The paper was founded in 1918 as the weekly Pasco Herald. In 1947, Glenn C. Lee and Robert Philip bought the paper, moved it to Kennewick and transformed it into the area's first daily paper, coining the name 'Tri-Cities' as part of the paper's name. Lee and Philip sold the paper to McClatchy in 1979. After over 30 years as an afternoon paper, it became a morning paper in 1984.[3] It added a Saturday edition in 1987.
In 1950, striking workers of the Herald launched a morning competitor, Columbia Basin News, in Pasco. From 1950 until the summer of 1963, the Tri-Cities was one of the smallest U.S. markets with two competing daily newspapers. Columbia Basin News printed its last issue in 1963.[3]
The newspaper's daily print edition was delivered by a local carrier until December 12, 2022, when it was switched to the U.S. Postal Service; the expanded Sunday edition was moved to a Saturday delivery.[4] The Herald announced that it would decrease print editions to twice weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays (delivered on Sundays). The move is part of a plan to transition the newspaper to more digital content.[5]
^ abBagwell, Steve; Stapilus, Randy (2013). New Editions: The Northwest's newspapers as they were, are, and will be. Carlton, Oregon: Ridenbaugh Press. pp. 223–224. ISBN978-0-945648-10-9. OCLC861618089.