King County Journal put up for sale

Horvitz Newspapers, owner of the Kent-based King County Journal, today announced that it is putting the suburban daily and several affiliated publications up for sale.

"Horvitz Newspapers doesn't have the financial resources to achieve the potential of these newspapers —and they have great potential," Peter Horvitz, president and chief executive officer of the company, said in a prepared statement.

He said he hopes the sale can be completed by the end of the year.

Included in the sale are two weeklies, the Mercer Island Reporter and Snoqualmie Valley Record, and seven publications in suburban King County that are delivered by mail twice monthly.

Horvitz said the family-owned company will keep two dailies, the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles and The Daily Times in Maryville, Tenn.

Horvitz Newspapers bought the King County Journal's precedessor publications in 1994. Making the daily profitable has been a challenge, Horvitz said in an interview today. "It has not been financially successful," he said. "It is a work in progress."

The newspaper's next owner must have the resources to invest more in both the newspaper and its affiliated Web sites without expecting immediate returns, Horvitz said. "It is withstanding losses," he added.

He said he has no particular buyer in mind. The King County Journal has a daily circulation of about 41,000.

News of the decision to sell was delivered to the affected newspapers' 343 employees at meetings this morning, Horvitz said.

Sale of the King County Journal would be the second major change this year in Washington's newspaper landscape. As part of its acquisition of Knight Ridder, The McClatchy Co. of Sacramento, Calif., is slated to acquire The Daily Olympian, the Bellingham Herald and a 49.5 percent stake in The Seattle Times Co.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com