The Hill (newspaper) explained

The Hill
Type:Daily newspaper (when Congress is in session)
Format:Compact
Owners:Nexstar Media Group
Editor:Bob Cusack
Maneditor:Ian Swanson[1]
Photoeditor:Greg Nash
Headquarters:1625 K St., NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C., 20006 U.S.
38.9031°N -77.0375°W
Language:American English
Publishing City:Washington, D.C.
Publishing Country:United States
Circulation:24,000 print
Circulation Date:December 2012
Circulation Ref:[2]
Issn:1521-1568
Oclc:31153202

The Hill, founded in 1994, is an American newspaper and digital media company based in Washington, D.C..[3] [4]

Focusing on politics, policy, business and international relations, The Hills coverage includes the U.S. Congress, the presidency and executive branch, and election campaigns.[5] Its stated output is "nonpartisan reporting on the inner workings of Government and the nexus of politics and business".[6]

In 2020, It was ranked 2nd for online politics readership across all news sites, behind only CNN, remaining ahead of Politico, Fox News, NBCNews.com and MSNBC. The Hill has around 32 million monthly viewers in 2023.[7]

The company's primary outlet is TheHill.com. The Hill is additionally distributed in print for free around Washington, D.C., and distributed to all congressional offices. It has been owned by Nexstar Media Group since 2021.

History

Founding and early years

The company was founded as a newspaper in 1994 by Democratic power broker and New York businessman Jerry Finkelstein,[8] and Martin Tolchin, a former correspondent for The New York Times. New York Representative Gary L. Ackerman was also a major shareholder. The name of the publication alludes to "Capitol Hill" as a synecdoche for the United States Congress and government generally.[9]

In 2012, James A. Finkelstein assumed control of the organization.[10]

Digital distribution and print circulation

In 2016, The New York Times reported that The Hill was "proceeding with ambitious expansion plans" to become a national brand publication, and its website traffic increased 126% over the prior year, and was above Politico's traffic for the period.[11]

Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, The Street reported that The Hill saw the largest increase in online political readership among political news sites, with an increase of 780%. CNN and Politico saw smaller increases over the period,[12] making The Hill "the fastest-growing political news site".[13] In 2017, The Hill was also cited by Twitter as one of the top 10 "most-tweeted" news sources.[14] A 2017 study by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University found that The Hill was the second most-shared source among supporters of Donald Trump on Twitter during the election, behind Breitbart News.[15] [16]

In 2017, The Hill hired John Solomon as executive vice president of digital video.[17] Solomon inserted material from advertisers into journalistic copy, leading to protests from The Hills publisher.[18] In March 2018, he worked closely with associates of Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, to promote the spurious Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory. In May 2018, Solomon's role was changed to opinion contributor, although he was allowed to keep his original title.[19] In September 2019, he left The Hill.

, The Hill was the second most-viewed U.S. political news website and the third-most tweeted U.S. news source.[20]

In January 2019, CNN claimed Finkelstein interfered in the editorial independence of the paper by "keeping a watchful eye on the newspaper's coverage to ensure it is not too critical" of President Trump.

In 2019, The Hill was ranked second among all U.S. news sites for political readership, second to CNN, and ahead of Capitol Hill competitors such as Politico.[21]

In 2020, it was again ranked second for online politics readership across all news sites, behind only CNN. It remained ahead of Politico, Fox News, NBCNews.com and MSNBC TV.[22]

As of 2020, the newspaper claims to have more than 22,000 print readers.[4] The Hill is distributed for free in newspaper boxes around the U.S. Capitol building, and mailed directly to all congressional offices.

As of 2020, The Hills YouTube channel had 1,100,000 subscribers, ahead of Politico, Axios, and Bloomberg Politics. In October 2020, The Hills YouTube channel averaged over 1.5 million daily video views and more than 10 million per week; in September 2020 it received over 340 million video views.[23]

In 2021, The Hill was acquired by Nexstar Media Group for $130 million.[10] [24]

In 2022, The Hill was accused of censorship after firing Katie Halper for a segment supporting Rashida Tlaib's labeling of Israel as an "apartheid government".[25] In 2024, Briahna Joy Gray was fired following the rolling of her eyes at the sister of a Hamas hostage during an interview.[26]

Features and editions

The Hill TV

In June 2018, The Hill launched Hill.TV, a digital news channel. Four years later, the channel expanded to a FAST streaming service and was rebranded as The Hill TV.[27] It is distributed by Haystack, LG, LocalNow, Plex, Roku, and Vizio. Programming includes Rising, a morning news program hosted by Briahna Joy Gray and Robby Soave four days a week (initially by Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton.)[28] [29] In May 2021, long-time hosts Ball and Saagar Enjeti announced they were departing in order to release their own independent project, Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar.[30]

Notable stories and awards

The National Press Club's annual Sandy Hume Memorial Award is named after staffer Sandy Hume, in recognition of his 1997 reporting in The Hill of an attempted Republican coup against then-speaker Newt Gingrich.[31]

Climate and energy reporters Sharon Udasin and Rachel Frazin were recognized with SEAL Awards for environmental journalism in 2022 and 2023.[32] [33]

Staff

Masthead

Past

Notes and References

  1. News: Yingling . Jennifer . The Hill names Bob Cusack Editor in Chief . The Hill . 2014-08-07 . 2014-07-28 .
  2. Web site: The Hill: 'An investment in the arts is an investment in economic growth' . February 2015 . Americans for the Arts Action Fund . June 20, 2015 . June 20, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150620225751/http://www.artsactionfund.org/news/entry/the-hill-op-ed . dead.
  3. News: New paper to vie for readers on Capitol Hill . https://web.archive.org/web/20140716163427/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/25/us/new-paper-to-vie-for-readers-on-capitol-hill.html . July 16, 2014 . William. Glaberson . 0362-4331 . The New York Times. 25 May 1994 .
  4. Web site: Who we are . The Hill . 7 February 2007 . 23 February 2020.
  5. News: Joyella . Mark . https://web.archive.org/web/20170211220554/https://www.adweek.com/digital/new-and-old-political-media-are-battling-dominance-centurys-wildest-election-170151/ . New and Old Political Media Are Battling for Dominance in the Century's Wildest Election . February 11, 2017 . K Street, NW, Washington D.C . 0199-2864 . AdWeek . 2016-12-24.
  6. Web site: Contact Us . . First published August 5, 2009 . July 18, 2018 . October 20, 2018.
  7. Web site: The Hill Media Kit . 2024-07-21 . mediakit.thehill.com . en.
  8. News: McFadden . Robert D. . November 28, 2012 . Jerry Finkelstein, New York Power Broker, Dies at 96 . The New York Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20121129200210/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/nyregion/jerry-finkelstein-new-york-power-broker-dies-at-96.html . November 29, 2012 . 0362-4331.
  9. News: Mediaweek . The In-Your-Face Race . December 2, 1996 . March 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210309061446/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Mediaweek/1996/Mediaweek-1996-12-02.pdf . 20 . 6 . 46 . Mundy, Alicia .
  10. News: Smith . Ben . Robertson . Katie . The Hill Is Sold to a TV Giant . The New York Times . August 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210821235041/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/20/business/the-hill-sale-nexstar-media.html . 0362-4331 . August 21, 2021.
  11. News: Fandos . Nicholas . 2016-05-14 . Capitol Hill Newspapers, Once a Protected Class, Redefine Themselves (Published 2016) . en-US . The New York Times . 2021-03-08 . 0362-4331.
  12. Web site: Doctor . Ken . Washington Post, New York Times are big winners of election wars . 2021-03-18 . TheStreet . 28 June 2017 . en-us.
  13. Web site: Communicator . Capitol . 2017-03-02 . "The Hill" Has Record Web Traffic in January . 2021-03-18 . Capitol Communicator . en-US.
  14. Web site: Lejeune . Tristan . 2017-12-05 . The Hill named one of 2017's top 10 tweeted news outlets by Twitter . 2021-03-18 . TheHill . en.
  15. News: Blake . Aaron . August 22, 2017 . Analysis Trump backers' alarming reliance on hoax and conspiracy theory websites, in 1 chart. en-US. Washington Post . 2021-10-10 . 0190-8286.
  16. Book: Faris . Robert . Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election . Roberts . Hal . Etling . Bruce . August 8, 2017 . . 72 . 1048396744.
  17. Web site: Stelter . Brian . Darcy . Oliver . 2019-01-18 . Jimmy Finkelstein, the owner of The Hill, has flown under the radar. But he's played a key role in the Ukraine scandal . 2019-11-19 . CNN Business.
  18. News: 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 . 2020-02-24.
  19. News: Erik Wemple . 2018-05-14 . The Hill's John Solomon moves to new spot as 'opinion contributor' . The Washington Post . 2020-02-24.
  20. Web site: 'NowThis,' 'The Hill' Among Top 10 Most Tweeted News Outlets . 2021-03-08 . www.mediapost.com . en.
  21. Web site: CNN Digital Breaks Records, Sees Biggest Audience in History in 2019 . 21 February 2021.
  22. Web site: Best Summer on Record For CNN Digital . 2021-03-08 . en-US.
  23. Web site: The Hill's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats . socialblade.com.
  24. Web site: Goldsmith . Jill . Nexstar Media Buys Political News Hub, The Hill, For $130 Million . Deadline . August 20, 2021.
  25. Web site: Grim . Ryan . 2022-09-30 . Hill TV Censors Segment on Rashida Tlaib's Description of Israel as "Apartheid Government," Bars Reporter . 2024-06-08 . The Intercept . en-US.
  26. Web site: 2024-06-07 . Briahna Joy Gray Fired As Co-Host of The Hill’s ‘Rising’: ‘A Clear Pattern of Suppressing Speech’ . 2024-06-08 . Mediaite . en.
  27. Web site: 2022-08-10 . Nexstar Digital Launches The Hill TV Streaming Channel on Plex . 2023-03-04 . Nexstar Media Group, Inc. . en-US.
  28. Web site: Cockburn . 2021-06-01 . The fall of Rising . 2021-06-07 . The Spectator.
  29. Web site: 2018-06-21 . Buck Sexton helps launch Hill.tv with debut of new daily morning show "Rising with Krystal & Buck" . 2020-02-11 . Premiere Networks.
  30. Web site: Berkowitz . Joe . 2021-06-12 . Why 'Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar' became the number-one political podcast in a week . 2021-06-12 . . en-US.
  31. Web site: National Press Club Journalism Awards . National Press Club . en.
  32. Web site: Twelve Journalists Recognized as 2022 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award Winners . . 2023-02-08 . 2023-12-19.
  33. Web site: Twelve Journalists Recognized as 2023 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award Winners . . 2023-12-12 . 2023-12-19.
  34. Web site: 2023-02-24 . Nexstar Names Joe Ruffolo Senior Vice President and General Manager for The Hill and NewsNation Digital . 2023-03-04 . Nexstar Media Group, Inc. . en-US.
  35. News: Birthday of the Day: Bob Cusack, editor-in-chief of The Hill . Politico . August 4, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200806085407/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/04/playbook-birthday-bob-cusack-391158 . August 6, 2020.

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