The Facts (Seattle)

Last updated
The Facts
Seattle - The Facts 01.jpg
Headquarters of The Facts Newspaper
Type Weekly newspaper [1]
Founder(s)Fitzgerald Redd Beaver
LaunchedSeptember 7, 1961;61 years ago (September 7, 1961)
Headquarters1112 34th Avenue
City Seattle
Country United States
Circulation 50,000(as of 2022) [2]
ISSN 0427-8879
Website Official website

The Facts, also known as Seattle Facts, is an African-American weekly newspaper that serves Seattle, Washington. Headquartered in the Central District, it was founded September 7, 1961 [3] by Fitzgerald Redd Beaver. Printed by Pacific Media Inc. His children, Marla, LaVonne Beaver are currently the publishers and editors. Leaving Mrs.Elizabeth Beaver as the current leader after Beaver's death in 1992 [4] The Facts is a member of the West Coast Black Publishers Association and bills itself as the "Voice of the Black Community." [3]

Contents

Background

"The Facts" was the first African-American oriented newspaper in Seattle and is now only one of three African-American oriented newspapers in the area. The newspaper distributes around 80,000 copies currently in Seattle and surrounding area, the paper earns about $500,000 a year. The Facts started with a 5,000 newspapers in circulation. The Newspaper is published every Wednesday. The Puget Sound region's black newspapers are bucking a national trend of fast-slipping circulation. "The Facts" founder Fitz Redd Beaver originally started the paper because he was looking for a source of income after losing his previous job. The main emphasis of "The Facts" is to primarily develop a perspective that can be interpreted by a mass audience. Fitz Redd Beaver examined the possibility of making a difference in his particular community to identify how data and information can be delivered. This viewpoint allowed an audience to develop an inherent eye on how information in the North West, specifically Seattle could be identified. The goal of The Facts was to pick up stories that are oriented towards the African-American population in Seattle. The Facts also hired many black journalists who later left the paper to create other newspapers such as The Medium, The Skanner and more in and around the northwest region. [5]

Competition

There are currently three African-American oriented newspapers in the Seattle area: The Seattle Medium , The Skanner , and The Facts. There is much debate if the African-American population in Seattle is large enough to support three newspapers. Fitzgerald Redd Beaver the founder of "The Facts" assisted his biggest competitors Chris Bennett and Ernie Foster in opening their own African American oriented newspapers. [5] Redd Beaver later distinguished his paper from his competitors by adding a distinctive pink color to his newspaper. [5] Given the African-American population is 52,000. Both The Skanner and The Facts are free gaining their revenue from ads. The Seattle Medium is relatively low in cost at 25 cents a paper. [4]

The founder of "The Facts" newspaper: Fitzgerald Beaver. Fitzgerald Beaver.jpg
The founder of "The Facts" newspaper: Fitzgerald Beaver.

Founder

Fitzgerald Redd Beaver (1922-1992) was born January 18, 1922,  in Martinsville, Virginia. Beaver graduated from high school in his home town of Martinsville, Virginia. He then went on to enroll and attend at North Carolina A&T College, but dropped out before graduating. Fitz had several jobs before coming to the Northwest including: a civilian employee for the U.S. Army, a railroad porter, and working at a radio station. [5] His career at the radio station sparked his passion, spending the rest of his life in public relations and journalism. Quite successful in his career on the radio he became known as "Eager Beaver" on his radio show. Taking this fame he moved to manage a black owned radio station in the Northwest. Staying a short while, then founded "The Facts". Fitz continued to better his community throughout his life as the president of the Boys and Girls Club, creating a primarily African American golf club, and worked with the government on minority recruitings. [6]

Relation to Community Involvement Commission

"The Facts" is an avenue in which information can be illustrated, however, the Community Involvement Commission is a designed platform for sources to provide immediate services. The main focus for the commission is as Seattle becomes more developed, the city needs to expand their public discourse and ensure that specific demographic groups are represented in the city's council. [7] As well as that any barriers that restrict individuals from involvement are immediately disrupted or eliminated. "The Facts" is an option for those in the City of Seattle to investigate how changes can be performed, meanwhile, highlight necessary needs that need to be addressed or investigated further. In relation to how "The Facts" corresponds with the principles of the Community Involvement Commission is rather implicit. "The Facts" is a newspaper that focuses on the African-American demographic and how this specific demographic can be an impact towards development in the City of Seattle.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass media</span> Media technologies that intend to communicate with a large audience

Mass media refers to a diverse array of media that reach a large audience via mass communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snohomish County, Washington</span> County in Washington, United States

Snohomish County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 73rd-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Everett. The county forms part of the Seattle metropolitan area, which also includes King and Pierce counties to the south.

The Freeman's Journal, which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper.

Media in Seattle includes long-established newspapers, television and radio stations, and an evolving panoply of smaller, local art, culture, neighborhood and political publications, filmmaking and, most recently, Internet media. As of the fall of 2009, Seattle has the 20th largest newspaper and the 13th largest radio and television market in the United States. The Seattle media market also serves Puget Sound and Western Washington.

<i>California Eagle</i> African American newspaper in Los Angeles

The California Eagle (1879–1964) was a newspaper in Los Angeles, California for African-Americans. It was founded as The Owl in 1879 and later The Eagle by John J. Neimore. Charlotta Bass became owner of the paper after Neimore's death in 1912. She owned and operated the paper, renamed the California Eagle, until 1951. Her husband, J. B. Bass, served as editor until his death in 1934. In the 1920s, they increased circulation to 60,000. Bass was also active as a civil rights campaigner in Los Angeles, working to end segregation in jobs, housing and transportation.

<i>New York Amsterdam News</i> African-American newspaper from Harlem, Manhattan

The Amsterdam News is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by such figures as W. E. B. Du Bois, Roy Wilkins, and Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and was the first to recognize and publish Malcolm X.

The Louisiana Weekly is a weekly newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. It emphasizes topics of interest to the African-American community, especially in the New Orleans area and south Louisiana. It has an estimated weekly circulation of 6,500.

The King County Journal was a newspaper published in Kent, Washington, United States. It was formed in 2002 as a combination of the old Valley Daily News of Kent and the Journal-American of Bellevue, which merged when they were bought by Peter Horvitz. The newspaper had an initial combined circulation of 60,000. The Journal-American was formed in 1976 from Bellevue and Kirkland weeklies, while the Valley Daily News was created from non-daily newspapers in Renton, Kent and Auburn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puget Sound mosquito fleet</span> Private transportation companies in Puget Sound

The Puget Sound mosquito fleet was a multitude of private transportation companies running smaller passenger and freight boats on Puget Sound and nearby waterways and rivers. This large group of steamers and sternwheelers plied the waters of Puget Sound, stopping at every waterfront dock. The historical period defining the beginning and end of the mosquito fleet is ambiguous, but the peak of activity occurred between the First and Second World Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Seattle Times Company</span> American newspaper publisher

The Seattle Times Company is a privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Washington. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1896, the company is now in its fourth and fifth generations of ownership by the Blethen family.

Kansas City The Call, or The Call is an African-American weekly newspaper founded in 1919 in Kansas City, Missouri by Chester A. Franklin. It continues to serve the black community of Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas.

The Skanner or The Skanner News is an African-American newspaper covering the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Its head office is in Portland, Oregon, with an additional office in Seattle, Washington. Prior to discontinuing regular print publication in 2020, it published three formats: a daily website at theskanner.com, a weekly printed newspaper, plus a facsimile of the printed edition online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glacial erratic boulders of King County, Washington</span> List article

Glacial erratic boulders of King County are large glacial erratic boulders of rock which were moved into King County, Washington by glacial action during previous ice ages.

The Seattle Medium is an African-American newspaper that serves Seattle, Washington. It was founded in January 1970, and bore the name The Medium from 1970 to 1983.

The Issaquah–Sammamish Reporter is a United States community newspaper that covers Issaquah, Washington and Sammamish, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susie Revels Cayton</span> American writer, editor and activist

Susie Revels Cayton was a writer, editor, activist, and leader in the African-American community in Seattle at the start of the 20th century.

<i>The Black Dispatch</i>

The Black Dispatch (1914–1982) was a weekly newspaper for African Americans published in Oklahoma City. Roscoe Dunjee was the paper's editor. Dunjee was an influence on Ralph Ellison who was a courier for the paper.

The Tiloben Publishing Company is the largest Black-owned and operated communications company in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Christopher Harold Bennet founded the company in 1970. By 1983, Bennet served as publisher of the Seattle Metro HomeMaker, the Seattle Medium, and the Tacoma True Citizen. He was elected to the board of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) in 1981, and elected president in 1983. In 1987, he announced that the NNPA would boycott the state of Arizona, due to its cancelation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday; his term expired later that year. He later expressed optimism for collaboration among publishers of Black newspapers in the 1990s.

The Madison Times Weekly is a weekly African-American newspaper in Madison in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Civil rights activist Betty Franklin-Hammonds established the paper in April 1991. It was initially a sister publication of the Milwaukee Times, which had bought the Wisconsin Free Press, a Black-focused paper that published sporadically in Madison in the 1980s. Hammonds stated that the paper operated separately within its first few months. Hammonds started the paper as a resource for the under-served African-American community; the paper soon expanded its focus to various minority communities. In 1992 the paper joined with WORT radio, WYOU community television, and the online service DANEnet to create the Neighborhood Network, to cover local news and serve local activists.

References

  1. ↑ Danky, James Philip; Hady, Maureen E., eds. (1998). African-American newspapers and periodicals : a national bibliography. Harvard University Press. p. 220. ISBN   9780674007888.
  2. ↑ "The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy" (PDF). League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund. 2022-11-14.
  3. 1 2 "About Us - The Facts Newspaper - seattlefacts.com -". The Facts Newspaper - NWFacts.com. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  4. 1 2 CONN 390: Black Business Leadership, University of Puget Sound. Accessed online 3 December 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Fitzgerald Redd Beaver (Fitz) (1922–1991) • BlackPast". BlackPast. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  6. ↑ "Fitzgerald Redd Beaver (Fitz) (1922–1991) • BlackPast". BlackPast. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  7. ↑ "Community Involvement Commission - Neighborhoods | seattle.gov". www.seattle.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-25.

Coordinates: 47°36′43″N122°17′20″W / 47.612°N 122.289°W / 47.612; -122.289

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.