| The Monroe Monitor and Valley News | |
| Type: | Weekly newspaper |
| Motto: | "The voice of the Sky Valley" |
| Owners: | Pacific Publishing Company |
| Founder: | B. F. Smyth |
| Foundation: | January 14, 1899 |
| Ceased Publication: | November 2021 |
The Monroe Monitor and Valley News was a weekly newspaper published in Monroe, Washington, United States. It had an estimated circulation of 4,000 in 2013.[1] It was also one of the first within the state.[2]
When B. F. Smyth founded the Monroe Monitor in January, 1899 it was the community's first newspaper. Since its inception, the newspaper had been continuous circulation.[3] Following the successful development of the Monroe Monitor & Valley News, other weekly newspapers were born, only to quietly disappear or merge with the Monitor.[4] Its first issue was published on Saturday January 14, 1899, and has had ten publishers throughout its duration.[3] The paper was part of the penny press era, and subscriptions cost $1.00 per year.[5] H. D. Matthews purchased the paper in 1908 and merged it with the Transcript, renaming the publication the Monroe Monitor-Transcript; "Transcript" was dropped from the title eight years later.
In the 1960s it was part of a consortium of five newspapers in Snohomish County that collaborated to produce a 12-page supplement.[6]
The paper's final title was adopted in 1985 when then-owner Voland Publications acquired the Valley News from neighboring Sultan. (It was previously known as the Sultan Star.) Jerry Robinson of Seattle purchased the paper in 1993, and later sold it to RIM Publications.[7] The paper was acquired in January 2015 by Pacific Publishing Company,[8] which merged it with the Snohomish County Tribune in November 2021.[9]