The Battle for the City's Official News Contract
A political struggle unfolds at City Hall as the board of aldermen chooses official newspapers based on partisanship rather than price.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Press-Times, if current reports are true, has passed under the control of the owners of the Seattle Telegraph. In spite of this fact, the paper last night contained the following editorial: 'Last evening the board of aldermen, by resolution, designated the Triumph as the official newspaper for the coming year. The lowest and best bid, tendered by the Press-Times, was ignored. The aldermen, in the selection of an official newspaper, have passed over the lowest and best bid to give the printing contract to a newspaper of the same political complexion as the members of the board.' It certainly seems that the board of aldermen should be able to take up this matter of the city printing and settle it in a candid and businesslike manner. If it is true that the Telegraph, the Press-Times, and the Herald are practically under one management, then it would certainly not be proper for the board to select two of these papers. Under the express terms of the charter, the board are compelled to designate as first official paper that paper whose owners or managers make the lowest and best bid.
“A supposed partisan advantage obtained at the cost of an illegal contract is dearly bought.”
This 1893 skirmish over the 'official newspaper' contract highlights the long-standing, often cozy relationship between local government and the press. Today's battle for public transparency and fair-bidding processes in municipal contracts continues the same civic argument about who holds the power to inform the public.
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