Cowles was born in Spokane, Washington, and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1953.
[3] During and after the Korean War, he served in the United States Naval Reserve on a destroyer.
[4] Upon the conclusion of the war, Cowles resumed his education and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University in 1959.
[4] Subsequently, he commenced his career at The Spokesman-Review and, after gaining experience, ascended to the position of publisher in 1970.
He served as the third president of The Spokesman-Review, a daily broadsheet newspaper in Spokane, Washington.