The Washington Times
3600 New York Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20002
202/636-3000
This 18-year-old newspaper covers D.C. area news, sports, business and lifestyle, but its heart and soul is conservative coverage of the national political scene. Ties to South
Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon become less visible the longer The Washington Times stays on the scene. Why spend time on the No. 2 paper in the D.C. area?
Readership demographics are relatively small, with a circulation around 100,000, but enviously affluent. A survey last year indicated that the readership is mostly male, 45+, with
an annual income of $92,000, usually a professional with an advanced degree working in the government, including the military. "These are influential people, is what I'm getting
at," says managing editor Bill Giles. The National Weekly is a Friday digest of the week's news, distributed to another 80,000 readers across the country. And the Web site,
http://www.washtimes.com, is the 11th- most-linked-to local site in the U.S., according to American Journalism Review.
Contacts
Bill Giles - managing editor; [email protected]
Kenneth McIntyre - asst. managing editor; [email protected]
Cathy Gainor - business editor; [email protected]. DC metro area businesses.
Mark Hartsell - sports editor; [email protected]. Metro area
sports.
Maria Stainer - editor, special sections; [email protected]. Lifestyle, features.
Pitch Tips
The emphasis in the paper is political coverage - this year that means plenty of stories on national elections. The newspaper receives a lot of briefs, both email and snail
mail, suggesting subjects that should be explored, from politicians to government agencies and regulations. Giles says the newspaper covers spot news, but is more interested in
stepping back and trying to get some depth on a subject. As a recent example, he cites a story on gasoline prices accompanied by a breakdown of what products a barrel of crude oil
is refined into and how long it takes to move from refinery to consumer. So story ideas that refer to the "big picture" are well received. The paper doesn't do as many features as
some, but the ones they run tend to be lengthy. A conservative focus or a family angle fits the paper's tone and content. As for business coverage, Giles says the stories
generally are about local businesses; economic stories "are part of the political stuff."
The best place to direct story ideas is to Kenneth McIntyre, assistant managing editor, Giles says; he will farm it out to the appropriate editor. But suggestions can go
directly to the editor of the section you're interested in.
Comments
"We like to think of ourselves as the Wall Street Journal of politics," Giles says, "which means in-depth reporting, accurate reporting," not to mention political slant.
Public affairs professionals and issue advocates in particular may be attracted to this newspaper, as well as those looking for the flip side of stories run in the region's 800-
pound gorilla, The Washington Post.