Spokane newspaper nonprofit handoff put on hold

The planned handoff of The Spokesman-Review to Comma Community Journalism Lab has been paused while the two sides settle major organizational questions. Ownership was supposed to move to the nonprofit by the end of this week. Publisher Stacey Cowles has not chosen a replacement date, though he remains committed to the transfer.

Comma board chairman and co-founder George Brunt hopes the parties can sign a final agreement by the end of next week. The deal announced in 2025 would give Comma control of the newspaper, plus $2 million from the Cowles family, the publication’s owner since the 1890s. Comma later satisfied a transfer condition by securing $2 million: half already received and half pledged.

This is the second delay in the transition. The earlier schedule changed after editor and Comma co-founder Rob Curley went on leave Aug. 7 following several personnel complaints. Cowles brought in an outside investigator to review Curley’s conduct, while the newsroom union approved a no-confidence vote concerning his leadership. Managing Editor Lindsey Treffry has supervised the newsroom during Curley’s leave. For Spokane readers, the unresolved agreement determines when the city’s daily newspaper moves from longtime family ownership into nonprofit control.