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| {{dablink|This article concerns the newspaper. ] is also a patriotic march by John |
{{dablink|This article concerns the newspaper. ] is also a patriotic march by John PhilipTOO BAD | ||
| {{Infobox Newspaper | | |||
| name = ] | | |||
| caption = The ], ] front page of<br>''The Washington Post'' | | |||
| image = ] | | |||
| type = Daily ] | | |||
| format = ] | | |||
| foundation = ] | | |||
| owners = ] | | |||
| headquarters = 1150 15th Street, N.W. <BR> ] 20071<br>] | | |||
| editor = ] | | |||
| website = | | |||
| }} | |||
| '''''The Washington Post''''' is the largest ] in ], the capital of the ]. It is also one of the city's oldest papers, having been founded in ]. | |||
| Although the paper has a substantial history, it became perhaps most notable when, in the early 1970s, reporters ] and ] spearheaded the media's investigation of ]. The reporters, and the paper, played a major role in the undoing of the ] presidency. | |||
| == General overview == | |||
| The ''Post'' is generally regarded among the leading daily American newspapers along with '']'', which is known for its general reporting and international coverage, '']'', which is known for its financial reporting, and the '']''. The ''Post'', unsurprisingly, has distinguished itself through its reporting on the workings of the ], ], and other aspects of the ]. | |||
| Unlike the ''Times'' and the ''Journal'', however, it sees itself as a regional newspaper, and does not currently print a daily national edition for distribution away from the East Coast. However, a "National Weekly Edition", combining stories from a week of Post editions, is published. The majority of its newsprint readership is in the District of Columbia, as well as in the suburbs of Maryland and Northern Virginia. | |||
| As of October 2006, its average weekday circulation was 656,297 and its Sunday circulation was 930,619, according to the ], making it the sixth largest newspaper in the country by circulation, behind ''The New York Times'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''USA Today'' and the ''New York Post''. While its circulation, like that of almost all newspapers, has been slipping, it has one of the highest market-penetration rates of any metropolitan news daily. | |||
| == History == | |||
| The paper was founded in ] by ] and in ] added a Sunday edition, thus becoming the city's first newspaper to publish seven days a week. Nine years later, to promote the paper, its owners requested the leader of the Marine Band, ], to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. ] endures today as a Sousa classic. In ], during the ], the ''Post'' printed Clifford K. Berryman's classic illustration ''Remember the Maine''. | |||
| In ], ] and his son ], owners of the '']'', purchased a controlling interest. When John died in ], he put the paper in trust, having little faith that his playboy son ] could manage his inheritance. Ned went to court and broke the trust, but, under his management, the paper slumped toward ruin. It was purchased in a bankruptcy auction in ] by a member of the ]'s board of governors, ], who restored the paper's health and reputation. In ], Meyer was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law ]. | |||
| In 1954, the ''Post'' consolidated its position by acquiring its last morning rival, the '']'', leaving as its remaining competitors two afternoon papers, the '']'' (''Evening Star'') (until that paper's demise in ]) and '']'', which was bought and merged into the ''Star'' in ]. More recently, the '']'', established in 1982, has been a local rival offering a conservative view, with a circulation (in 2005) about one-seventh that of the ''Post''. | |||
| After Graham's death, in 1963, control of the Washington Post Company passed to ], his wife and Meyer's daughter. No woman before had ever run a nationally prominent newspaper in the United States. She served as publisher from 1969 to 1979 and headed the Washington Post Company into the early 1990s as chairman of the board and CEO. After 1993, she retained a position as chairman of the executive committee until her death in 2001. | |||
| Her tenure is credited with seeing the Post rise in national stature through risk-taking and effective investigative reporting, most notably of the Watergate scandal. Executive editor ] put the paper's reputation and resources behind reporters ] and ], who, in a long series of articles, chipped away at the story behind the 1972 burglary of ] offices in the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington. The Post's dogged coverage of the story, the outcome of which ultimately played a major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon, won the paper a ] in 1973. | |||
| In 1980, the ''Post'' published a dramatic story called , describing the life of an eight-year-old heroin addict in Washington, for which reporter ] won acclaim and a ]. Subsequent investigation, however, revealed the story to be a fabrication. The Pulitzer Prize was returned. | |||
| ], Katherine's son, succeeded her as publisher in 1979 and in the early 1990s became chief executive officer and chairman of the board, as well. He was succeeded in 2000 as publisher and CEO by ], with Graham remaining as chairman. | |||
| Like '']'', the ''Post'' was slow in moving to color photographs and features. On ], ] its first color front-page photograph appeared. After that, color slowly integrated itself into other photographs and advertising throughout the paper. | |||
| The newspaper established a Web site in 1996, | |||
| As of ] the ''Post'' had been honored with 22 ]s, 18 ]s, and 368 White House News Photographers Association Awards, among others. | |||
| It is part of ], which owns a number of other media and non-media companies, including '']'' magazine, the online magazine '']'', and the ] test preparation service. | |||
| The ''Post'' has its main office at 1150 15th St, N.W., and the newspaper has the exclusive zip code 20071. | |||
| == Political leanings == | |||
| The ''Post'' takes the position that its news coverage is politically neutral or strives to be. Conservatives, however, often cite the ''Post'', along with '']'', as exemplars of "]." Some liberals, on the other hand, view the ''Post'' as "culturally and politically conservative" and supportive of the Washington Establishment and the status quo. | |||
| * When the paper makes a political endorsement, the endorsements have historically been for ] candidates. (As late publisher Katherine Graham noted in her memoirs ''Personal History'', the paper long had a policy of not making endorsements for presidential candidates. In 2004, however, the Post endorsed ].) | |||
| * It has regularly published a political mixture of op-ed columnists, many of them centrist or left-of-center (including ] and ]) and some right-of-center (including ] and ]) | |||
| * Its editorial positions are mostly liberal-to-moderate, yet it has taken some conservative stances: it has steadfastly supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, warmed to President ]'s proposal to partially privatize ], supported pro-Iraq war Sen. ] over successful anti-war challenger ] in the ] (and Lieberman's ]), opposed a deadline for U.S. withdrawal from the ], and advocated ] agreements, including, among others, ]. | |||
| ==Ombudsman== | |||
| In 1970 the ''Post'' became one of the first newspapers in the United States to establish a position of "]," or readers' representative, assigned to address reader complaints about ''Post'' news coverage and to monitor the newspaper's adherence to its own standards. Ever since, the ombudsman's commentary has been a frequent feature of the ''Post'' editorial page. | |||
| One occasion that provoked the ombudsman's criticism came in 1981, when the embarrassment of Janet Cooke's fabricated story, "Jimmy's World" led ''Post'' ombudsman Bill Green to conclude that "he scramble for journalistic prizes is poisonous. The obligation is to inform readers, not to collect frameable certificates, however prestigious. Maybe the ''Post'' should consider not entering contests." | |||
| In 1986, ''Post'' news coverage was dismissive of a controversial series of articles, by journalist ], that had appeared in the ], alleging that the ] knowingly allowed CIA-financed ] in Central America to traffic in crack cocaine in order to raise funds for arms. The Washington Post's ombudsman, who was then Geneva Overholser, agreed with critics that the ''Post'' showed "misdirected zeal" and "more passion for sniffing out the flaws in San Jose's answer than for sniffing out a better answer ." Noting that there was "strong previous evidence that the CIA at least chose to overlook contra involvement in the drug trade," she added, "Would that we had welcomed the surge of public interest as an occasion to return to a subject the Post and the public had given short shrift. Alas, dismissing someone else's story as old news comes more naturally." | |||
| ==Notable contributors== | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *Dan Balz (national political reporter) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (horse racing columnist) | |||
| *] (cartoonist) | |||
| *] (sports columnist) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer; author of ] weblog) | |||
| *] (theatre critic/writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (editor) | |||
| *] (television columnist) | |||
| *] (Senate political reporter) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (book critic) | |||
| *] (editor) | |||
| *] (photo editor, photographer) | |||
| *] (columnist) | |||
| *] (editor) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (sports columnist) | |||
| *] (columnist) | |||
| *] (media critic) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (columnist) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (music critic) | |||
| *] (sports columnist) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (editor) | |||
| *] (cartoonist) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| *] (editor) | |||
| *] (sports columnist) | |||
| *] (columnist) | |||
| *] (writer) | |||
| ==Executive Officers and Editors - Past and Present== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
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| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| == References == | |||
| <references /> | |||
| == External links == | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * Scott Sherman, ''Columbia Journalism Review'', May 2002, | |||
| {{WPO-PNS}} | |||
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Revision as of 18:33, 15 November 2006
{{dablink|This article concerns the newspaper. The Washington Post is also a patriotic march by John PhilipTOO BAD