Politico is a Washington-based website and newspaper that focuses on American politics.
Politico was founded in 2007 and is owned by Allbritton Communications, a media company that also owns eight television stations, the New York local news site Capital New York, and, briefly, the defunct Washington-based local news website TBD. As of mid-2013, it had a staff of about 230, including the largest White House contingent of any news organization.
Politico publishes a free 33,000-circulation newspaper Monday to Friday when Congress is in session and on Wednesdays when not — but far more of its readership comes through its website, which drew more than four million unique visitors per month as of 2011 and ranks as one of the United States’ most popular newspaper websites. As of 2011, about half of its revenue came from its newspaper. It also runs Politico Pro, a thousands-of-dollars-per-year subscription service for information on energy, technology and health care. It announced plans to expand the service in 2012, and in 2013 planned to add three new verticals to the service.
As an organization specifically geared toward Washington insiders, Politico covers both policy issues and political minutiae and gossip, looking at issues through the lens of political power. Playbook, the daily morning email newsletter penned by Politico’s chief White House correspondent, Mike Allen, exemplifies that ethos. Overall, Politico aims to use the speed of the web to drive the political news cycle both online and in traditional media, a philosophy summed up by the newsroom’s motto, “Win the morning, win the afternoon.”