Ryan Blethen is Publisher of The Seattle Times and a fifth-generation steward of the local family newspaper established by Alden J. Blethen in 1896. He joined The Seattle Times full-time in 1997 and oversees the newsroom and the editorial page.
Blethen’s career has been primarily as a journalist. He has worked as a reporter and an editor. Blethen was The Seattle Times’ editorial page editor from 2009 to 2011.
Blethen previously worked at newspapers in Yakima, Spokane and Portland, Maine. He is a graduate of Washington State University and attended journalism school at the University of Kansas where he serves as a Trustee of the school’s foundation. Blethen was named Publisher January 2026.