Washington Examiner

U.S. right

Background

The Washington Examiner traces its roots to the Journal Newspapers, a group of suburban D.C.-area weeklies that Anschutz acquired in 2004. In 2005 it relaunched as a free daily tabloid distributed across the Washington metro area, intended by Anschutz as a conservative counterweight to The Washington Post. From the start, Anschutz was explicit that he wanted conservative columnists and op-ed writers. The print edition ceased in June 2013, after which the outlet pivoted to national political coverage delivered primarily online and through a weekly print magazine. It hired heavily from The Washington Times and built a large digital audience, becoming what the Columbia Journalism Review described as a 'traffic monster' under editor-in-chief Hugo Gurdon. MediaDC, the Clarity Media Group subsidiary that operates the Examiner, has been led by a succession of executives including, most recently, Mark Walters as president and COO. The outlet is rated 'Lean Right' by AllSides (high confidence) and 'Right Bias / Mostly Factual' by Media Bias/Fact Check. One notable exception to its general alignment with Republican leadership came in June 2022, when the editorial board called Donald Trump 'unfit for power' following Cassidy Hutchinson's January 6 testimony — though its coverage during Trump's second term beginning in January 2025 has returned to a broadly supportive posture.

Sources

1. Washington Examiner - Wikipedia
2. Washington Examiner - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
3. Washington Examiner Media Bias | AllSides
4. How the Washington Examiner became a traffic monster - Columbia Journalism Review
5. Who Owns the Washington Examiner? A Look at its Ownership
6. Philip F. Anschutz - InfluenceWatch
7. Press release: Clarity Media Group names Mark Walters president and COO of MediaDC

Profile compiled 2026-06-25; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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