The Washington Post

The Washington Post, locally known as The Post and, informally, WaPo or WP, is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area<ref name="DCTopNewspapers">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Gaaserud2014">Template:Cite book</ref> and has a national audience. As of 2023, the Post had 130,000 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both of which were the third-largest among U.S. newspapers after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

The Post was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy and revived its health and reputation; this work was continued by his successors Katharine and Phil Graham, Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, respectively, who bought out several rival publications. The PostTemplate:'s 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the investigation into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee, which developed into the Watergate scandal and the 1974 resignation of President Richard Nixon. In October 2013, the Graham family sold the newspaper to Nash Holdings, a holding company owned by Jeff Bezos, for Template:USD million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The newspaper has won the Pulitzer Prize 76 times for its work,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the second-most of any publication after The New York Times.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="Pulitzers count">Template:Cite web</ref> It is considered a newspaper of record in the U.S.<ref name="FrostWeingarten2017">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="BartonWeller2014">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed. Post journalists have received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The paper is well known for its political reporting and is one of the few remaining American newspapers to operate foreign bureaus,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with international breaking news hubs in London and Seoul.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Overview

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Headquarters of The Washington Post at One Franklin Square

The Washington Post is regarded as one of the leading daily American newspapers along with The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Post has distinguished itself through its political reporting on the workings of the White House, Congress, and other aspects of the U.S. government. It is considered a newspaper of record in the U.S.<ref name="FrostWeingarten2017" /><ref name="BartonWeller2014" />

The Washington Post does not print an edition for distribution away from the East Coast. In 2009, the newspaper ceased publication of its National Weekly Edition due to shrinking circulation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The majority of its newsprint readership is in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The newspaper's 21 foreign bureaus are in Baghdad, Beijing, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Dakar, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jerusalem, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Seoul, Tokyo, and Toronto.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2009, the newspaper announced the closure of three U.S. regional bureaus in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, as part of an increased focus on Washington, D.C.–based political stories and local news.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The newspaper has local bureaus in Maryland (Annapolis, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Southern Maryland) and Virginia (Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun County, Richmond, and Prince William County).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As of March 2023, the Post's average printed weekday circulation is 139,232, making it the third largest newspaper in the country by circulation.<ref name=majid>Template:Cite web</ref>

For many decades, the Post had its main office at 1150 15th Street NW. This real estate remained with Graham Holdings when the newspaper was sold to Jeff Bezos' Nash Holdings in 2013. Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street, along with 1515 L Street, 1523 L Street, and land beneath 1100 15th Street, for $159 million in November 2013. The Post continued to lease space at 1150 L Street NW.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2014, The Post leased the west tower of One Franklin Square, a high-rise building at 1301 K Street NW in Washington, D.C.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mary Jordan was the founding editor, head of content, and moderator for Washington Post Live,<ref name="WaPoLive-2015">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WaPoLive-2021">Template:Cite news</ref> The Post's editorial events business, which organizes political debates, conferences and news events for the media company, including "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate" in June 2012 that featured key Watergate figures including former White House counsel John Dean, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, which was held at the Watergate hotel. Regular hosts include Frances Stead Sellers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lois Romano was formerly the editor of Washington Post Live.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Post has its own exclusive Zip Code, 20071.

Publishing service

Arc XP is a department of The Washington Post, which provides a publishing system and software for news organizations such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

19th century

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The Washington Post and Union in 1878

File:Sign, "Welcome Home From the Crow-Eaters," on the front of the Washington Post Building in Washington, DC. President... - NARA - 199955.jpg

The Washington Post building the week after the 1948 United States presidential election; the "Crow-Eaters" sign is addressed to Harry Truman following his surprising re-election.

The newspaper was founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins (1838Template:Ndash1912); in 1880, it added a Sunday edition, becoming the city's first newspaper to publish seven days a week.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 1878, about four months into publication, The Washington Post purchased The Washington Union, a competing newspaper which was founded by John Lynch in late 1877. The Union had only been in operation about six months at the time of the acquisition. The combined newspaper was published from the Globe Building as The Washington Post and Union beginning on April 15, 1878, with a circulation of 13,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Post and Union name was used about two weeks until April 29, 1878, returning to the original masthead the following day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1889, Hutchins sold the newspaper to Frank Hatton, a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio. To promote the newspaper, the new owners requested the leader of the United States Marine Band, John Philip Sousa, to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. Sousa composed "The Washington Post".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It became the standard music to accompany the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and remains one of Sousa's best-known works.

In 1893, the newspaper moved to a building at 14th and E streets NW, where it would remain until 1950. This building combined all functions of the newspaper into one headquarters – newsroom, advertising, typesetting, and printing – that ran 24 hours per day.<ref name=Goodbye>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, the Post printed Clifford K. Berryman's classic illustration Remember the Maine, which became the battle-cry for American sailors during the War. In 1902, Berryman published another famous cartoon in the Post – Drawing the Line in Mississippi. This cartoon depicts President Theodore Roosevelt showing compassion for a small bear cub and inspired New York store owner Morris Michtom to create the teddy bear.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wilkins acquired Hatton's share of the newspaper in 1894 at Hatton's death.

20th century

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The July 21, 1969, edition with the headline Template:" 'The Eagle Has Landed': Two Men Walk on the Moon", covering the Apollo 11 landing

After Wilkins' death in 1903, his sons John and Robert ran the Post for two years before selling it in 1905 to John Roll McLean, owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. During the Wilson presidency, the Post was credited with the "most famous newspaper typo" in D.C. history according to Reason magazine; the Post intended to report that President Wilson had been "entertaining" his future-wife Mrs. Galt, but instead wrote that he had been "entering" Mrs. Galt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=tws5nov01>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=tws5nov02>Template:Cite news</ref>

When McLean died in 1916, he put the newspaper in a trust, having little faith that his playboy son Edward "Ned" McLean could manage it as part of his inheritance. Ned went to court and broke the trust, but, under his management, the newspaper slumped toward ruin. He bled the paper for his lavish lifestyle and used it to promote political agendas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During the Red Summer of 1919 the Post supported the white mobs and even ran a front-page story which advertised the location at which white servicemen were planning to meet to carry out attacks on black Washingtonians.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1929, financier Eugene Meyer, who had run the War Finance Corp. since World War I,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> secretly made an offer of $5 million for the Post, but he was rebuffed by Ned McLean.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On June 1, 1933, Meyer bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction for $825,000 three weeks after stepping down as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He had bid anonymously, and was prepared to go up to $2 million, far higher than the other bidders.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> These included William Randolph Hearst, who had long hoped to shut down the ailing Post to benefit his own Washington newspaper presence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The PostTemplate:'s health and reputation were restored under Meyer's ownership. In 1946, he was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law, Philip Graham.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Meyer eventually gained the last laugh over Hearst, who had owned the old Washington Times and the Herald before their 1939 merger that formed the Times-Herald. This was in turn bought by and merged into the Post in 1954.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The combined paper was officially named The Washington Post and Times-Herald until 1973, although the Times-Herald portion of the nameplate became less and less prominent over time.

The merger left the Post with two remaining local competitors, the Washington Star (Evening Star) and The Washington Daily News. In 1972, the two competitors merged, forming the Washington Star-News.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following Graham's death in 1963, control of The Washington Post Company passed to his wife, Katharine Graham (1917Template:Ndash2001), who was also Eugene Meyer's daughter.<ref name=":0" /> Few women had run prominent national newspapers in the United States, and Katharine Graham described herself as particularly anxious about assuming this role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She served as publisher from 1969 to 1979.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Graham took The Washington Post Company public on June 15, 1971, in the midst of the Pentagon Papers controversy. A total of 1,294,000 shares were offered to the public at $26 per share.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref> By the end of Graham's tenure as CEO in 1991, the stock was worth $888 per share, not counting the effect of an intermediate 4:1 stock split.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Graham also oversaw the Post company's diversification purchase of the for-profit education and training company Kaplan, Inc. for $40 million in 1984.<ref>The trials of Kaplan Higher Ed and the education of The Washington Post Co. Template:Webarchive, Washington Post, Steven Mufson and Jia Lynn Yang, April 9, 2011.</ref> Twenty years later, Kaplan had surpassed the Post newspaper as the company's leading contributor to income, and by 2010 Kaplan accounted for more than 60% of the entire company revenue stream.<ref>Nice Guy, Finishing Last: How Don Graham Fumbled the Washington Post Co. Template:Webarchive, Forbes, Jeff Bercovici, February 8, 2012.</ref>

Executive editor Ben Bradlee put the newspaper's reputation and resources behind reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who, in a long series of articles, chipped away at the story behind the 1972 burglary of Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington. The PostTemplate:'s dogged coverage of the story, the outcome of which ultimately played a major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon, won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 1973.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1972, the "Book World" section was introduced with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William McPherson as its first editor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It featured Pulitzer Prize-winning critics such as Jonathan Yardley and Michael Dirda, the latter of whom established his career as a critic at the Post. In 2009, after 37 years, with great reader outcries and protest, The Washington Post Book World as a standalone insert was discontinued, the last issue being Sunday, February 15, 2009,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> along with a general reorganization of the paper, such as placing the Sunday editorials on the back page of the main front section rather than the "Outlook" section and distributing some other locally oriented "op-ed" letters and commentaries in other sections.<ref name=lastbook>Letter from the editor Template:Webarchive, The Washington Post, Sunday, February 15, 2009; Page BW02</ref> However, book reviews are still published in the Outlook section on Sundays and in the Style section the rest of the week, as well as online.<ref name=lastbook />

In 1975, the pressmen's union went on strike. The Post hired replacement workers to replace the pressmen's union, and other unions returned to work in February 1976.<ref name="nyt19760229">Template:Cite news</ref>

Donald E. Graham, Katharine's son, succeeded her as a publisher in 1979.<ref name=":0" />

In 1995, the domain name washingtonpost.com was purchased. That same year, a failed effort to create an online news repository called Digital Ink launched. The following year it was shut down and the first website was launched in June 1996.<ref name="websitelaunch">Template:Cite web</ref>

Jeff Bezos era (since 2013)

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The demolition of The Washington PostTemplate:'s 15th Street headquarters in April 2016

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One Franklin Square, the home of the Post

In August 2013, Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post and other local publications, websites, and real estate<ref name="NashHoldingsincludes">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Form8K>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> for Template:US$,<ref name="clabaugh2013">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="fahri2013a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="fahri2013">Template:Cite news</ref> transferring ownership to Nash Holdings LLC, Bezos's private investment company.<ref name=fahri2013a /> The paper's former parent company, which retained some other assets such as Kaplan and a group of TV stations, was renamed Graham Holdings shortly after the sale.<ref name="Irwin">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=RenamedGraham>Template:Cite news</ref>

Nash Holdings, which includes the Post, is operated separately from technology company Amazon, which Bezos founded and where he is Template:As of executive chairman and the largest single shareholder, with 12.7% of voting rights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bezos said he has a vision that recreates "the 'daily ritual' of reading the Post as a bundle, not merely a series of individual stories..."<ref name="wp20130904">Template:Cite news</ref> He has been described as a "hands-off owner", holding teleconference calls with executive editor Martin Baron every two weeks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bezos appointed Fred Ryan (founder and CEO of Politico) to serve as publisher and chief executive officer. This signaled Bezos' intent to shift the Post to a more digital focus with a national and global readership.<ref name="Fred">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2015, the Post moved from the building it owned at 1150 15th Street to a leased space three blocks away at One Franklin Square on K Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Since 2014 the Post has launched an online personal finance section,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a blog, and a podcast with a retro theme.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The Post won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for News & Politics in the Social and Web categories.<ref name="Kastrenakes">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, the newspaper hired Jamal Khashoggi as a columnist. In 2018, Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2023, the Post announced it would cut 240 jobs across the organization by offering voluntary separation packages to employees.<ref name="Robertson">Template:Cite news</ref> In a staff-wide email announcing the job cuts, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote, "Our prior projections for traffic, subscriptions and advertising growth for the past two years — and into 2024 — have been overly optimistic".<ref name="Robertson" /> The Post has lost around 500,000 subscribers since the end of 2020 and was set to lose $100 million in 2023, according to The New York Times.<ref name="Robertson" /> The layoffs prompted Dan Froomkin of Presswatchers to suggest that the decline in readership could be reversed by focusing on the rise of authoritarianism (in a fashion similar to the role the Post played during the Watergate scandal) instead of staying strictly neutral, which Froomkin says places the paper into an undistinguished secondary role in competition with other contemporary media.<ref>Froomkin, Dan, The Washington Post blew its chance Template:Webarchive, Presswatchers, October 13, 2023</ref> As part of the shift in tone, in 2023 the paper closed down the "KidsPost" column for children, the "Skywatch" astronomy column, and the "John Kelly's Washington" column about local history and sights, which had been running under different bylines since 1947.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2024, CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that the organization would embrace artificial intelligence to improve the paper's financial situation, telling staff it would seek "AI everywhere in our newsroom".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2024, Axios reported the Post faced significant internal turmoil and financial challenges. The new CEO, Lewis, has already generated controversy with his leadership style and proposed restructuring plans. The abrupt departure of executive editor Buzbee and the appointment of two white men to top editorial positions have sparked internal discontent, particularly given the lack of consideration for the Post's senior female editors, as well as allegations that in March 2024 Lewis put pressure on Buzbee to bury a story about his involvement in a British phone-hacking scandal. Additionally, Lewis' proposed division for social media and service journalism has met with resistance from staff. Recent reports alleging Lewis' attempts to influence editorial decisions, including pressuring Buzbee to drop a story about his past ties to a phone hacking scandal, and offering NPR's media correspondent an exclusive interview about the Post’s future in exchange for not publishing similar allegations, have further shaken the newsroom's morale.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Staffers also became worried about Lewis' drinking and uninvolved role in the newsroom.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite news</ref> Lewis continues to grapple with declining revenue and audience on the business front, seeking strategies to regain subscribers lost since the Trump era.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Later that month, the paper ran a story allegedly exposing a connection between incoming editor Robert Winnett and John Ford, a man who "admitted to an extensive career using deception and illegal means to obtain confidential information."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Winnett withdrew from the position shortly thereafter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 2025, the Post announced it will layoff 4% of its staff, less than 100 people. Newsroom employees will not be affected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Suppression of views Bezos disfavors

In January 2025, editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post and published a blog post titled "Why I'm quitting the Washington Post".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In it, Telnaes criticizes the paper for allegedly refusing to run a cartoon critical of the relationship between American billionaires and President Donald Trump. Telnaes called the decision "dangerous for a free press". Telnaes' blog post and the nature of her cartoon sparked conversations about the paper's ownership under Bezos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2025, Bezos announced that the opinion section of the Post will give voice only to opinions that support "personal liberties" and "free markets"; but divergent opinions will not be published by the Post.<ref>NBC News, 26 Feb. 2025, "Jeff Bezos Overhauls Washington Post Opinion Section, Says It will Focus on 'Personal Liberties and Free Markets,' Opinion Editor David Shipley decided to "step away" after Bezos offered him the chance to continue in his role but under this new editorial focus </ref><ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, resigned after trying to persuade Jeff Bezos to reconsider the new direction.<ref name=":5" /> Within two days of the announcement, it was reported that over 75,000 digital subscribers had canceled their subscriptions.<ref name = Folkenflik2025>Template:Cite news</ref> In March, Ruth Marcus, columnist and editor for The Washington Post's opinion section, resigned after 40 years with the organization when the paper's publisher, Will Lewis, killed a column she wrote that was critical of the new direction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Political stance

20th century

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Two United States soldiers and a South Vietnamese soldier waterboard a captured North Vietnamese prisoner during the Vietnam War; the image, which appeared on the front cover of The Washington Post on January 21, 1968, led to the court-martial of a United States soldier, although The Washington Post described waterboarding as "fairly common".<ref name=nprweiner20071103>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=walter20061005>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer bought the bankrupt Post, and assured the public that neither he nor the newspaper would be beholden to any political party.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> But as a leading Republican who had been appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve by Herbert Hoover in 1930, his opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal colored the paper's editorials and news coverage, including editorializing news stories written by Meyer under a pseudonym.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His wife Agnes Ernst Meyer was a journalist from the other end of the spectrum politically. The Post ran many of her pieces including tributes to her personal friends John Dewey and Saul Alinsky.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1946, Meyer was appointed head of World Bank, and he named his son-in-law Phil Graham to succeed him as Post publisher. The post-war years saw the developing friendship of Phil and Kay Graham with the Kennedys, the Bradlees and the rest of the "Georgetown Set", including many Harvard University alumni that would color the Post's political orientation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kay Graham's most memorable Georgetown soirée guest list included British diplomat and communist spy Donald Maclean.<ref name="Philipps2018">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Graham1997>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Post is credited with coining the term "McCarthyism" in a 1950 editorial cartoon by Herbert Block.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Depicting buckets of tar, it made fun of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's "tarring" tactics, i.e., smear campaigns and character assassination against those targeted by his accusations. Sen. McCarthy was attempting to do for the Senate what the House Un-American Activities Committee had been doing for years—investigating Soviet espionage in America. The HUAC made Richard Nixon nationally known for his role in the Hiss/Chambers case that exposed communist spying in the State Department. The committee had evolved from the McCormack-Dickstein Committee of the 1930s.<ref name=Duffy>Template:Cite news</ref>

Phil Graham's friendship with John F. Kennedy remained strong until their deaths in 1963.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover reportedly told the new President Lyndon B. Johnson, "I don't have much influence with the Post because I frankly don't read it. I view it like the Daily Worker."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Anchor

Ben Bradlee became the editor-in-chief in 1968, and Kay Graham officially became the publisher in 1969, paving the way for the aggressive reporting of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandals. The Post strengthened public opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971 when it published the Pentagon Papers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the mid-1970s, some conservatives referred to the Post as "Pravda on the Potomac" because of its perceived left-wing bias in both reporting and editorials.<ref>Bruce Bartlett (March 13, 2007), "Partisan Press Parity" Template:Webarchive. The Washington Times.</ref> Since then, the appellation has been used by both liberal and conservative critics of the newspaper.<ref>James Kirchick (February 17, 2009), "Pravda on the Potomac" Template:Webarchive. The New Republic.</ref><ref>William Greider (March 6, 2003), "Washington Post Warriors" Template:Webarchive, The Nation</ref>

21st century

In the PBS documentary Buying the War, journalist Bill Moyers said in the year prior to the Iraq War there were 27 editorials supporting the Bush administration's desire to invade Iraq. National security correspondent Walter Pincus reported that he had been ordered to cease his reports that were critical of the administration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to author and journalist Greg Mitchell: "By the PostTemplate:'s own admission, in the months before the war, it ran more than 140 stories on its front page promoting the war, while contrary information got lost".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On March 23, 2007, Chris Matthews said on his television program, "The Washington Post is not the liberal newspaper it was [...] I have been reading it for years and it is a neocon newspaper".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has regularly published a mixture of op-ed columnists, with some of them left-leaning (including E. J. Dionne, Dana Milbank, Greg Sargent, and Eugene Robinson), and some of them right-leaning (including George Will, Marc Thiessen, Michael Gerson and Charles Krauthammer).

Responding to criticism of the newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, former Post ombudsman Deborah Howell wrote: "The opinion pages have strong conservative voices; the editorial board includes centrists and conservatives; and there were editorials critical of Obama. Yet opinion was still weighted toward Obama."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to a 2009 Oxford University Press book by Richard Davis on the impact of blogs on American politics, liberal bloggers link to The Washington Post and The New York Times more often than other major newspapers; however, conservative bloggers also link predominantly to liberal newspapers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Since 2011, the Post has been running a column called "The Fact Checker" that the Post describes as a "truth squad".<ref name="About the Fact Checker">Glenn Kessler (January 1, 2017), "About the Fact Checker" Template:Webarchive, The Washington Post</ref> The Fact Checker received a $250,000 grant from Google News Initiative/YouTube to expand production of video fact checks.<ref name="About the Fact Checker" />

In mid-September 2016, Matthew Ingram of Forbes joined Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept, and Trevor Timm of The Guardian in criticizing The Washington Post for "demanding that [former National Security Agency contractor Edward] Snowden ... stand trial on espionage charges".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In February 2017, the Post adopted the slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness" for its masthead.<ref name="OldSaying">Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2025, Jeff Bezos announced that the paper's opinion pages would endorse "personal liberties and free markets" to the exclusion of other views. According to the NPR, the announcement suggested the Post was adopting a libertarian line.<ref name = Folkenflik2025/>

Political endorsements

In the vast majority of U.S. elections, for federal, state, and local office, the Post editorial board has endorsed Democratic candidates.<ref name=Pexton2012>Template:Cite news</ref> The paper's editorial board and endorsement decision-making are separate from newsroom operations.<ref name=Pexton2012 /> Until 1976, the Post did not regularly make endorsements in presidential elections. Since it endorsed Jimmy Carter in 1976, the Post has endorsed Democrats in presidential elections, and has never endorsed a Republican for president in the general election,<ref name=Pexton2012 /> although in the 1988 presidential election, the Post declined to endorse either Governor Michael Dukakis (the Democratic candidate) or Vice President George H. W. Bush (the Republican candidate).<ref name=Pexton2012 /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Post editorial board endorsed Barack Obama in 2008<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 2012;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hillary Clinton in 2016;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Joe Biden in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2024, the Post controversially announced that it would no longer publish presidential endorsements.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

While the newspaper predominantly endorses Democrats in congressional, state, and local elections, it has occasionally endorsed Republican candidates.<ref name="Pexton2012" /> While the paper has not endorsed Republican candidates for governor of Virginia,<ref name="Pexton2012" /> it endorsed Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich's unsuccessful bid for a second term in 2006.<ref name="Pexton2012" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, it repeated its historic endorsements of every Republican incumbent for Congress in Northern Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Post editorial board endorsed Virginia's Republican U.S. Senator John Warner in his Senate reelection campaign in 1990, 1996 and 2002; the paper's most recent endorsement of a Maryland Republican for U.S. Senate was in the 1980s, when the paper endorsed Senator Charlies "Mac" Mathias Jr.<ref name="Pexton2012" /> In U.S. House of Representatives elections, moderate Republicans in Virginia and Maryland, including Wayne Gilchrest, Thomas M. Davis, and Frank Wolf, have enjoyed the support of the Post; the Post also endorsed Republican Carol Schwartz in her campaign in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Pexton2012" />

2024 discontinuation of presidential endorsements

Eleven days prior to the 2024 presidential election, CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that the Post would not endorse a candidate for 2024. It was the first time since the 1988 presidential election that the paper did not endorse the Democratic candidate. Lewis also said that the paper would not make endorsements in any future presidential election. Lewis stated that the paper was "returning to our roots" of not endorsing candidates, and explained that the move was "a statement in support of our readers' ability to make up their own minds", and "consistent with the values the Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects." Sources familiar with the situation stated that the Post editorial board had drafted an endorsement for Kamala Harris, but that it had been blocked by order of the Post's owner Jeff Bezos.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

The move was criticized by former executive editor Martin Baron, who considered it "disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage",<ref name=":2" /> and suggested that Bezos was fearing retaliation from 2024 Republican candidate Donald Trump that could impact Bezos's other businesses if Trump were elected.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Editor-at-large Robert Kagan and columnist Michele Norris resigned in the wake of the decision, and editor David Maraniss said that the paper was "dying in darkness", a reference to the paper's current slogan. Post opinion columnists jointly authored an article calling the decision to not endorse a "terrible mistake", and it was condemned by the Washington Post Guild, a union unit representing Post employees.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> More than 250,000 people (about ten percent of the PostTemplate:'s subscribers) cancelled their subscriptions, and three members of the editorial board left the board, though they remain with the Post in other positions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="w850">Template:Cite web</ref> An endorsement of Harris was subsequently published by the paper's humorist Alexandra Petri, who explained that "if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement", and that "I only know what's happening because our actual journalists are out there reporting, knowing that their editors have their backs, that there's no one too powerful to report on, that we would never pull a punch out of fear."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Condemning the PostTemplate:'s decision, several columnists, including Will Bunch, Jonathan Last, Dan Froomkin, Donna Ladd and Sewell Chan, described it as an example of what historian Timothy Snyder calls anticipatory obedience.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Andrew Koppelman, in an opinion piece for The Hill, praised the Post for revealing its cowardice.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his book On Tyranny, Snyder wrote that "Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. ... [I]ndividuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and he, too, condemned the decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Criticism and controversies

"Jimmy's World" fabrication

Template:Further In September 1980, a Sunday feature story appeared on the front page of the Post titled "Jimmy's World" in which reporter Janet Cooke wrote a profile of the life of an eight-year-old heroin addict.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although some within the Post doubted the story's veracity, the paper's editors defended it, and assistant managing editor Bob Woodward submitted the story to the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University for consideration.<ref>Bill Green (April 19, 1981), "THE PLAYERS: It Wasn't a Game", The Washington Post: ""I was blown away by the story," Woodward said. . . . "Jimmy" was created, lived and vanished in Woodward's shop. . . . Woodward supported the [Pulitzer] nomination strongly. . . ."I think that the decision to nominate the story for a Pulitzer is of minimal consequence. I also think that it won is of little consequence. It is a brilliant story -- fake and fraud that it is. It would be absurd for me [Woodward] or any other editor to review the authenticity or accuracy of stories that are nominated for prizes."" Template:Webarchive.</ref> Cooke was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing on April 13, 1981. The story was subsequently found to be a complete fabrication, and the Pulitzer was returned.<ref>Mike Sager (June 1, 2016), "The fabulist who changed journalism", Columbia Journalism Review. Template:Webarchive.</ref>

Private "salon" solicitation

In July 2009, in the midst of an intense debate over health care reform, Politico reported that a health-care lobbyist had received an "astonishing" offer of access to the Post's "health-care reporting and editorial staff".<ref>Michael Calderone and Mike Allen (July 2, 2009), "WaPo cancels lobbyist event", Politico. Template:Webarchive.</ref> Post publisher Katharine Weymouth had planned a series of exclusive dinner parties or "salons" at her private residence, to which she had invited prominent lobbyists, trade group members, politicians, and business people.<ref name="nytimes.com">Richard Pérez-Peña (July 2, 2009), "Pay-for-Chat Plan Falls Flat at Washington Post", The New York Times: "Postscript: Oct. 17, 2009 . . . Mr. Brauchli now says that he did indeed know that the dinners were being promoted as "off the record," . . . " Template:Webarchive.</ref> Participants were to be charged $25,000 to sponsor a single salon, and $250,000 for 11 sessions, with the events being closed to the public and to the non-Post press.<ref name=NageshAtlantic>Gautham Nagesh (July 2, 2009) "WaPo Salons Sell Access to Lobbyists", The Atlantic. Template:Webarchive.</ref> PoliticoTemplate:'s revelation gained a somewhat mixed response in Washington<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Dan Kennedy (July 8, 2009), "Selling out the Washington Post", The Guardian: "Perhaps the most shocking thing about Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth's misbegotten plan to sell access to her journalists at off-the-record dinners in her own home is that so many found it so shocking." Template:Webarchive.</ref><ref>Dan Kennedy (October 20, 2009), "Truth, lies and the Washington Post" Template:Webarchive, The Guardian: "If only we'd known that Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli was talking about the 'Chatham House rule' last summer when he was explaining what he knew about those now-infamous salons."</ref> as it gave the impression that the parties' sole purpose was to allow insiders to purchase face time with Post staff.

Almost immediately following the disclosure, Weymouth canceled the salons, saying, "This should never have happened." White House counsel Gregory B. Craig reminded officials that under federal ethics rules, they need advance approval for such events. Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli, who was named on the flier as one of the salon's "Hosts and Discussion Leaders", said he was "appalled" by the plan, adding, "It suggests that access to Washington Post journalists was available for purchase."<ref name=KurtzPost>Howard Kurtz (July 3, 2009), "Washington Post Publisher Cancels Planned Policy Dinners After Outcry" Template:Webarchive, The Washington Post</ref><ref name="nytimes.com" />

China Daily advertising supplements

Template:Further Dating back to 2011, The Washington Post began to include "China Watch" advertising supplements provided by China Daily, an English language newspaper owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, on the print and online editions. Although the header to the online "China Watch" section included the text "A Paid Supplement to The Washington Post", James Fallows of The Atlantic suggested that the notice was not clear enough for most readers to see.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Distributed to the Post and multiple newspapers around the world, the "China Watch" advertising supplements range from four to eight pages and appear at least monthly. According to a 2018 report by The Guardian, "China Watch" uses "a didactic, old-school approach to propaganda."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2020, a report by Freedom House, titled "Beijing's Global Megaphone", criticized the Post and other newspapers for distributing "China Watch".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the same year, 35 Republican members of the U.S. Congress wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2020 calling for an investigation of potential FARA violations by China Daily.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The letter named an article that appeared in the Post, "Education Flaws Linked to Hong Kong Unrest", as an example of "articles [that] serve as cover for China's atrocities, including ... its support for the crackdown in Hong Kong."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to The Guardian, the Post had already stopped running "China Watch" in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Employee relations

In 1986, five employees, including Newspaper Guild unit chairman Thomas R. Sherwood and assistant Maryland editor Claudia Levy, sued The Washington Post for overtime pay, stating that the newspaper had claimed that budgets did not allow for overtime wages.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2018, over 400 employees of The Washington Post signed an open letter to the owner Jeff Bezos demanding "fair wages; fair benefits for retirement, family leave and health care; and a fair amount of job security." The open letter was accompanied by video testimonials from employees, who alleged "shocking pay practices" despite record growth in subscriptions at the newspaper, with salaries rising an average of $10 per week, which the letter claimed was less than half the rate of inflation. The petition followed on a year of unsuccessful negotiations between The Washington Post Guild and upper management over pay and benefit increases.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 2022, reporter Paul Farhi was suspended for five days without pay after he tweeted about the publication's policy on bylines and datelines regarding Russian-based stories.<ref name=Guild2022>Template:Cite web</ref>

Felicia Sonmez

Template:Further In 2020, The Post suspended reporter Felicia Sonmez after she posted a series of tweets about the 2003 rape allegation against basketball star Kobe Bryant after Bryant's death. She was reinstated after over 200 Post journalists wrote an open letter criticizing the paper's decision.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2021, Sonmez sued The Post and several of its top editors, alleging workplace discrimination; the suit was dismissed in March 2022, with the court determining that Sonmez had failed to make plausible claims.<ref name=Klein>Charlotte Klein, Judge Tosses Reporter Felicia Sonmez's Discrimination Case Against The Washington Post Template:Webarchive, Vanity Fair (March 28, 2022).</ref>

In June 2022, Sonmez engaged in a Twitter feud with fellow Post staffers David Weigel, criticizing him over what he later described as "an offensive joke", and Jose A. Del Real, who accused Sonmez of "engaging in repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague".<ref name=BarrEditor>Jeremy Barr, Post editor Buzbee warns staff on Twitter strife: 'Be constructive and collegial', Washington Post (June 7, 2022).</ref> Following the feud, the newspaper suspended Weigel for a month for violating the company's social media guidelines, and the newspaper's executive editor Sally Buzbee sent out a newsroom-wide memorandum directing employees to "Be constructive and collegial" in their interactions with colleagues.<ref name=BarrEditor /> The newspaper fired Sonmez, writing in an emailed termination letter that she had engaged in "misconduct that includes insubordination, maligning your co-workers online and violating The PostTemplate:'s standards on workplace collegiality and inclusivity."<ref name=SchwartzmanBarr>Template:Cite news</ref> The Post faced criticism from the Post Guild after refusing to go to arbitration over the dismissal, stating that the expiration of the Post's contract "does not relieve the Post from its contractual obligation to arbitrate grievances filed prior to expiration."<ref name=Guild2022 />

Lawsuit by Covington Catholic High School student

Template:Main In 2019, Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann filed a defamation lawsuit against the Post, alleging that it libeled him in seven articles regarding the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation between Covington students and the Indigenous Peoples March.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A federal judge dismissed the case, ruling that 30 of the 33 statements in the Post that Sandmann alleged were libelous were not, but allowed Sandmann to file an amended complaint as to three statements.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After Sandmann's lawyers amended the complaint, the suit was reopened on October 28, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2020, The Post settled the lawsuit brought by Sandmann for an undisclosed amount.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref>

Controversial op-eds and columns

Several Washington Post op-eds and columns have prompted criticism, including a number of comments on race by columnist Richard Cohen over the years,<ref>Andrew Beaujon, Richard Cohen Leaves the Washington Post Template:Webarchive, Washington Post (September 23, 2019): "In the years since he displayed a remarkable ability to survive at the paper despite ...frequently stepping in it with regard to race, like the time he wrote that 'People with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children; or the time that he wrote sympathetically about the man who killed Trayvon Martin..."</ref><ref>Maya K. Francis, Richard Cohen's Been Gag-Worthy on Race for Years Template:Webarchive, Philadelphia Magazine (November 13, 2013).</ref> and a controversial 2014 column on campus sexual assault by George Will.<ref>Hadas Gold, George Will slammed for sexual assault column Template:Webarchive, Politico (June 10, 2014).</ref><ref>Alyssa Rosenberg, George Will's distasteful conclusions about sexual assault Template:Webarchive, Washington Post (June 10, 2014).</ref>

The PostTemplate:'s decision to run an op-ed by Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a leader in Yemen's Houthi movement, was criticized by some activists on the basis that it provided a platform to an "anti-Western and antisemitic group supported by Iran."<ref name="slam2">Template:Cite news</ref>

The headline of a 2020 op-ed titled "It's time to give the elites a bigger say in choosing the president" was changed, without an editor's note, after backlash.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2022, actor Johnny Depp successfully sued ex-wife Amber Heard for an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post where she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse two years after she had publicly accused him of domestic violence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Criticism by elected officials

File:President Trump Delivers Remarks (49498772251).jpg

Donald Trump holds up a copy of The Washington Post during remarks on February 6, 2020, in the East Room of the White House.

Speaking on behalf of President Nixon, White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler infamously accused The Washington Post of "shabby journalism" for their focus on Watergate only to apologize when the damning reporting on Nixon was proved correct.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

45th/47th president Donald Trump repeatedly spoke out against The Washington Post on his Twitter account,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> having "tweeted or retweeted criticism of the paper, tying it to Amazon more than 20 times since his campaign for president" by August 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition to often attacking the paper itself, Trump used Twitter to blast various Post journalists and columnists.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders repeatedly criticized The Washington Post, saying that its coverage of his campaign was slanted against him and attributing this to Jeff Bezos' purchase of the newspaper.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sanders' criticism was echoed by the socialist magazine Jacobin<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the progressive journalist watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron responded by saying that Sanders' criticism was "baseless and conspiratorial".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Fossil fuel advertising

An investigation by The Intercept, The Nation, and DeSmog found that The Washington Post is one of the leading media outlets that publishes advertising for the fossil fuel industry.<ref name=intercept20231205>Template:Cite news</ref> Journalists who cover climate change for The Washington Post are concerned that conflicts of interest with the companies and industries that caused climate change and obstructed action will reduce the credibility of their reporting on climate change and cause readers to downplay the climate crisis.<ref name=intercept20231205 />

Executive officers and editors

Major stockholders

1. Stilson Hutchins (1877–1889)
2. Frank Hatton and Beriah Wilkins (1889–1905)
3. John R. McLean (1905–1916)
4. Edward (Ned) McLean (1916–1933)
5. Eugene Meyer (1933–1948)
6. The Washington Post Company (1948–2013)
7. Nash Holdings (Jeff Bezos) (since 2013)

Publishers

1. Stilson Hutchins (1877–1889)
2. Beriah Wilkins (1889–1905)
3. John R. McLean (1905–1916)
4. Edward (Ned) McLean (1916–1933)
5. Eugene Meyer (1933–1946)
6. Philip L. Graham (1946–1961)
7. John W. Sweeterman (1961–1968)
8. Katharine Graham (1969–1979)
9. Donald E. Graham (1979–2000)
10. Boisfeuillet Jones Jr. (2000–2008)
11. Katharine Weymouth (2008–2014)
12. Frederick J. Ryan Jr. (2014–2023)
13. William Lewis (since 2024)

Executive editors

1. James Russell Wiggins (1955–1968)
2. Ben Bradlee (1968–1991)
3. Leonard Downie Jr. (1991–2008)
4. Marcus Brauchli (2008–2012)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
5. Martin Baron (2012–2021)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
6. Sally Buzbee (2021–2024)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
7. Matt Murray (since 2024)

Journalists

Current journalists at The Washington Post include: Yasmeen Abutaleb, Dan Balz, Christine Emba, Will Englund, Marc Fisher, Robin Givhan, David Ignatius, Ellen Nakashima, Ashley Parker, Sally Quinn, Michelle Singletary, and Joe Yonan.

Former journalists of The Washington Post include: Scott Armstrong, Melissa Bell, Ann Devroy, Edward T. Folliard, Malvina Lindsay, Mary McGrory, Walter Pincus, and Bob Woodward.

See also

• 1975–76 Washington Post pressmen's strike
• All the President's Men, a 1974 book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward about the Watergate scandal
• All the President's Men, a 1976 film based on Bernstein's and Woodward's book
• List of prizes won by The Washington Post
• The Post, a 2017 film based on the publication of the Pentagon Papers
• The Washington Star (1852–1981)
• The Washington Times (since 1982)

Further reading

• Kelly, Tom. The imperial Post: The Meyers, the Grahams, and the paper that rules Washington (Morrow, 1983)
• Lewis, Norman P. "Morning Miracle. Inside the Washington Post: A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life". Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly (2011) 88#1 pp: 219.
• Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers (1980) pp 342–52
• Roberts, Chalmers McGeagh. In the shadow of power: the story of the Washington Post (Seven Locks Pr, 1989)

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:Newseum front page
• The Washington Post Company history at Graham Holdings Company
• The Washington Post channel in Telegram
• Scott Sherman, May 2002, "Donald Graham's Washington Post" Columbia Journalism Review. September / October 2002.
• Template:Webarchive
• Jaffe, Harry. "Post Watch: Family Dynasty Continues with Katharine II", Washingtonian, February 26, 2008.
• Template:Citation Template:Open access