The Bellingham Business Journal
| Type | Monthly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Sound Publishing |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters |
1909 Cornwall Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225 United States |
| Circulation | 4,000 monthly |
| Website | www.bbjtoday.com |
The Bellingham Business Journal is a monthly business publication published in Bellingham, Washington that seeks to bring its readership the most accurate and in-depth picture of the Bellingham business community possible. Established in 1992, the newspaper has won several Society of Professional Journalists awards for reporting, editorial and design content.
The paper is owned by Sound Publishing (a Black Press company), based in Poulsbo. The publication was purchased from Marysville, Washington-based Sun News Inc. in August 2007. The newspaper has an approximate circulation of 4,000 and is free to Bellingham businesses, with paid circulation to businesses outside of the area and to residences.
BBJToday.com, the online arm of The Bellingham Business Journal, launched in July 2009 and currently gets more than 80,000 page views a month from more than 20,000 visitors. The site offers breaking Bellingham business news, in-depth features, public records and daily news tips.
History
The Bellingham Business Journal was founded by Al Raines, owner of Raines Publishing, in November 1992. In the first issue, Raines states in his opening column that he started the paper because "local business professionals... need a publication that will keep them abreast of what's going on in the business environment around them." Raines continued to publish the newspaper every month until it was purchased Robin Yeager in early 1994. Yeager sold the paper nearly six months later to Wenatchee Business Journal owners Mike Cassidy and Jim Corcoran.
Cassidy and Corcoran owned the two business journals for the next seven years. The partners also started a new business journal in Everett, Washington. The partners sold the business to Sun News Inc. in 2001. Sun News owners Robert Marshall and Kristopher Passey also purchased Cassidy and Corcoran's other two business newspapers, The Wenatchee Business Journal and The Everett Business Journal.
The Bellingham paper was sold to Sound Publishing in 2007 just prior to the death of Marshall from ALS.
In spring 2012, The Bellingham Business Journal moved its office from the paper's longtime location on King Street to a new space on Cornwall Avenue, just outside downtown Bellingham.
References
Personal papers of Kristopher R. Passey