The Washington Times (opinion)
U.S. right / conservative
Background
The Washington Times was founded on May 17, 1982 — one day after Moon was convicted of tax fraud — by his Unification Church media arm, News World Communications. It was created to give conservative voices a daily platform in the capital after the Washington Star folded in 1981. Moon reportedly poured over $1 billion in Unification Church funds into the paper across its first two decades, as it ran consistent operating losses. The paper's founding editor, James Whelan, resigned in 1984, publicly alleging that church officials had violated pledges of editorial independence. Despite modest circulation — roughly one-eighth of the Washington Post's in the early 1990s — the Times built influence among conservative legislators, activists, and think-tank circles in Washington. In 2010, ownership was transferred for $1 from News World Communications to TWT Holdings LLC under Operations Holdings, Inc., entities that remain tied to the Unification Church. Across Republican administrations from Reagan through Trump, the paper's news coverage and opinion pages have reliably aligned with conservative and GOP positions. During Trump's second term, its opinion section and editorials have continued that pattern, amplifying administration messaging on deregulation, immigration, and law-and-order themes.
Sources
- The Washington Times – Wikipedia
- Washington Times – New World Encyclopedia
- The Washington Times – FAIR
- Washington Times – SourceWatch
- Washington Times – Media Bias/Fact Check
Profile compiled 2026-07-09; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.