The Washington Times

U.S. right

Background

The Washington Times published its first edition on May 17, 1982, founded by Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church, through his media company News World Communications. Moon created the paper explicitly to combat communism and offer a conservative alternative to The Washington Post; Bo Hi Pak, Moon's chief aide, served as founding chairman. The church subsidized the paper heavily for decades — estimates put total funding between $1.7 billion and $2 billion through the 2000s — making it financially viable despite chronic losses. In 2010, ownership shifted to Moon personally and a group of former editors under a restructured holding company, though the Unification Church connection remained; Moon died in 2012, and his wife Hak Ja Han Moon later reaffirmed commitment to the paper. By 2009 the church announced it was reducing direct subsidies, forcing major layoffs (about 40 percent of staff) and a pivot toward advertising and subscription revenue. Under longtime editor Wesley Pruden (1992–2008), the paper developed a reputation for a strongly conservative and at times nativist editorial voice; the Columbia Journalism Review noted in 1995 that no major American daily wore its political heart on its sleeve as openly. Media-bias raters consistently place it on the right: AllSides rates it 'Lean Right' and Media Bias/Fact Check rates it 'Right,' also flagging a history of failed fact checks and editorial positions contrary to scientific consensus.

Sources

1. The Washington Times – Wikipedia
2. Washington Times – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
3. Washington Times Media Bias – AllSides
4. Washington Times – SourceWatch
5. News World Communications – Wikipedia
6. Sun Myung Moon – Wikipedia
7. Hak Ja Han Moon, Washington Times co-founder, vows to strengthen publication
8. Washington Times Bias and Reliability – Ad Fontes Media

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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