The Joint Operating Agreement
From 1983 to 2009, the Times and Seattle's other major paper, the Hearst-owned Seattle Post-Intelligencer, were run under a "Joint Operating Agreement" (JOA) whereby advertising, production, marketing, and circulation were controlled by the Times for both papers. The two papers maintained their own identities with separate news and editorial departments.
The Times announced its intention to cancel the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) in 2003, citing a clause in the JOA contract that three consecutive years of losses allowed it to pull out of the agreement. Hearst sued, arguing that a force majeure clause prevented the Times from claiming losses as reason to end the JOA when they result from extraordinary events (in this case, a seven-week strike by members of the Newspaper Guild). While a district judge ruled in Hearst's favor, the Times won on appeal, including a unanimous decision from the Washington State Supreme Court on June 30, 2005. Hearst continued to argue that the Times fabricated its loss in 2002. The two papers announced an end to their dispute on April 16, 2007.
This arrangement JOA was terminated when the Post-Intelligencer ceased publication on March 17, 2009.
Read more about this topic: The Seattle Times
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