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MAKING A
DIFFERENCE ONE
STORY AT A TIME

OUR JOURNALISM

The Seattle Times is dedicated to principled, quality, public-service journalism – news that creates change, for a region that’s always changing. We’re innovating alongside our city, evolving our coverage, our platforms, our delivery and our business model to secure a strong future for the free press in the Northwest and beyond.

INVESTIGATE

The Seattle Times’ rigorously reported investigative journalism digs deep to expose injustice, fight corruption and right wrongs. Our stories have changed lives and public policy and resulted in action at the highest levels of government.

A Boeing 737 MAX airplane sits outside the Boeing 737 factory adjacent to the Renton Municipal Airport in December 2019. Photo by Mike Siegel, The Seattle Times

Exposing the Truth

We broke national and international stories as the first to reveal how Boeing misled the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines about the 737 MAX's automated flight control system, which malfunctioned and killed 346 people. Our coverage prompted congressional hearings and demands for greater federal oversight of air safety and got answers for families who lost loved ones.

A mural honoring Manuel Ellis in Tacoma, WA. Photo by Erika Schultz, The Seattle Times

Holding Police Accountable

We probed deeply into the Manuel Ellis case, a sidewalk stop that resulted in the death of a Tacoma man after officers tased him and used a chokehold on him. After our reporting revealed details of what happened to Ellis, the state Attorney General filed felony charges against three Tacoma police officers, despite the Tacoma's police's botched investigation. When the officers were acquitted, the U.S. attorney opened a federal review of Ellis’ death.

The Swedish-Cherry Hill campus, in Seattle's Central District. Photo by Steve Ringman, The Seattle Times

Protecting Patients

We exposed double-booked surgeries at a prominent Seattle hospital, leading to state and federal investigations, the hospital CEO's resignation, suspension of a surgeon's medical license, and widespread reform to protect future patients.

INFORM AND INSPIRE

The Seattle Times tells the uniquely local stories you won’t find anywhere else. Our coverage is as dynamic and vibrant as our region, reflecting what matters to our readers – news that engages as well as informs.

Volunteers at vaccination stations raise their numbers to show they are available for the next person in line at the Community Vaccination Site at Lumen Field Event Center in Seattle. Photo by Bettina Hansen The Seattle Times

Breaking News

As Washington became the one of the first U.S. epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Seattle Times sprang into action, providing vital information to keep our community informed and safe. Ongoing daily updates track the county-by-county status of testing, hospitalizations, vaccinations, deaths and the latest science throughout the state and the spread across Washington and the world.

A small pier next to Ray’s Boathouse offers a perfect spot for these sea lions to lounge, bark, play — and attract an audience. Photo by Steve Ringman, The Seattle Times

Local Life

Local coverage tells the stories unique to our region, from near-record four-foot-high floods changing the landscape for dairy farmers in Skagit and Whatcom counties to the spectacle of ebullient sea lions frolicking on a Ballard pier, capsizing kayaks, making a ruckus and refusing to take the hint to leave.

Savannah Smith, left, and Naomi Vega-Sanchez retrieve small bits of trash along the shore near Lake Union Park. Photo by Alan Berner, The Seattle Times

Community and Culture

Personal features reflect our communities and culture and emphasize human connection through profiles like Seattle's Sea Potential marine education organization which cleans up Puget Sound and protects the environment through positive on-water experiences for youth of color and the Central District beauty salon owner and her family who helped bring Juneteenth celebrations to Seattle 40 years ago.

INNOVATE

The Seattle Times engages readers with evocative interactive digital experiences, immersive visuals and multimedia storytelling that deepen understanding, stimulate the senses and feed the soul, spirit and brain.

Photo by Erika Schultz, The Seattle Times

Visual Journalism

"Disappearing Daughters" highlights the resilience of the women of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, through powerful reporting, photography, film and visual poetry about femicide — violence against women because they are women. Immersive stories of women searching for justice after losing their beloved daughters are accompanied by video poems from Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna's book "Killing Marías," voiced by the women of Juárez.

Northern residents enjoy a sanctuary created just for them, where the whales enjoy rubbing their bodies on the smooth stones of the beach. Image courtesy of Explore.Org

Immersive Digital Storytellying

“Hostile Waters: Orcas in Peril” won an Online Journalism Award, using innovative tools to take readers underwater for never-before-seen footage of jarring orca captures in a documentary; recorded killer whale’s whistles, calls and echolocation clicks on 500-foot hunting dive; and revealed the complex anatomy that allows orcas to see inside their prey in a glow-through graphic.

Personal Portraits

“Portraits of Homelessness” shares the handwritten personal stories of residents of several Seattle homeless encampments, accompanied by black-and-white portraits that each person helped create. The resulting journal documents frustrations and dreams based on experiences living without permanent shelter, was exhibited at Seattle Public Library and inspired the song “Tiny Houses” by local musician JD Cotton.

MEET THE NEWSROOM

Go behind the scenes and meet the journalists and staff behind the byline in an interview series that helps you get to know the people who bring you the news:

The morning reporter who uncovered Seattle’s unspoken rules
The social justice columnist brave enough to ask the hard questions
The news researcher who checks the facts to make sure they’re correct
The reporter who broke the Boeing 737 MAX story about safety approval processes

NEWS POLICIES

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