Outlet profile

Washington Examiner

U.S. right

Owned byOwned by billionaire Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, which is wholly owned by The Anschutz Corporation.

FundingDigital advertising and subscriptions, backed by Anschutz's privately held media holding company (no public shareholders or state funding).

On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

Founded in 2005 through Anschutz's acquisition and merger of several Washington-area local papers, the Examiner initially aimed to be a free daily competing with the Washington Post. It struggled financially as a print daily and in 2013 dropped its local news operation and daily print edition to become a weekly print magazine paired with a digital-first news and opinion site focused on national politics. Under editors drawn largely from conservative media (including alumni of the Weekly Standard and National Review), it built a reputation as a mainstream-conservative outlet, generally more measured in tone than outlets like Breitbart but consistently favorable to Republican and conservative causes. It has occasionally broken news and published influential opinion pieces shaping conservative debate, while also facing criticism for one-sided coverage of Democratic administrations and softer scrutiny of Republican figures. Anschutz, who has also backed conservative causes and other conservative-leaning outlets, has kept the paper's ownership structure stable and privately held, insulating it from public shareholder pressure. It remains one of the more established right-leaning political publications in Washington, read widely by Republican staffers, lobbyists, and conservative activists.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-09-24; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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