Walla Walla Union-Bulletin to close local press and outsource production

The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, a subsidiary of The Seattle Times, will cease its local print operations on September 15. The newspaper will outsource its production to The Lewiston Tribune in Idaho.

Charles Horton, senior director of operations and affiliates for The Seattle Times, stated that maintaining the Walla Walla facility became unsustainable due to rising operating costs and recent staffing departures. The closure leaves only one remaining newspaper press in the eastern half of Washington state.

The move reflects a broader industry trend where newspapers increasingly outsource printing to remote facilities to manage costs as news consumption shifts online.