Politico
Politico (stylized in all caps), known originally as The Politico, is a Washington metropolitan area, U.S., based politics focused digital newspaper company. Founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007,[4] it covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally, with publications dedicated to politics in the U.S., European Union, United Kingdom and Canada, among others. Primarily providing distributed news, analysis and opinion online, it also produces printed newspapers, radio, and podcasts. Its coverage focuses on topics such as the federal government, lobbying and the media.[5]
For other uses, see Politico (disambiguation).Industry
January 23, 2007 (as The Politico)
- Goli Sheikholeslami (Chief Executive Officer)[1]
- Mark Dekan (Chief Operating Officer)[1]
- John Harris (editor-in-chief)[2][1]
- Politico (newspaper)
- Politico.com (website)
- Politico Europe (newspaper)
- Politico.EU (website)
- POLITICOPro.com (subscription service)
- POLITICOPro.EU (Subscription service)
1100 as of January, 2024 (700+ in North America, 375 in Europe)[3]
Ideologically, Politico's coverage has been described as centrist on American politics and Atlantist on international politics.[6][7] however as of 2024 Allsides.com rates its media bias as Leans Left.
In 2021 it was acquired for reportedly over 1 billion USD by Axel Springer SE, a German news publisher and media company.[8] Axel Springer is Europe's largest newspaper publisher and had previously acquired Business Insider. Its employees have to abide by Axel Springer-wide guiding principles but unlike employees of its German newspapers, the employees of Politico do not have to sign a written commitment to the company's principles.[9]
History[edit]
Origins, style, and growth[edit]
Politico was founded in 2007 to focus on politics with fast-paced Internet reporting in granular detail, comparable to the sports analysis of SportsCenter[10] or ESPN.[11] 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.[12][13] Their first hire was Mike Allen, a writer for Time,[14] and Frederick J. Ryan Jr. served as its first president and chief executive officer.[15] Martin Tolchin was another member of the editorial founding team.[16][17]
From the beginning, journalists covering political campaigns for Politico carried a video camera to each assignment,[18] and they were encouraged to promote their work elsewhere.[19] By 2008, Politico received more than three million unique visits per month.[20]
In September 2008, The New York Times reported that Politico would expand its operations following the 2008 U.S. presidential election, and that "after Election Day, [Politico] will add reporters, editors, Web engineers and other employees; expand circulation of its newspaper edition in Washington; and print more often."[21] Between the 2008 and 2012 elections, Politico's staff more than tripled in size.[22] Notable additions included two political commentators, Michael Kinsley and Joe Scarborough, as opinion writers.[23]
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.[12][24] 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".[25] In September 2014, Glasser was tapped to serve as Politico's new editor, following the resignation of Richard Berke the previous month.[26]
VandeHei was named Politico's new CEO in October 2013.[27] Under his leadership, Politico continued to grow: in 2014 alone, it expanded revenues by 25%.[28] By 2016, Politico had nearly 500 employees worldwide.[29]
Amidst reports of tensions, VandeHei and Allen announced that they would leave Politico after the 2016 presidential election, but left far sooner.[12][30] Allbritton, then Executive Chairman and owner, was named acting CEO in Vandehei's stead.[30] Several months after their departure, Washingtonian Magazine reported that the relationship ultimately deteriorated during a series of events including VandeHei pushing Allbritton to sell the company, and Allbritton losing faith in VandeHei's abilities as a CEO.[31]
Investment banker Patrick Steel served as CEO between 2017 and 2021.[32][33] He departed the company in early 2021 after four years.[34]
Goli Sheikholeslami, who had been the CEO of WNYC public radio, was announced as CEO by new owner Axel Springer in January 2022 and tasked with leading operations of both Politico and Politico Europe.[35]
Dafna Linzer, who had been at MSNBC and NBC News, was named as the new executive editor in March 2022.[36] She departed in 2023 after serving a year in the role.[37]
Politico Playbook[edit]
On June 25, 2007,[38] Mike Allen launched Playbook, a daily early-morning email newsletter.[39][40] Within a few years, the newsletter had attained a large readership amongst members of the D.C. community.[14] By 2016, over 100,000 people—including "insiders, outsiders, lobbyists and journalists, governors, senators, presidents and would-be presidents"—read Playbook daily.[41] Multiple commentators credit Allen and Playbook with strongly influencing the substance and tone of the rest of the national political news cycle.[14][41][42]
Daniel Lippman joined Politico in June 2014, in large part to assist Allen with Playbook.[43] Upon Allen's departure in July 2016 to start Axios, Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman joined Lippman to assume Playbook-writing duties.[44] 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.[45]
In 2017, a weekly sponsorship of Playbook cost between $50,000 and $60,000.[46][47] After Palmer and Sherman left to found Punchbowl News, Politico announced a new team of Playbook authors in 2021, including Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri and Eugene Daniels.[48] Mike Debonis, previously of the Washington Post, was hired as editor of Politico Playbook in 2022.[49] In April, 2022, Palmeri left POLITICO after being moved off of Playbook.[50]
Since its launch in 2007, POLITICO's Playbook franchise has become global and exists in 13 different locations. These newsletters bring readers inside the conversation that matters within influential political villages and global power centers, including Washington D.C., New York, California, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ottawa, Brussels, London, Paris, and, as of February 2024, Berlin. More than one million influential readers currently subscribe to these POLITICO Playbooks.[51]
Politico Pro[edit]
Politico Pro, a B2B subscription service, launched in 2010.[52] With roughly 300 reporters at its disposal, Politico Pro provides in-depth coverage of over a dozen major topic areas.[52][53] The service charges subscribing businesses by licenses and topic area (verticals), with the costs in the high four figures to high six figures depending on the scope of the subscription.[40][52] Despite the paywall in place, Politico Pro has a 93% subscription renewal rate, and it provides nearly half of Politico's overall revenue.[12][40] Access to the Politico.com, Politico Playbook, and its other newsletters remained free of charge.[52]
Influence[edit]
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.[12][14][46][109][110] Other outlets, including Axios and Punchbowl News, were started by Politico employees.[111]
Awards and recognition[edit]
Politico won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012, for Matt Wuerker's editorial cartoons. Politico also has won three George Polk Awards, the first in 2014 for Rania Abouzeid's investigation of the rise of the Islamic State, the second in 2019 for Helena Bottemiller Evich's investigation of the Trump administration's efforts to bury its climate change plans, and the third in 2020 for Diamond's investigation of political interference in the U.S. federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Official website
Media related to Politico (company) at Wikimedia Commons