Politico facts for kids
 |
|
| Industry | News |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 23, 2007 (as The Politico) |
| Headquarters | |
|
Key people
|
|
| Products |
|
| Owner | Axel Springer SE |
|
Number of employees
|
1100 as of January, 2024 (700+ in North America, 375 in Europe) |
Politico (which is always written in all caps) is a digital news company based near Washington, D.C., in the U.S. It was started in 2007 by American banker Robert Allbritton. Politico focuses on politics and important government policies in the United States and around the world.
Politico shares news, detailed analysis, and opinions online. They also print newspapers, create radio shows, and produce podcasts. Their stories often cover the U.S. federal government, how groups try to influence laws (called lobbying), and the news media.
Some people describe Politico's news coverage as being in the political middle ground, or "centrist," for American politics. For international news, it's seen as supporting a strong connection between the U.S. and Europe. However, as of 2024, the website Allsides.com says Politico's news tends to lean a bit to the left.
In 2021, a big German news company called Axel Springer SE bought Politico. This company is Europe's largest newspaper publisher.
Contents
How Politico Started and Grew
Early Days and Fast News
Politico began in 2007 with a goal to cover politics very quickly and in great detail online. It wanted to be like how sports channels cover sports, but for politics.
John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei were two journalists who left The Washington Post to help start Politico. With money from Robert L. Allbritton, they launched the website on January 23, 2007. One of their first hires was a writer named Mike Allen.
From the start, Politico journalists covering political campaigns used video cameras. They were also encouraged to share their work on other platforms. By 2008, Politico was getting more than three million visits to its website each month.
In 2009, the website changed its name from The Politico to simply Politico. In 2011, Politico started to focus more on longer, in-depth stories and news analysis.
Jim VandeHei became Politico's CEO in 2013. Under his leadership, Politico kept growing. By 2016, Politico had almost 500 employees worldwide.
After Jim VandeHei left, Patrick Steel became CEO in 2017 and stayed for four years. In 2022, Goli Sheikholeslami became the new CEO. She was put in charge of both Politico and Politico Europe by the new owner, Axel Springer.
Politico Playbook Newsletters
On June 25, 2007, journalist Mike Allen started "Playbook." This was a daily email newsletter sent out early in the morning. In just a few years, many important people in Washington, D.C., were reading it.
By 2016, over 100,000 people read Playbook every day. This included politicians, lobbyists, and other journalists. Many people say that Allen and Playbook had a big impact on what political news was talked about each day.
Other journalists later joined the Playbook team. In 2017, it cost between $50,000 and $60,000 to sponsor Playbook for one week.
Since it started, Politico's Playbook has grown to cover many places around the world. These newsletters help readers understand important political discussions in places like Washington D.C., New York, London, and Brussels. More than one million people now subscribe to these Politico Playbooks.
Politico Pro for Businesses
Politico Pro is a special service that started in 2010. It's for businesses and organizations that need very detailed news. Politico Pro has about 300 reporters who cover more than a dozen major topics in depth.
Businesses pay a fee to subscribe to Politico Pro. The cost depends on how many people use it and what topics they want to follow. Even though it costs money, 93% of subscribers renew their service. Politico Pro brings in almost half of Politico's total income. The main Politico.com website and other newsletters like Playbook remain free to read.
Politico Magazine
In November 2013, Politico launched Politico Magazine. This magazine is published online and also in print every two months. Unlike the main Politico site, which focuses on breaking news, Politico Magazine publishes longer, in-depth stories.
The first editor of Politico Magazine was Susan Glasser. Today, POLITICO Magazine is only published digitally online.
Protocol (No Longer Running)
In February 2020, Robert Allbritton, who owned Politico at the time, started a new online news site called Protocol. This site focused on news about technology, including the people, power, and politics of the tech world. Protocol was a separate company from Politico. It closed down at the end of 2022.
State News Editions
In 2013, Politico bought an online news site called Capital New York. This site also had separate sections covering news in Florida and New Jersey. In 2015, Politico changed the names of these state news sections to Politico Florida, Politico New Jersey, and Politico New York. This helped them cover more state-level politics. In 2018, they also launched Politico California Pro.
Growing Around the World
In 2014, Politico teamed up with the German publisher Axel Springer SE to start a European version of Politico. It is based in Brussels, Belgium. In 2014, they bought a European political newspaper called European Voice and relaunched it under the Politico name. Politico Europe printed its first newspaper on April 23, 2015.
The European website, Politico.eu, officially launched in 2015. By early 2016, it had about 50 news employees. A survey found that Politico.eu was the most-read news source among many important people in Brussels.
Important Investigations
Politico has become known for its investigative reporting. This means they dig deep into stories about people in power in Washington. Their stories have sometimes led to people resigning from their jobs.
For example, in 2015, stories by journalists Sherman and Palmer helped uncover a scandal that led to a politician named Aaron Schock resigning. In 2017, reporter Marianne Levine's story led to Andy Puzder withdrawing his nomination to be Labor Secretary.
In September 2017, reporters Rachana Pradhan and Dan Diamond wrote an important story about President Donald Trump's health secretary, Tom Price. The story showed he was using expensive private planes paid for by taxpayers. Price resigned after these stories came out.
In February 2022, Politico reporter Alex Thompson broke a big story about Eric Lander, President Joe Biden's science adviser. The report said Lander had been treating his colleagues badly. Lander resigned after the story.
Acquisition by Axel Springer
In October 2021, the big German publishing company Axel Springer SE announced it had bought Politico. The deal was reportedly for over $1 billion. The new owners said they would hire more staff. They also said that at some point, they might start charging people to read some of the news content.
Axel Springer's CEO, Mathias Döpfner, said that Politico staff would need to follow Axel Springer's main principles. These include supporting a united Europe, Israel's right to exist, and a strong partnership between the U.S. and Europe. Axel Springer said they would not make Politico employees sign documents agreeing to these principles, even though they do for some of their German newspapers.
Supreme Court Document Leak
On May 2, 2022, Politico got and published a draft document from the U.S. Supreme Court. This document showed that the Court was planning to overturn the famous Roe v. Wade decision. This story became the most-read in Politico's history, with 11 million views in just four days. The first tweet Politico sent about the report got three times more views than they usually get in a whole month.
As of 2017, Politico said its American website had about 26 million unique visitors each month. Its European website had more than 1.5 million unique visitors.
The printed Politico newspaper had about 32,000 copies in 2009. These were given out for free in Washington, D.C., and Manhattan. The newspaper prints up to five times a week when Congress is working. It also has advertisements, including job listings for political jobs in Washington.
Politico's Impact
Many people say that Politico's original way of doing things—like focusing on getting news first and publishing many stories—made other, older news organizations change. These changes included speeding up how fast they published news and changing their style. Other news companies, like Axios and Punchbowl News, were even started by former Politico employees.
Awards and Recognition
Politico has won several important awards for its journalism.
- In 2012, Politico won a Pulitzer Prize for Matt Wuerker's political cartoons.
- Politico has also won three George Polk Awards. These awards are for excellent journalism.
- The first was in 2014 for an investigation into the rise of the Islamic State.
- The second was in 2019 for a story about the Trump administration's efforts to hide its climate change plans.
- The third was in 2020 for an investigation into political interference in the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
See also
In Spanish: Politico (periódico) para niños
- List of newspapers in Washington, D.C.
