The Olympian
The Olympian is a daily newspaper based in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and publishes a daily printed edition.
History
Olympia was home to the first newspaper to be published in modern-day Washington, The Columbian, which published its first edition on September 11, 1852.The Olympian started in 1860 as The Washington Standard, a weekly paper. It was founded by John Miller Murphy, and its first issue was released on November 17, 1860. The paper became The Daily Olympian in February 1889 when it began publishing daily. Many people in Olympia still refer to The Olympian by its former name, or as "The Daily O."
The Daily Olympian and another Olympia newspaper, The Daily Recorder, merged in 1928. The Daily Olympian moved from its original home, on Legion Way and Washington Street, to the Capitol Press Building at the corner of Capitol Way and State Avenue.
Owner Sam Perkins died in 1955. Federated Publications bought The Bellingham Herald and The ''Daily Olympian from the Perkins Press company in 1967, and merged with the Gannett Corporation in 1971.
The Daily Olympian moved to its location at 111 Bethel Street in 1972. It's name was shortened to The Olympian in 1982.
In September 2005, The Olympian was traded by Gannett Company, Inc., along with The Bellingham Herald and Boise newspapers, to Knight Ridder in exchange for the Tallahassee Democrat. In 2006, Knight Ridder was acquired by The McClatchy Company.
In June 2017, The Olympian announced that it would move to an office in downtown Olympia, on the corner of Legion Way and Franklin Street. The building on Bethel Street was to be occupied by the Olympia School District's administrative office.
In 2019, printing of the paper was moved to the press of The Columbian in Vancouver, Washington. Before that, it had been printed for many years in Tacoma on a press originally part of The News Tribune. The age of that press made it too costly to maintain. Starting on Jan. 25, 2020, The Olympian ceased producing a printed newspaper on Saturdays and replaced it with expanded newspapers on Fridays and Sundays.
In July 2023, The Olympian'' switched from delivering physical papers by local carrier to using the U.S. Mail. In March 2024, the paper announced it would decrease the number of print editions to three a week starting May 6.