Politico

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Politico (disambiguation).

Politico
IndustryNews
FoundedJanuary 23, 2007; 14 years ago (2007-01-23) (as The Politico)
Headquarters
Arlington, Virginia, US
Key people
Products
  • Politico (newspaper)
  • Politico Magazine (bimonthly magazine)
  • Politico.com (website)
  • Politico Europe (newspaper)
  • Politico.eu (website)
  • Protocol.com (website)
  • POLITICOPro.com (subscription service)
OwnerAxel Springer SE
Number of employees
500 (2017)[3]
Websitepolitico.com

Politico (stylized POLITICO), known originally as The Politico, is a political journalism company based in Arlington County, Virginia,[4] that covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally. It primarily distributes content online but also with printed newspapers, radio, and podcasts. Its coverage in Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, the media, and the presidency.[5]

History[]

Origins, style, and growth[]

Politico was founded in 2007 to focus on politics with fast-paced Internet reporting in granular detail, comparable to the sports analysis of SportsCenter[6] or ESPN.[7] John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei left The Washington Post to become Politico's editor-in-chief and executive editor, respectively. With the financial backing of Robert L. Allbritton, the pair launched the website on January 23, 2007.[8][9] Their first hire was Mike Allen, a writer for Time,[10] and Frederick J. Ryan Jr. served as its first president and chief executive officer.[11] Martin Tolchin was another member of the editorial founding team.[12][13]

From the beginning, journalists covering political campaigns for Politico carried a video camera to each assignment,[14] and they were encouraged to promote their work elsewhere.[15] By 2008, Politico received more than three million unique visits per month.[16]

In September 2008, The New York Times reported that Politico would expand its operations following the 2008 presidential election: "[A]fter Election Day, [Politico] will add reporters, editors, Web engineers and other employees; expand circulation of its newspaper edition in Washington; and print more often."[17] Between the 2008 and 2012 elections, Politico's staff more than tripled in size.[18] Notable additions included two political commentators, Michael Kinsley and Joe Scarborough, as opinion writers.[19]

In 2009, the web pages shortened their name from The Politico to more simply Politico.

In 2011, Politico began to focus more on long-form journalism and news analysis.[8][20] This shift in coverage received further support in June 2013 with the hiring of Susan Glasser to oversee "opinion from prominent outside voices" and "long-form storytelling".[21] In September 2014, Glasser was tapped to serve as Politico's new editor, following the resignation of Richard Berke the previous month.[22]

VandeHei was named Politico's new CEO in October 2013.[23] Under his leadership, Politico continued to grow: in 2014 alone, it expanded revenues by 25%.[24] By 2016, Politico had nearly 500 employees worldwide.[25]

Amidst reports of tensions, VandeHei and Allen announced that they would leave Politico after the 2016 presidential election.[8][26] Allbritton was named as CEO in Vandehei's stead.[26] In April 2017, Politico announced that investment banker Patrick Steel would succeed Allbritton as CEO, effective May 8.[27] On February 2, 2021, it was announced that Patrick Steel would step down in the summer of 2021. A new CEO has not been named. [28]

Politico Playbook[]

On June 25, 2007,[29] Mike Allen launched Playbook, a daily early-morning email newsletter.[30][31] Within a few years, the newsletter had attained a large readership amongst members of the D.C. community.[10] By 2016, over 100,000 people—including "insiders, outsiders, lobbyists and journalists, governors, senators, presidents and would-be presidents"—read Playbook daily.[32] Multiple commentators credit Allen and Playbook with strongly influencing the substance and tone of the rest of the national political news cycle.[10][32][33]

Daniel Lippman joined Politico in June 2014, in large part to assist Allen with Playbook.[34] Upon Allen's departure in July 2016, Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman joined Lippman to assume Playbook-writing duties.[35] In March 2017, Politico announced the creation of a second, mid-day edition of Playbook—entitled "Playbook Power Briefing"—written by the same people who authored the morning edition.[36]

In 2017, a weekly sponsorship of Playbook cost between $50,000 and $60,000.[37][38]

Politico Pro[]

Politico Pro launched in 2010.[39] With roughly 100 reporters at its disposal, Politico Pro provides in-depth coverage of over a dozen major topic areas.[39][40] The service charges its readers by topic area, with the costs running well over $1,000 per topic per year.[31][39] Despite the paywall in place, Politico Pro has a 93% subscription renewal rate, and it provides one fourth of Politico's overall revenue.[8][31] Access to the main site and the Playbook remained free of charge.[39]

Politico Magazine[]

The Politico, February 15, 2007

In November 2013, Politico launched Politico Magazine (ISSN 2381-1595), which is published online and bimonthly in print.[41][42] In contrast to Politico's focus on "politics and policy scoops" and breaking news, Politico Magazine focuses on "high-impact, magazine-style reporting", such as long-form journalism.[41][43] The first editor of Politico Magazine was Susan Glasser, who came to the publication from Foreign Policy magazine.[43]

After Glasser was promoted to become Politico's editor, Garrett Graff was named as editor, followed by Stephen Heuser. In December 2016, Blake Hounshell was named the new editor-in-chief of the magazine.[44]

Along with a targeted free audience of roughly 30,000 readers, Politico Magazine is available via subscription for $200 per year.[45] Content from Politico Magazine is also accessible online.[46]

State editions[]

In September 2013, Politico acquired the online news site Capital New York, which also operated separate departments covering Florida and New Jersey.[47] In April 2015, Politico announced its intention to rebrand the state feeds with the Politico name (Politico Florida, Politico New Jersey, and Politico New York) to expand its coverage of state politics.[48] In September 2018, Politico announced it would launch Politico California Pro.[49]

Global expansion[]

In September 2014, Politico formed a joint venture with German publisher Axel Springer SE to launch its European edition, based in Brussels.[50] In December 2014, the joint venture announced its acquisition of Development Institute International, a leading French events content provider, and European Voice, a European political newspaper, to be re-launched under the Politico brand. Stephen Brown was named editor-in-chief in September 2019.[51] Politico Europe debuted in print on April 23, 2015.[52]

Website redesign[]

On March 27, 2018, Politico revealed that it had redesigned its website for the first time since 2014.[53] Changes included a redesigned and more mobile-friendly home page, a different typeface (with DIN replacing Proxima Nova), and a new "Quick Pops" feed of breaking news stories.[53][54]

Expansion[]

Politico acquired E&E News in December 2020 to expand its coverage of the energy and environmental sectors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.[55]

Acquisition[]

In late August 2021, the large German publishing and media firm Axel Springer SE announced plans to buy Politico for over $1 billion. [56][57]

Controversies[]

Politico editor Michael Hirsh resigned in November 2016 after publishing the home address of white supremacist Richard B. Spencer on Facebook.[58]

Politico Magazine published an article in April 2017 purporting to show long-term links among U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty Chabad-Lubavitch.[59] The article was widely condemned, with the head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, saying that it "evokes age-old myths about Jews".[60][61]

Cambridge Analytica micro-targeted pro-Trump voters and anti-Clinton voters with native advertising and sponsored or branded content on Politico.[62][63][64]

In March 2019 Politico was again accused of anti-semitism when it published an article depicting imagery of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders next to money trees. Sanders, one of two Jewish candidates for the 2020 US presidential election, was targeted for the amount of wealth he accumulated over his lifetime.[65] Politico staff writer Michael Kruse wrote the article detailing the senator's wealth, writing that Sanders "might still be cheap", according to one of the senator's friends, "but he's sure not poor", which was criticized as combining two anti-Semitic tropes (Jews are cheap; Jews are rich). Politico's official Twitter account used the quote to share the story; the tweet was later deleted.[66]

On January 14, 2021, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro was featured as a guest writer for Politico's Playbook newsletter, where he defended House Republicans who opposed the second impeachment of Donald Trump.[67] The newsletter drew immense backlash from many Politico staffers, some of whom argued that Shapiro should not have been allowed to write the article. Matthew Kaminski, editor in chief of Politico, refused to apologize and defended the decision to allow Shapiro to write the article, stating that, "We're not going to back away from having published something because some people think it was a mistake to do so." According to the Daily Beast, more than 100 Politico staffers signed onto a letter to publisher Robert Allbritton criticizing both Politico's decision to feature Shapiro's article and the response from Kaminski.[citation needed]

Distribution and content[]

Vending box for the print edition of Politico on Washington DC's K Street.

As of 2017, Politico claimed to average 26 million unique visitors a month to its American website, and more than 1.5 million unique visitors to its European site.[68] According to a 2020 Knight Foundation study, Politico is generally read by a moderate audience, leaning slightly toward the left.[69]

The print newspaper had a circulation of approximately 32,000 in 2009, distributed for free in Washington, D.C. and Manhattan.[70] The newspaper prints up to five issues a week while Congress is in session and sometimes publishes one issue a week when Congress is in recess.[71] It carries advertising, including full-page ads from trade associations and a large help-wanted section listing Washington political jobs.

Politico is a partner with several news outlets that co-report and distribute its video, print and audio content. Partners include CBS News,[72] ABC affiliate WJLA and cable channel NewsChannel 8 (WJLA and NewsChannel 8 were owned by Allbritton Communications prior to the sale of the broadcast unit to Sinclair Broadcast Group),[14] radio station WTOP-FM,[15] and Yahoo! News election coverage.

Ideology and influence[]

In a 2007 opinion piece, progressive watchdog group Media Matters for America accused Politico of having a "Republican tilt".[73] A 2012 study found that the percentage of Politico readers who identify as Democrats—29%—is equal to the percentage who identify as Republicans.[74]

Multiple commentators have credited Politico's original organizational philosophy—namely, prioritizing scoops and publishing large numbers of stories—with forcing other, more-established publications to make a number of changes, such as increasing their pace of production and changing their tone.[8][10][37][75][76]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "About Politico: Leadership". Politico. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  2. ^ Gold, Hadas (April 25, 2017). "Patrick Steel named new Politico CEO". Politico.
  3. ^ "Politico Facts". Politico. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "Politico LLC – Company Profile". Bloomberg Markets. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  5. ^ "Mission Statement". Politico. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  6. ^ Smith, Ben (January 3, 2021). "They Seem to Think the Next Four Years Will Be Normal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  7. ^ Leibovich, Mark (April 21, 2010). "The Man the White House Wakes Up To". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Uberti, David (June 25, 2015). "Can Politico rise again?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  9. ^ McPherson, Lindsey (2008). "Politico Animal". American Journalism Review. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Leibovich, Mark (April 21, 2010). "Politico's Mike Allen, the Man the White House Wakes Up To". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  11. ^ Allen, Mike (May 4, 2007). "Politico Playbook: Mitt's moment". Politico. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  12. ^ Diamond, Dan (February 24, 2020). "Trump set to ask for more coronavirus cash". Politico. Retrieved May 7, 2020. Martin Tolchin, the founder of The Hill and a member of POLITICO's founding editorial team
  13. ^ "Martin Tolchin". Politico. Retrieved May 7, 2020. he is helping launch Politico
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Jaffe, Harry (January 22, 2007). "Politico Hopes To Rock Washington Media". Washingtonian. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Seelye, Katharine Q. (January 8, 2007). "For journalists, it's not politics as usual". International Herald Tribune.
  16. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (December 14, 2008). "Politico and Reuters Forge News-Distribution Alliance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  17. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (September 22, 2008). "Politico Intends to Expand After Presidential Race Ends". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (January 29, 2011). "Political News Sites See 2012 as Breakthrough Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  19. ^ Smith, Ben (September 8, 2010). "Kinsley, Scarborough to Politico". Politico. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  20. ^ Filloux, Frédéric (September 5, 2011). "Politico: what are the secrets of its success?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  21. ^ Kaufman, Leslie (June 3, 2013). "Politico Expands Coverage Areas and Adds an Editor of Note". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  22. ^ Somaiya, Ravi (September 18, 2014). "Politico Names New Overseer of Washington News Content". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  23. ^ Stelter, Brian; Kaufman, Leslie (October 13, 2013). "VandeHei, Politico Editor, Is Made Chief Executive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  24. ^ Ingram, Mathew (September 28, 2015). "Can Politico save political journalism, not just in the U.S. but in Europe too?". Fortune. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  25. ^ Somaiya, Ravi (January 29, 2016). "Leaders Deny Strife Caused Departures From Politico". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Somaiya, Ravi (January 28, 2016). "Politico Will Lose Its Co-Founder and 4 Others". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  27. ^ Alpert, Lukas I. (April 25, 2017). "Politico Names Investment Banker as New CEO". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  28. ^ Robertson, Katie (February 2, 2021). "Politico's chief executive is stepping down this year" – via NYTimes.com.
  29. ^ Allen, Mike (June 25, 2007). "Politico Playbook: Hijacked". Politico. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  30. ^ Allen, Mike; Lippman, Daniel (July 10, 2016). "Mike Allen's last Playbook: #3,304, a streak that started June 25, 2007 – Who'll Be First? Obama shops for a country club, and The Atlantic shops for an editor – B'Day: Julianna Smoot, Sam Stein". Politico. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mullins, Luke (July 17, 2016). "The Inside Story of the Politico Break-Up". Washingtonian. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b Rutenberg, Jim (June 19, 2016). "Mike Allen, Politico's Newsletter Pioneer, Is Handing Over the Reins". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  33. ^ Somaiya, Ravi (January 15, 2014). "Washington Post and Politico Talk About a Rift". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  34. ^ Massella, Nick (June 2, 2014). "Politico Hires 'Citizen Journo' Daniel Lippman for Playbook". AdWeek. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  35. ^ Beaujon, Andrew (July 8, 2016). "Mike Allen's Last Playbook Is on Sunday". Washingtonian. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  36. ^ Mullin, Benjamin (March 20, 2017). "For a speedier D.C. news cycle, Politico is rolling out a second Playbook". Poynter Institute. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  37. ^ Jump up to: a b Wemple, Erik (January 28, 2016). "Politico implodes". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  38. ^ Watson, Libby (May 11, 2018). "Politico Playbook Can Fuck Right Off". Splinter News.
  39. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Peters, Jeremy W. (October 25, 2010). "Politico Adds Subscription News Service". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  40. ^ "Politico Pro". Politico. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b Kristen Hare, Politico magazine launches online, Poynter Institute (November 14, 2013).
  42. ^ About Us, Politico Magazine (accessed August 22, 2016).
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b Byers, Dylan (June 2, 2013). "Politico hires FP's Susan Glasser to head new long-form journalism, opinion divisions". Politico.
  44. ^ O'Shea, Chris (December 2016). "Blake Hounshell Named Editor of Politico Mag". AdWeek.
  45. ^ Edmonds, Rick (April 20, 2017). "Politico is trying to turn the business model for magazines on its head". Poynter Institute. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  46. ^ Hare, Kristen (November 14, 2013). "Politico magazine launches online". Poynter Institute. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  47. ^ Byers, Dylan (September 8, 2013). "Politico buys Capital New York". Politico.
  48. ^ Somaiya, Ravi (April 15, 2015). "Politico to Expand Coverage of States, Starting With New Jersey". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  49. ^ Pudwill, Katie (September 26, 2018). "Politico Announces Expanded California Presence". Politico. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  50. ^ Pallota, Frank (September 9, 2014). "Politico's next battleground: Europe". CNN.
  51. ^ "Press Release: Politico Europe names Stephen Brown Editor in Chief". POLITICO. September 29, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  52. ^ Jackson, Jasper (March 17, 2015). "Politico to launch in Europe in April with more than 40 journalists". The Guardian. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  53. ^ Jump up to: a b Brown, Carrie Budoff (March 27, 2018). "Editor's Note: Behind Politico's new look". Politico. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018.
  54. ^ Katz, A.J. (March 27, 2018). "In the Era of Trump, Politico Redesigned Its Website to Adapt to the Fast and Furious News Cycle". AdWeek. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018.
  55. ^ Cooke, Melissa (December 29, 2020). "POLITICO Acquires E&E News". Politico.
  56. ^ https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/26/axel-springer-to-buy-politico.html
  57. ^ https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/26/media/politico-sale-axel-springer/index.html
  58. ^ Wang, Christine (November 22, 2016). "Politico editor resigns after sharing addresses of white nationalist on Facebook". CNBC. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  59. ^ Schreckinger, Ben (April 9, 2017). "The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin". Politico.
  60. ^ Zalman, Jonathan (April 10, 2017). "Politico's Dubious Chabad Story Receives Widespread Criticism". Tablet Magazine.
  61. ^ Sales, Ben (April 10, 2017). "Politico says Chabad is Trump's partner in – something. Not so fast". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  62. ^ Uberti, David (March 23, 2018). "Politico Apparently Helped Make One of the Trump Campaign's Most Successful Ads". Splinter News.
  63. ^ "Sponsor-generated content: Ten inconvenient truths about the Clinton Foundation". Politico.
  64. ^ Lewis, Paul; Hilder, Paul (March 23, 2018). "Leaked: Cambridge Analytica's blueprint for Trump victory". The Guardian.
  65. ^ Auber, Tamar (March 25, 2019). "AOC Calls Out Politico for 'Anti-Semitic' Tweet Labeling Bernie Sanders as 'Rich' and 'Cheap'". Mediaite.
  66. ^ Browden, John (May 25, 2019). "Ocasio-Cortez, progressives trash 'antisemitic' Politico illustration of Bernie Sanders". The Hill. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  67. ^ Shapiro, Ben. "POLITICO Playbook: The real reason most Republicans opposed impeachment". POLITICO.
  68. ^ "Politico Facts". Politico. March 27, 2017.
  69. ^ "American Views 2020: Trust, Media and Democracy" (PDF). Knight Foundation. November 9, 2020. p. 57.
  70. ^ Wolff, Michael (August 2009). "Politico's Washington Coup". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  71. ^ "Editor sees room for Politico coverage". The Washington Times. January 22, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  72. ^ Johnson, Caitlin (January 21, 2007). "The Politico Roundtable". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
  73. ^ Harris, John F. (March 6, 2007). "Media Matters Response". Politico. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  74. ^ Sonderman, Jeff (April 30, 2012). "Many politics sites draw partisan audiences, but Politico strikes a perfect balance". Poynter Institute. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  75. ^ Douthat, Ross (August 10, 2013). "How the Post Was Lost". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  76. ^ Kraushaar, Josh (June 2009). "Online News Leads Presidential Campaign Cycle". Journalism Studies. 10 (3): 435–438. doi:10.1080/14616700902987256. S2CID 145109555.

External links[]

Media related to Politico (Newspaper) at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from ""