKFX-CD, owned by News-Press & Gazette Company

Other affiliations

Cowles family

The Cowles family of Spokane is descended from Elizabeth (1827–1910) and Sarah Hutchinson (1837–1884) of Cayuga County, New York.[ citation needed ] The two sisters married two brothers, Alfred Cowles Sr. and Edwin Cowles of Cleveland, Ohio. Edwin published the Cleveland Leader and Alfred moved to Chicago, Illinois where he purchased one third of the Chicago Tribune . [12]

Feminist and educator Betsy Mix Cowles was Alfred and Edwin's paternal aunt. Edwin's sons Alfred and Eugene were chemists and metallurgists who invented and operated electric arc smelters to extract aluminum. Alfred Cowles, 3rd—the grandson of Alfred Sr.—founded the Cowles Commission for Research in Economics following the Great Depression.

Distantly related, the Cowles family of Spokane are about sixth cousins of the family of Gardner Cowles Sr. of Des Moines, Iowa and Minneapolis, Minnesota who owned Cowles Media Company. Both Cowles publishing families are descendants of Hannah Bushoup (c.1613-1683) of Hartford, Connecticut and John Cowles (1598–1675) of Gloucestershire, England.

Alfred Cowles and Sarah Frances Hutchinson had four children: Edwin (1861–1861), Alfred Jr. (1865–1939), Sarah Frances (1862–1920), and William Hutchinson (1866–1947). William married Harriet Bowen Cheney, and became a newspaper publisher in Spokane, Washington. William is also the grandfather of William H. Cowles III. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Owned by Marks Radio Group, Cowles operates KYUS via a time-brokerage agreement.
  2. ↑ Cowles operated KCBA through a shared services agreement (SSA).
  3. ↑ Operated through an SSA by Entravision Communications.
  4. ↑ From 2014 to 2015, News-Press & Gazette Company operated KCOY under an SSA.
  5. ↑ Operated under SSA by News-Press & Gazette Company.

Related Research Articles

KHQ-TV is a television station in Spokane, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship and namesake of the KHQ Television Group, a subsidiary of the locally based Cowles Company, which also owns The Spokesman-Review newspaper. KHQ-TV's studios are located on West Sprague Avenue in Downtown Spokane, and its transmitter is located on Krell Hill southeast of the city. The station also operates a 24-hour sports and weather channel called SWX Right Now on digital subchannel 6.2.

KSPS-TV is a PBS member television station in Spokane, Washington, United States, owned by KSPS Public Television. The station's studios are located on South Regal Street in the Southgate neighborhood of Spokane, and its transmitter is located on Krell Hill southeast of Spokane.

The Spokesman-Review is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSBW</span> TV station in Salinas, California

KSBW is a television station licensed to Salinas, California, United States, serving the Monterey Bay area as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station has studios on John Street in downtown Salinas, and its transmitter is located on Fremont Peak in the Gabilan Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKFX-CD</span> Fox affiliate in San Luis Obispo, California

KKFX-CD is a low-power, Class A television station licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) as part of its News Channel cluster alongside Santa Barbara–based ABC and CBS affiliate KEYT-TV and Santa Maria–licensed Telemundo and CW affiliate KCOY-TV, which it manages. KKFX-CD and KCOY-TV share studios at West McCoy Lane and Skyway Drive in Santa Maria north of Santa Maria Public Airport; KEYT-TV maintains separate facilities on Miramonte Drive on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara. KKFX-CD's transmitter is located atop Cuesta Ridge north of San Luis Obispo; it and KCOY-TV, which covers the southern portion of the market from Tepusquet Peak in the Los Padres National Forest, carry the same major subchannels.

KION-TV is a television station licensed to Monterey, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, Fox, and Telemundo. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, it serves the Monterey Bay area from studios located on Moffett Street in Salinas, immediately south of Salinas Municipal Airport, and a transmitter on Mount Toro, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Salinas. The station is rebroadcast on translator KMUV-LD, with transmitter on Fremont Peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCBA</span> CW+ affiliate in Salinas, California

KCBA is a television station in Salinas, California, United States, serving the Monterey Bay area as an affiliate of The CW Plus. It is owned by VistaWest Media, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG), owner of CBS/Fox/Telemundo affiliate KION-TV, for the provision of certain services. Programming originates from the KION-TV studio facilities on Moffett Street in Salinas and is broadcast from a transmitter located on Fremont Peak.

KSMS-TV is a television station licensed to Monterey, California, United States, serving the Monterey Bay area as an affiliate of the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned by Entravision Communications alongside Class A UniMás affiliate KDJT-CD. KSMS-TV and KDJT-CD share studios on Garden Court south of Monterey Regional Airport in Monterey; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using KDJT-CD's spectrum from an antenna atop Fremont Peak.

KMUV-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Monterey, California, United States. It is a translator of CBS/Fox/Telemundo affiliate KION-TV which is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company. KMUV-LD's transmitter is located on Fremont Peak; its parent station maintains studios on Moffett Street in Salinas immediately south of Salinas Municipal Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News-Press & Gazette Company</span> American media company

The News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) is a media company based in St. Joseph, Missouri, wholly owned and operated by the Bradley family. It is presided by Brian Bradley and David R. Bradley, with Hank Bradley (retired), Eric Bradley, and Kit Bradley serving on its board of directors. All are descendants of family patriarch Henry D. Bradley and his son, David Bradley Sr.

KTAS is a television station licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of the Spanish-language diginet TeleXitos. Owned by Raul and Consuelo Palazuelos, the station maintains studios on Carmen Lane in Santa Maria and a transmitter atop Cuesta Peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Television</span> Media conglomerate

Newport Television, LLC was a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Cowles Sr.</span> American newspaper publisher (1832-1889)

Alfred Cowles Sr. (1832–1889) was an American businessperson and newspaper publisher. During the 1860s to 1880s he was a bookkeeper, treasurer, and business manager of the Chicago Tribune of which he was part owner.

Media in Monterey County is a designated market area (DMA) or media market that includes print media and broadcast media in Monterey County, California.

<i>Spokane Daily Chronicle</i> American newspaper

The Spokane Daily Chronicle is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with The Spokesman-Review, which was formed from the merger of two competing papers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KEYT-TV</span> ABC/CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Santa Barbara, California

KEYT-TV is a television station licensed to Santa Barbara, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of ABC, CBS, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) alongside San Luis Obispo–licensed low-power, Class A Fox affiliate KKFX-CD ; NPG also provides certain services to Santa Maria–licensed Telemundo affiliate KCOY-TV through a shared services agreement (SSA) with VistaWest Media, LLC. KEYT-TV's studios are located on Miramonte Drive on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara; KCOY-TV and KKFX-CD share separate facilities at West McCoy Lane and Skyway Drive in Santa Maria north of Santa Maria Public Airport. KEYT-TV's transmitter is located atop Broadcast Peak, between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez in the Santa Ynez Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCOY-TV</span> Telemundo affiliate in Santa Maria, California

KCOY-TV is a television station licensed to Santa Maria, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of Telemundo and The CW. It is owned by VistaWest Media, LLC, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG), owner of Santa Barbara–licensed ABC/CBS affiliate KEYT-TV and Fox affiliate KKFX-CD. KCOY-TV and KKFX-CD share studios on West McCoy Lane in Santa Maria; KEYT-TV maintains separate facilities on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara. KCOY-TV's transmitter is located on Tepusquet Peak east of Santa Maria. KKFX-CD broadcasts the same subchannels in the San Luis Obispo area.

FOX 35 may refer to one of the following television stations in the United States affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company:

References

  1. ↑ Yahoo! or Hoovers via Yahoo!. "Cowles Publishing Company Company Profile" . Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Inland Empire's Voice". Time . January 7, 1952. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  3. ↑ "When Harry Gave Us Hell". The Spokesman-Review. Cowles Publishing Company. September 7, 2007. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Ferrendelli, Betta (November 11, 2001). "Four generations of Cowles built diverse empire". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  5. ↑ "Review Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ↑ "Business in brief: Cowles Co. buying California stations". The Spokesman-Review. Cowles Publishing Company. September 26, 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Cowles Buying California TV Stations". TV Newsday. September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  8. ↑ "KCOY to 'share services' with KEYT parent company under planned station purchases". Santa Maria Times . September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License Archived December 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine "Federal Communications Commission", October 1, 2013
  10. ↑ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License "Federal Communications Commission", October 1, 2013
  11. ↑ "Washington, Montana stations consolidate under 'NonStop Local' brand". NewscastStudio. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  12. ↑ White, James Terry (1895). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States. James T. White & Company, via New York Public Library via Internet Archive full view. p.  224 . Retrieved October 24, 2007. and Robert Norton Smith (June 10, 1997). Chapter 1, The Colonel, The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick 1880-1955 . Houghton Mifflin Co. via The New York Times Company. ISBN   0-395-53379-1 . Retrieved October 24, 2007.
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