Politico (stylized inall caps), known originally asThe Politico, is an American political digital newspaper company. Founded by American banker and media executiveRobert 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, andCanada, among others. Primarily providing distributed news, analysis and opinion online, it also produces printed newspapers, radio, andpodcasts. Its coverage focuses on topics such as thefederal government,lobbying and themedia.[5]
In 2021,Politico was acquired for reportedly over US$1 billion byAxel Springer SE, a German news publisher and media company.[8] Axel Springer is Europe's largest newspaper publisher and had previously acquiredBusiness Insider. Unlike employees of its German newspapers, the employees of Politico do not have to sign Axel Springer's mission statement that expresses support forIsrael and America's and Europe'stransatlantic alliance.[9]
From the beginning, journalists covering political campaigns forPolitico 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 thatPolitico would expand its operations following the2008 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 and2012 elections,Politico's staff more than tripled in size.[22] Notable additions included two political commentators,Michael Kinsley andJoe Scarborough, as opinion writers.[23]
In 2009, the web pages shortened their name fromThe Politico to more simplyPolitico. In 2011,Politico began to focus more onlong-form journalism and news analysis.[12][24] This shift in coverage received further support in June 2013 with the hiring ofSusan Glasser to oversee "opinion from prominent outside voices" and "long-form storytelling".[25] In September 2014, Glasser was tapped to serve asPolitico's new editor, following the resignation of Richard Berke the previous month.[26]
VandeHei was namedPolitico'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 leavePolitico after the2016 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 ofWNYC public radio, was announced as CEO by new owner Axel Springer in January 2022 and tasked with leading operations of bothPolitico andPolitico 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]
On June 25, 2007,[38]Mike Allen launchedPolitico 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 politicalnews cycle.[14][41][42]
Daniel Lippman joinedPolitico in June 2014, in large part to assist Allen with Playbook.[43] Upon Allen's departure in July 2016 to startAxios, Anna Palmer andJake 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 foundPunchbowl News,Politico announced a new team of Playbook authors in 2021, includingRachael Bade,Ryan Lizza,Tara Palmeri andEugene Daniels.[48] Mike Debonis, previously of the Washington Post, was hired as editor ofPolitico 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, includingWashington 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, a paid subscription news service, launched in 2010.[52] Politico Pro covers about a dozen topics.[52][53] Subscription costs are determined 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] As of 2015, Politico Pro had a 93% subscription renewal rate, and provided about half ofPolitico's overall revenue.[12][40] During fiscal year 2024, the U.S. federal government paid about $8 million for subscriptions to Politico Pro and other Politico services.[54][55]
In November 2013,Politico launchedPolitico Magazine (ISSN2381-1595), which is published online and bimonthly in print.[56][57] In contrast toPolitico's focus on "politics and policy scoops" and breaking news,Politico Magazine focuses on "high-impact, magazine-style reporting", such as long-form journalism.[56][58] The first editor ofPolitico Magazine wasSusan Glasser, who came to the publication fromForeign Policy magazine.[58]
After Glasser was promoted to becomePolitico's editor,Garrett Graff was named editor of the magazine.[59] He was followed by Blake Hounshell (2016–18), and Stephen Heuser (2019–2022). In September, 2022, Elizabeth Ralph was named editor ofPOLITICO Magazine, now solely a digital publication.[60]
In February 2020, Robert Allbritton, the then owner ofPolitico, launchedProtocol, an online tech news site focused on the "people, power and politics of tech."[61] The site focused on how to "arm decision-makers in tech, business and public policy" with important global technology news.[62] It operated as a separate company and with separate business and editorial management than Politico. It was shut down at the end of 2022 after struggling to meet revenue goals.[63]
In September 2013,Politico acquired the online news siteCapital New York, which also operated separate departments covering Florida and New Jersey.[64] In April 2015,Politico announced its intention to rebrand the state feeds with thePolitico name (Politico Florida,Politico New Jersey, andPolitico New York) to expand its coverage of state politics.[65] In September 2018,Politico announced it would launchPolitico California Pro.[66]
In September 2014,Politico formed a joint venture with German publisherAxel Springer SE to launch its European edition, based inBrussels.[67] In December 2014, the joint venture announced its acquisition of Development Institute International, a leading French events content provider, andEuropean Voice, a European political newspaper, to be re-launched under thePolitico brand.Politico Europe debuted in print on April 23, 2015.[68]
Politico.eu, the publication's Brussels-based European operation, was formally launched in 2015. In early 2016, it had about 50 editorial employees and two dozen business employees. A third-party survey published at the time ranked Politico.eu as most widely read news organization among 249 Brussels "influencers" surveyed, although the same panel found it less influential thanThe Financial Times,BBC, andThe Economist.[69]
Stephen Brown, who was named editor-in-chief ofPolitico Europe in September 2019, died suddenly of a heart attack on March 18, 2021.[70][71]
Jamil Anderlini, previously Asia Editor of the Financial Times, was named Editor-in-Chief of Politico Europe in July 2021.[72] In late 2024 it was announced that Anderlini would move into the role of Regional Director ofPolitico's European operation.[73] Kate Day was appointed Senior Executive Editor of the European operation of Politico in late 2024.[74]
Under Glasser and successorCarrie Budoff Brown,Politico expanded its focus on investigating Washington policymakers, leading to multiple resignations. A series of stories by Sherman and Palmer in 2015 "helped break open the scandal that forced the resignation of RepresentativeAaron Schock of Illinois in 2015," according to theNew York Times.[75] Reporter Marianne Levine in 2017 "helped bring down Trump's Labor Secretary pick,"Andy Puzder, after breaking the story that Puzder's ex-wife had accused him of spousal abuse, according to Poynter.[76] Puzder withdrew his nomination after the story.
In September 2017, reporters Rachana Pradhan and Dan Diamond authored a "bombshell" investigation of how PresidentDonald Trump's health secretary,Tom Price, was flying on charter jets paid for by taxpayers, according to theWashington Post.[77] Price resigned after the stories.
The "indispensable" stories published byPolitico under Budoff Brown in 2017 helped it "get its groove back," according to theWashingtonian's Andrew Beaujon.[78]
Politico reporter Alex Thompson in February 2022 broke the "bombshell report" of howEric Lander, PresidentJoe Biden's science adviser, had been "demeaning" colleagues in the office, according toEndpoints News.[79] Lander resigned after the story.
In October 2021, the large German publishing and media firmAxel Springer SE announced that it had completed the acquisition ofPolitico for over $1 billion. The closing took place in late October 2021.[81][82][83] The new owners said they would add staff, and at some point, put the publication's news content behind apaywall.[84][85][86]
Axel Springer's Chief ExecutiveMathias Döpfner said that Politico staff would need to adhere to Axel Springer's principles,[87] including support for a united Europe, Israel's right to exist, advocate the transatlantic alliance between the United States of America and Europe and a free-market economy, and that staff who disagree with the principles "should not work for Axel Springer, very clearly".[88] Axel Springer said that they would not requirePolitico employees to sign documents in support of atransatlantic alliance or Israel, though this policy is enforced at German newspaperBild, another Axel Springer subsidiary.[89]
In September 2022,Politico published an exposé critical of NGO leadership at the helm of the worldwideCOVID-19 pandemic response, written in cooperation with the German newspaperDie Welt, another Axel Springer property.[90]
On May 2, 2022,Politico obtained and released a 98-page draft document indicating that theSupreme Court was poised to strike down the landmarkRoe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, as well asPlanned Parenthood v. Casey, in its ruling onDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.[91]Chief JusticeJohn Roberts directed theMarshal of the Court to conduct an investigation into the source of theleak.[92] The story became the most-trafficked in the publisher's history, with 11 million views by May 6.Politico's first tweet on the report gained more than triple the impressions it normally saw in an entire month on Twitter.[93]
On January 31, 2025, a Defense Department memo announced that Politico must move out of its longtime workspace on the Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon, a move under a new Annual Media Rotation Program for the Pentagon Press Corps.[96]
Politico editorMichael Hirsh resigned in November 2016 after publishing the home address of white supremacistRichard B. Spencer on Facebook.[97]
In January 2022,Politico Playbook incorrectly reported thatUnited States Supreme Court justiceSonia Sotomayor had been seen having dinner with leadingDemocrats, after Sotomayor earlier having claimed that she could not appear in person for oral arguments at the court. It later turned out thatPolitico had mistakenChuck Schumer's wifeIris Weinshall for Sotomayor, who had never been at the dinner, andPolitico did not verify the report.[98][99][100]
Politico Magazine published an article in April 2017 purporting to show long-term links between U.S. PresidentDonald Trump, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, through the Orthodox JewishHasidic organisationChabad-Lubavitch.[101] The article was widely criticised for failing to contact Chabad, and failing to show a connection between Trump and Putin through Chabad.[102][103]
In March 2019,Politico was again accused ofantisemitism when it published an article depicting imagery of presidential candidate U.S. SenatorBernie Sanders next to money trees. Sanders, one of twoJewish candidates for the2020 U.S. presidential election, was targeted for the amount of wealth he accumulated over his lifetime.[104]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 twoantisemitic tropes (Jews are cheap; Jews are rich).Politico's official Twitter account used the quote to share the story; the tweet was later deleted.[105]
On January 14, 2021, conservative commentatorBen Shapiro was featured as a guest writer forPolitico's Playbook newsletter, where he defendedRepublicans in theU.S. House of Representatives who opposed thesecond impeachment of Donald Trump.[106] The newsletter drew backlash fromPolitico staffers.Matthew Kaminski, editor in chief ofPolitico, declined to apologize and defended the decision to publish the article, stating: "We're not going to back away from having published something because some people think it was a mistake to do so." He added that the newspaper "stands by every word" in the article.[107] According toThe Daily Beast, more than 100Politico staffers signed onto a letter to publisherRobert Allbritton criticizingPolitico's decision to feature Shapiro's article and the response from Kaminski.[108]
In 2024, Politico were handed leaked confidential materials from the Donald Trump presidential campaign.Politico confirmed that the documents were authentic but refused to report on their contents. The Associated Press wrote that the decision byPolitico to not report on the Trump campaign leaks stands "in marked contrast" toPolitico's extensive reporting on the leaked email communications of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign manager, John Podesta.[112]
Vending box for the print edition ofPolitico 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.[114] Following the acquisition of the company byAxel Springer SE,Haaretz andFairness & Accuracy in Reporting reported thatPolitico would enforce a policy on employees requiring them to acknowledge Israel's right to exist.[89][115]
The print newspaper had a circulation of approximately 32,000 in 2009, distributed free in Washington, D.C., and Manhattan.[116] 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.[117] It carries advertising, including full-page ads from trade associations and a large help-wanted section listing Washington political jobs.[citation needed]
Multiple commentators have creditedPolitico'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][119][120] Other outlets, includingAxios andPunchbowl News, were started byPolitico employees.[121]
Politico won aPulitzer Prize in 2012, forMatt Wuerker's editorial cartoons.[122]Politico also has won fourGeorge Polk Awards, the first in 2014 forRania Abouzeid's investigation of the rise of theIslamic State, the second in 2019 for Helena Bottemiller Evich's investigation of the Trump administration's efforts to bury itsclimate change plans, the third in 2020 for Dan Diamond's investigation of political interference in theU.S. federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fourth in 2022 for Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter Canellos, and the staff of Politico for revealing a draft of the Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.[123]
^abcdeUberti, David (June 25, 2015)."Can Politico rise again?".Columbia Journalism Review.Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. RetrievedJuly 28, 2017.
^Diamond, Dan (February 24, 2020)."Trump set to ask for more coronavirus cash".Politico.Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. RetrievedMay 7, 2020.Martin Tolchin, the founder of The Hill and a member of POLITICO's founding editorial team
^"Martin Tolchin".Politico.Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. RetrievedMay 7, 2020.he is helping launch Politico
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