The Hill (newspaper)

The Hill is an American digital media company, based in Washington, D.C. which began as a newspaper publisher in 1994.[2][4] It is owned by Capitol Hill Publishing, which is owned by News Communications, Inc.

The Hill
TypeDaily newspaper (when Congress is in session)
FormatCompact
Owner(s)Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc
Founder(s)Jerry Finkelstein and Martin Tolchin
PublisherPeter Greenberger
EditorBob Cusack[1]
Managing editorIan Swanson[1]
Photo editorGreg Nash
FoundedSeptember 1, 1994 (1994-09-01)
LanguageAmerican English
Headquarters1625 K St., NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C., 20006 U.S.
CityWashington, D.C.
CountryUnited States
Circulation24,000 print (as of December 2012)[2][3]
ISSN1521-1568
OCLC number31153202
Websitethehill.com

Focusing on politics, policy, business and international relations, The Hill coverage includes the U.S. Congress, the presidency, and election campaigns.[5] On its website, The Hill describes its output as "nonpartisan reporting on the inner workings of Congress and the nexus of politics and business".[6]

A significant part of the publication’s appeal is the perception of its non-partisanship. According to a 2020 Knight Foundation study, The Hill is generally read by a moderate audience, leaning slightly toward the right.[7] As of 2020, it is the largest independent political news site in the United States, is second in online political news readership behind CNN[8], and is the third most-Tweeted U.S. news source.[9] According to AllSides, it is described as unbiased, with a rating of "center."[10]

History

Founding and early years
Vending box for The Hill on K Street.

The paper was founded in 1994 by Republican power broker and New York businessman Jerry Finkelstein and Martin Tolchin, a former correspondent for The New York Times.[11]

The Hill was founded in 1994 under the company News Communications, Inc.[12] Jerry Finkelstein, the former publisher of the New York Law Journal and The National Law Journal, was the primary shareholder of the company. New York Democratic Representative Gary L. Ackerman was a major shareholder of News Communications.[11]

The Hill's first editor was Martin Tolchin, a former correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times.[4] In 2003, Hugo Gurdon[2] (previously industrial editor at The Daily Telegraph and founding managing editor of the National Post) became The Hill's editor-in-chief. Gurdon turned The Hill from a weekly paper into a daily during congressional sessions.

Founder's death

In 2012, founder Jerry Finkelstein died and left the organization to his son, James "Jimmy" A. Finkelstein [2][11]

In 2014, Gurdon left for the Washington Examiner and was replaced by his managing editor, Bob Cusack.[1]

Cusack currently serves as the editor-in-chief, with Peter Greenberger as the publisher, and Ian Swanson as managing editor.[2]

John Solomon

In 2017 owner Jimmy Finkelstein hired political commentator John Solomon as a journalist. Solomon reported directly to Finkelstein which removed him entirely from normal editorial oversight.[13] Solomon regularly inserted material from advertisers into journalistic copy, leading to protests from The Hill's publisher, who subsequently left the paper.[14] Eventually Solomon was rebranded as an opinion contributor.[15] In March 2018 he published an interview and series of columns that promoted a conspiracy theory regarding Ukraine advanced by associates of Rudy Giuliani.[14]

2019

In January 2019, WarnerMedia's CNN reported that Finkelstein was interfering in the editorial independence of the paper in an inappropriate way to minimize criticism of American President Donald Trump. They reported that staff were "in revolt" over Finkelstein's ownership style.[13]

In September John Solomon left The Hill.[13]

2020

As of 2020, the newspaper claims to have more than 22,000 print readers.[2] The Hill is distributed for free in newspaper boxes around the U.S. Capitol building, and mailed directly to all congressional offices.

The founder's son James "Jimmy" A. Finkelstein serves as its chairman.[2]

In January 2020, Politico reported that the owner is looking for potential buyers of The Hill.[16] The same report claimed a senior Hill employee told Politico that Jimmy Finkelstein attended the second 2016 presidential debate as a Trump campaign guest.[16]

In June 2020, Politico reported that Jimmy Finkelstein's wife, Pamela Gross, was involved in getting Melania Trump acclimated to living and working in the White House.[17] Gross' unpaid arrangement was not disclosed in the several dozen articles The Hill published about the First Lady while Gross was advising her from August 2017 to February 2018, nor were more than a select few Hill employees informed that their boss' wife was an East Wing adviser.

Columnists

Current

Past

Hill TV

In June 2018, The Hill launched Hill TV, a digital news channel. The channel features Rising, a daily morning news program hosted by Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti. They have launched other web series, such as Why You Should Care with Jamal Simmons.[18] On October 30, 2020, Ball and Enjeti appeared on Useful Idiots and provided an assessment of the legacy of Donald Trump.[19]

References
  1. Yingling, Jennifer (2014-07-28). "The Hill names Bob Cusack Editor in Chief". The Hill. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
  2. "Who we are". The Hill. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  3. "The Hill: 'An investment in the arts is an investment in economic growth'". Americans for the Arts Action Fund. February 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  4. "New paper to vie for readers on Capitol Hill". The New York Times.
  5. "New and Old Political Media Are Battling for Dominance in the Century's Wildest Election". AdWeek. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
  6. "Contact Us". The Hill. July 18, 2018 [First published August 5, 2009]. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  7. "American Views 2020: Trust, Media and Democracy" (PDF). Knight Foundation. November 9, 2020. p. 57.
  8. https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2020/08/17/2020-best-summer-record-cnn-digital-traffic-ratings/
  9. https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/328959/nowthis-the-hill-among-top-10-most-tweeted-ne.html
  10. https://www.allsides.com/news-source/hill-media-bias
  11. Mcfadden, Robert D. (November 28, 2012). "Jerry Finkelstein, New York Power Broker, Dies at 96". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  12. Alicia Mundy (1996-12-02). "The In-Your-Face Race" (PDF). Mediaweek. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  13. Stelter, Brian; Darcy, Oliver (January 18, 2019). "Jimmy Finkelstein, the owner of The Hill, has flown under the radar. But he's played a key role in the Ukraine scandal". CNN Business. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  14. Jake Pearson, Mike Spies, J. David McSwane (2019-10-25). "How a Veteran Reporter Worked with Giuliani's Associates to Launch the Ukraine Conspiracy". ProPublica. Retrieved 2020-02-24.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  15. Erik Wemple (2018-05-14). "The Hill's John Solomon moves to new spot as 'opinion contributor'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  16. Lippman, Daniel; Nguyen, Tina. "The Hill's owner seeks potential buyers, investors". Jimmy Finkelstein, owner of The Hill, is shopping his publication … to various media owners
  17. "Publisher's wife played undisclosed role for Melania Trump". POLITICO.
  18. "Buck Sexton helps launch Hill.tv with debut of new daily morning show "Rising with Krystal & Buck"". Premiere Networks. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  19. Useful Idiots, Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on Election Day 2020 and the Future of Both Parties, October 30, 2020

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