The Lynnwood Times celebrated its sixth year on April 3 and is now one of the leading news outlets in the region with millions of monthly online visits and an in-print circulation of thousands. We have been awarded 25 awards by the Washington Newspaper Publisher Association at its annual journalism conventions for stories such as:
- Church in full force at Sound Transit forum
- A mother’s cry for help to the dangers of fentanyl
- Helping Ukrainians find peace in Snohomish County
- National distributor picks up high school film
- Local student represents Washington State in DC
- Church continues to struggle with abuse disclosure
- Cut by Curt: crafting a life post-diagnosis
- Rebuilding a Life
- We ain’t cancelling church
- Mexican folk dance performance a win for sister city program
- Council rejects mayor’s DEI picks
- Retired Mukilteo Police Officer turns Thanksgiving turkey farmer
- Lynnwood actor lands role in feature film
- Innovations in Aerospace
- Vaccine Billionaires
- Red Cross NW volunteer Deb Phelps
- Do parents have a say over education
- Stories from Esther’s Place
- Local Eats: Taqueria Puebla
- Local Eats: Zuri’s Donutz
In 2023, I won first place in the Government Story category for Community protests opening of methadone clinic and second place in 2022 in the Election Story category for Binda fails to provide required documentation required by law.
In 2024 we covered in detail the IAM and the Boeing strike, provided a sound unbiased assessment of Boeing’s safety compared to its rival Airbus, brought awareness to an alleged first amendment violation at an Edmonds’ park, covered both the Community Transit’s Swift Orange Line and Sound Transit Lynnwood Link grand openings, shared in an exclusive interview with newly elected Sheriff Susanna Johnson for her to share her priorities and reassure residents of her commitment to public safety shortly after a heated election, and disclosed a 52 percent property tax increase to Lynnwood residents as a means to balance the city’s budget.
In 2025 an investigation uncovered the questionable residency of Lynnwood City Council Vice President Josh Binda who, in mid-February of this year, had his father secure an apartment for him within Lynnwood’s City Center after our story revealed in late January he was allegedly living with his father in Everett. Also, this year, a Lynnwood Times investigation revealed disturbing social media posts and an Only Fans account by an appointed city council member leading to her withdrawing from confirmation.
This is what three journalists can accomplish when commitment to truth, the human experience, and government accountability to a profession is paramount—Kienan Briscoe, and contributing writers Olivia Theissen and Kayvon Bumpus, thank you.
I mentioned these articles to remind you, the reader, that none of these stories would have been written without the journalists at the Lynnwood Times.
Without the Lynnwood Times, there would have been no oversight of those who pass legislation that impact your life; no articles from the mothers of fentanyl victims; no articles revealing child predators in our schools; no articles highlighting the successes of law enforcement arresting the bad guys; no articles disclosing that Edmonds students overwhelming supported School Resource Officers; no articles featuring unsung heroes such as Olympia Edwards, Steve Woodard, Wally Webster II, Jesse Hayes, Deb Phelps, Beth Marriott, Van Dinh-Kuno, and Shannon Sessions just to name a few.
Being a former engineer and project manager, many people asked me “why leave a six-figure profession to start a newspaper in a dying industry?”
My response then is the same now, to save the industry by reporting unbiased and real journalism. With almost 15 years of writing unbiased engineering and operating assessments that provided honest and accurate recommendations to senior and executive management, transitioning to journalism came naturally to me.
Now six years later, I have witnessed the rise of news deserts in Washington state. The costs associated with operating a news outlet combined with dwindling advertising revenue is a key contributor killing the industry. Advertisers have turned to social media where they can reach tens or hundreds of thousands of users for a similar cost of placing an ad in a local paper—a paradigm shift at the expense of news outlets.
The irony to this is that these same social media platforms use local news reporting to drive their advertising revenue yet contribute nothing back to news outlets.
Senator Marko Liias (D-Edmonds) introduced Senate Bill 5400 to correct this unfair business model by social media giants, which if passed, would provide up to $6 million to eligible news outlets through a 1.22% Business and Occupational Tax on social media companies with global revenues in excess of $25 billion – X, Facebook, etc. The bill creates the Washington Local News Sustainability Program, which the Department of Commerce would distribute grant monies to all eligible news outlets.
Originally, I was apprehensive of such an approach citing journalistic ethics concerns—e.g. conflicts of interest—however, after communicating with Senator Liias and Rowland Thompson, representing Allied Newspapers, I was reassured that no one person or panel selects a grant recipient, fair eligibility requirements for newsrooms, and absolutely no conflicts of interest.
In reading the bill, eligible applicants must:
- Be an eligible news journalism provider; and
- Employ at least three news journalists in Washington per quarter in the four quarters prior to receiving a grant or
- Employ at least two news journalists in Washington per quarter in the eight quarters prior to receiving a grant.
Broadcasters and news publishers are also eligible if they meet a litany of criteria.
An eligible broadcaster must:
- Holds or operates under a broadcast license issued by the Federal Communications Commission;
- Engages professionals to create, edit, and produce original content concerning local or regional matters of public interest through activities, including conducting interviews, observing current events, analyzing documents and other information, or fact checking through multiple news sources;
- Update their content on at least a weekly basis; and
- Uses an editorial process for error correction and clarification, including a transparent process for reporting errors or complaints to the station.
An eligible publisher is a person that publishes a qualifying publication. A qualifying publication is a (1) newspaper, as defined in the B&O tax code, but includes publications issued once per month, or (2) website, application, or other digital service that:
- Does not primarily display content created or owned by an eligible broadcaster;
- Provides information to an audience in Washington; performs a public information function comparable to that traditionally served by newspapers and other periodical news publications;
- Engages professionals to create, edit, and produce original content concerning local or regional matters of public interest through activities, including conducting interviews, observing current events, analyzing documents and other information, or fact checking through multiple news sources;
- Updates 25 percent of its content on at least a weekly basis; has an editorial process for error correction and clarification, including a transparent process for reporting errors or complaints to the publication;
- Has an international standard serial number assigned to an affiliated periodical or is controlled by a tax exempt non-profit organization;
- Provides at least 25 percent of its editorial content consisting of information about current topics of local or regional public interest; and
- Is not owned or controlled by a foreign power, a terrorist organization or affiliate, or an entity convicted of committing terrorism or providing material support to terrorists.
As long as a newsroom meets the eligibility requirements, the grant is approved—approximately $12,000 to $14,000 per employee. This money will go a long way to offset expenses and allow the Lynnwood Times to hire more journalists who will continue bringing to you, “real news with a real impact!”
“We’re always looking for creative ways to solve problems around here, and I was very encouraged by both the bipartisan support this idea received and the response from news outlets around our state (and a few from other states),” Senator Liias wrote in a statement to the Lynnwood Times. “It’s a new idea and those always take some time to be fully understood, but there isn’t a single person that doesn’t understand how important a free and independent press is to the health of our democracy.”
I want to thank Senator Liias for introducing this legislation and encourage all of our readers to email their Washington State Legislators encouraging them to approve SB-5400 before April 24!
Sincerely,
Mario Lotmore, Publisher, Lynnwood Times
COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times nor any of its affiliates.
Author: Mario Lotmore
