He lived, worked in, and raised a family with his wife, Lota Hatfield Knight, in Portland, Oregon.
"[2][3] In 1939, Knight and his family moved to Portland, where he became "legal counsel for the Industrial Relations Association of Oregon.
"[2] Knight's 18-year tenure as publisher of The Oregon Journal began in February 1953,[4] with the sudden death of then-publisher Philip L. Jackson from a heart-attack.
[6] In 1959, the Journal and Portland's other newspaper, The Oregonian, were struck by a labor dispute over working conditions.
[2] The William W. Knight Law Center, home of the University of Oregon Law School, is named after him, "in recognition of a generous gift given to the building campaign by his son, Philip Knight '58, UO alumnus and chairman and CEO of Nike.