How Rob Curley’s plan to make the Spokesman-Review ‘The People’s Paper’ ended in a newsroom revolt

Newsroom staffers tell InvestigateWest and RANGE that concerns about Curley’s leadership festered until his August suspension — weeks before the paper was set to transfer to his nonprofit

By: Wilson Criscione, Investigate West, and Daisy Zavala Magaña / RANGE

Outlets: InvestigateWest

Published: October 2, 2026

Words: 3,777

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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This report was produced in a collaboration between InvestigateWest and RANGE.

When the Spokesman-Review announced plans to transfer Spokane’s 143-year-old, family-owned newspaper to a nonprofit founded by Executive Editor Rob Curley, it took over the front page.

“The People’s Paper,” read the April 16, 2025, headline, saying ownership would transfer “to you, the community.”

Key to the plan was Curley, the folksy self-proclaimed “journalism nerd” who burst into Spokane a decade ago, declaring a love …

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