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Reason Foundation (Opinion)

U.S. libertarian (free-market, socially liberal; center-right on economics)

Owned byPublished by the Reason Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) based in Los Angeles. The foundation was founded in 1978 and owns the magazine and Reason.com. It has no commercial parent company.
FundingMostly donations. The foundation gets grants from foundations and individual donors, plus some magazine subscriptions and advertising. Reported funders include DonorsTrust, which gave about $5 million in 2024. Others include the Sarah Scaife Foundation and Koch-linked foundations such as the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation. Critics describe this as part of a conservative and libertarian donor network, while the outlet says it keeps editorial independence.
On the administrationmixed

Background

Reason was founded in 1968 by Lanny Friedlander, a college student, as a small Objectivist-influenced magazine. Robert Poole bought it in 1970. In 1978 Poole, Manny Klausner and Tibor Machan formed the Reason Foundation to run it. The foundation also runs a policy think tank with research on privatization, transportation, pensions, housing and criminal justice. Reason is known for libertarian positions: free trade, drug legalization, school choice, skepticism of regulation and defense of civil liberties. Its editor in chief is Katherine Mangu-Ward, and the magazine's circulation was about 50,000 as of 2024. The foundation has drawn criticism from environmental and watchdog groups such as Greenpeace and DeSmog for taking money from Koch-linked and other conservative donors and for its positions on climate and regulation. Media-bias raters generally place Reason as center-right or libertarian. Since January 2025 it has criticized Trump's tariffs, calling them economically harmful and an overreach of executive power. It has been critical of immigration crackdowns and some other executive actions. It has been more favorable toward deregulation and tax cuts.

Sources

  1. Reason (magazine) - Wikipedia
  2. Reason Foundation - Wikipedia
  3. Reason Foundation - DeSmog
  4. Reason Foundation - InfluenceWatch
  5. Reason - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
  6. Dark Money Donor Conduit Funneled $195 Million to Right-Wing Groups in 2024 - Exposed by CMD
  7. Tariffs Archives - Reason

Profile compiled 2026-10-29; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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