The Washington Examiner Takes Some Tough Love

I wrote last year about the strategy that had brought some online success to the Washington Examiner: editor Mark Tapscott’s aggressive hiring of conservative reporters and columnists. The Washington City Paper takes a swing at this, calling it the capital’s “greatest media mystery.”

The paper provides indispensable coverage on D.C. politics, regional transportation, crime—all the rugged beats that a city daily should own. Then you turn the pages, through the national politics and the business. And you land on the opinion/commentary pages. It’s a strange lineup that’s preaching to one of the country’s most liberal jurisdictions.

I’d offer that when there’s no local news scoop to lead the paper, the front page is often more conservative than other publications too. But it certainly has worked out for the paper as the competition at The Washington Times reels.