Tim Keck

Timothy A. Keck (born 1967[1]) is an American newspaper publisher.

Tim Keck
Born1967 (age 55–56)
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Known forCo-founder of The Onion

Early life and education

Keck was born in Indiana to Edward and Janet Keck, both of whom were newspaper reporters. The family moved to Wisconsin while he was a child and Keck eventually attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[2]

Career

In 1988, as a third-year student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Keck co-founded The Onion with Christopher Johnson before selling the satirical newspaper to Scott Dikkers and Peter Haise for $19,000 the following year.[3][2][4] Keck used the proceeds to repay a loan, then spent the next six months holidaying in Brazil, before returning to the United States where he settled in Seattle with the intent of founding a free, weekly alternative newspaper.[5] The resulting publication, The Stranger, began publishing in September 1991.[5] In the early 2000s he sold a minority of the paper to the Chicago Reader and founded the Portland Mercury, operating the two papers as Index Newspapers, LLC.[5]

In 2018, Keck stepped down as publisher of The Stranger, while continuing as president of Index Newspapers.[6]

Political views

As of 2011, according to The Seattle Times, Keck was "largely unknown in Seattle".[5] However, during the 2009 mayoral campaign of Mike McGinn, Keck directed The Stranger to "turn up the dial as high as we could" becoming, according to The Seattle Times, "a de facto arm of the McGinn campaign".[5] The newspaper's endorsement was given to McGinn in a 6,000-word front-page treatment, while news coverage of McGinn's opponent Joe Mallahan used profanities to describe him.[5] Keck, who has rarely given political donations, provided monetary support to the McGinn campaign and attended McGinn's election night victory party.[5] Keck also donated $250 in 2004 to the presidential campaign of John Kerry and $250 the following year to the senatorial campaign of Maria Cantwell.[7]

Personal life

According to Keck, he suffers from dyslexia, somnambulism, and is a recreational user of marijuana.[5]

Keck has two children with a woman described in different sources as either a spouse or girlfriend.[8][5]

References
  1. Wilma, David. "The Stranger begins publication in Seattle on September 23, 1991". History Link. History Ink. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. "The Onion". wisconsin.edu. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. Keighley, Geoff (August 29, 2003). "The Onion: Funny site is no joke". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  4. Soper, Taylor (October 28, 2013). "Onion co-founder says satirical publication 'doesn't make a lot of sense in the future'". GeekWire. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  5. Martin, Jonathan (July 23, 2011). "Seattle's Tim Keck forever remains The Stranger". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  6. Connelly, Joel (September 21, 2018). "Connelly: Saito takes reins from Keck as publisher at The Stranger". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. "Donor Lookup". OpenSecrets.
  8. "Significant damage in East Mercer house fire". Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. August 25, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
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