 | |
| Editor | Paul Glastris |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly (1969–2008), bimonthly (2008–present) |
| Circulation | 10,630 |
| Founder | Charles Peters |
| First issue | February 19, 1969 |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Washington, D.C. |
| Website | washingtonmonthly |
| ISSN | 0043-0633 |
Washington Monthly is a bimonthly,[a] nonprofitmagazine primarily coveringUnited States politics and government that is based inWashington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternative toForbes' andU.S. News & World Report's rankings.
The magazine was founded on February 19, 1969, byCharles Peters, who wrote the "Tilting at Windmills" column in each issue until 2014.[1]Paul Glastris, former speechwriter forBill Clinton, has beenWashington Monthly's editor-in-chief since 2001. In 2008, the magazine switched from a monthly to a bimonthly publication schedule, citing high publication costs.
Past staff editors of the magazine includeJonathan Alter,Taylor Branch,James Fallows,Joshua Green,David Ignatius,Mickey Kaus,Nicholas Lemann,Suzannah Lessard,Jon Meacham,Timothy Noah,Joe Nocera,Nicholas Thompson, andSteven Waldman.[2]
In 2008, the liberal watchdog and advocacy groupCommon Cause considered acquiringWashington Monthly, but the deal fell apart.[3][4]
The politics ofWashington Monthly are often consideredcenter-left.[5][6][7] Founder Charles Peters, who had long referred to himself as aNew Deal Democrat, redefined himself as aneoliberal in the 1980s, becoming an early proponent of market-based reforms among Democrats.[8] His columns also frequently emphasized the importance of a vigilant "fourth estate" in keeping government honest.
Washington Monthly features a continuingblog, "Political Animal", which was written principally byKevin Drum for several years, with frequent guest contributions byWashington Monthly's current and alumni editors. In 2008,Steve Benen took over as lead blogger. In 2012, he was succeeded by Ed Kilgore.[9] Kilgore left the magazine in 2015.[10]
In addition to "Political Animal", the magazine's website hosts "Ten Miles Square", a general blog featuring posts from staff and political scientists, which debuted in 2011,[11] and "College Guide", a blog about higher education, which the magazine began offering in 2009.[12]
Washington Monthly's annualcollege and university rankings,[13] a deliberate alternative college guide toU.S. News & World Report andForbes College Rankings among domestic publications, began as a research report in 2005. It was introduced as an official set of rankings in the September 2006 issue.[14]
Its "National Universities Rankings", most recently published in 2023, began as a research report in 2005 with its first rankings appearing in the September 2006 issue.Washington Monthlyrates schools "based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country)."[15]
TheWashington Monthly receives financial support from theLumina Foundation to provide coverage of post-secondary education-related issues.[16] The magazine has also received funding from theSchumann Center for Media and Democracy,[17] theCarnegie Corporation of New York,[18] and individual supporters, includingWarren Buffett andMarkos Kounalakis.[2]
