Clarance B. Blethen Explained

Clarance Brettun Blethen (also spelled Clarence;^[1] February 1, 1879 – October 30, 1941^[2]) was the son of Alden J. Blethen, and publisher of The Seattle Times from 1915 until his death in 1941. The C.B. Blethen Award is named for him.

Clarance was born on February 1, 1879, in Portland, Maine—he began working at the paper in 1900, becoming managing editor in 1905.^[3] Following his father's death in 1915, Clarance became publisher of the newspaper, though its ownership was split amongst multiple heirs. In late 1929, Clarance bought all the shares owned by the other heirs and became sole owner of the paper.^[4] While managing the paper, he turned away from the sensationalist stance his father had taken in publishing,^[5] to a more sanitized style, banning the words gun and blood from appearing in stories.^[6] In 1929, he sold 49.5% of The Seattle Times Company to Herman Ridder.^[7] There are differing accounts on whether the deal completed in 1929 or 1930 and on the estimated millions in price.^[8] In 2006, the stake was sold to McClatchy.^[9]

Blethen died at his home in Medina, Washington in 1941.^[10]

References

1. Attested in multiple sources:
   • Web site: Blethen, Clarence B., House, Queen Anne, Seattle, WA . Pacific Coast Architecture Database.
   • Web site: Seattle Historic Sites: Seattle Times Building . Seattle Department of Neighborhoods . City of Seattle.
   • Web site: Seattle Times Facade . HistoryLink Tours . HistoryLink.org.
2. News: October 31, 1941 . October 30 . C. B. BLETHEN, EDITOR OF SEATTLE TIMES, 62: Succeeded Father as Publisher—Active in Military Affairs . en-US . XCI . 23 . . . 30596 . Seattle . 0362-4331 . .
3. News: October 31, 1941 . GEN C.B. BLETHEN, SEATTLE TIMES PUBLISHER, DIES . 40 . . . Seattle .
4. News: December 31, 1929 . December 30 . OWNS ALL SEATTLE TIMES.: Colonel Blethen, Son of Founder, Buys Out Other Heirs. . en-US . . Seattle . 0362-4331 . .
5. News: Boswell . Sharon . McConaghy . Lorraine . 1996 . August 4 . Centennials: Time to crow a bit . . Centennial .
6. Encyclopedia: Seattle Times Company . International Directory of Company Histories . Covell . Jeffrey L. . Encyclopedia.com.
7. Web site: Richards . Bill . October 9, 2006 . A New Co-Owner for The Seattle Times . . en-US.
8. News: January 5, 1930 . January 4 . BUY INTO SEATTLE TIMES.; Ridders Obtain 40 Per Cent Interest From Colonel Blethen. . en-US . LXXIX . 24 . . 26279 . Seattle . 0362-4331 . .
9. Web site: Liedtke . Michael . 2006-06-27 . Press run ends for Knight Ridder . . San Jose . Associated Press.
10. News: October 31, 1941 . PUBLISHER DIES . 6 . . . Seattle.