Outlet profile

Washington Examiner (Opinion)

U.S. right

Owned byClarity Media Group, a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation, controlled by billionaire Philip Anschutz

FundingSubscriptions and advertising, backed by Anschutz's private wealth; not dependent on outside donors or a public parent company

On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

The Washington Examiner launched in 2005 when Anschutz merged several free D.C.-area community papers (the Journal Newspapers) into a daily aimed at competing with the Washington Post and Washington Times. It struggled financially as a print daily and shifted to a weekly print magazine with a year-round digital news and opinion operation starting in 2013, rebranding as a magazine covering politics, policy, and culture from a conservative perspective. Anschutz also owned the Weekly Standard until its 2018 closure and has used Clarity Media to fund other conservative outlets, underscoring his direct influence over editorial direction. The opinion section consistently backs limited-government, pro-business, and socially conservative positions, and has become a frequent platform for Republican officials and conservative commentators. Media watchdogs such as AllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check rate it as right-leaning to strongly conservative, particularly in its opinion pages. It is not a self-described 'nonpartisan' outlet; its news coverage leans right as well, though its straight news desk is generally considered less opinionated than its editorial and op-ed sections.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-10-03; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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