The Washington Examiner, which for a while became the conservative alternative to the Washington Post, is ceasing daily publication to become a conservative alternative to The Hill.
Will Sommer, Washington City Paper (“Staffers Told Washington Examiner Will Cease Daily Publication“):
Staffers are being told that the paper will cease daily publication in June to become a weekly political magazine and website, according to two sources who attended a meeting about the change.
Many Examiner staffers were called into a meeting today around 11:15 and told that the paper would become a center-right version of political publications likeThe Hill, according to a staffer who attended. While some reporters were taken into another meeting about the new publication, others will be laid off. The switch will happen on June 14, according to the staffer. Laid-off employees will keep working until June.
In a follow-up (“New Weekly Paper to Target “Key Influencers”“), Sommer reports that some 87 folks are now out of work and quotes from the memo sent to Examiner staff.
On June 17, WEX will shift from its local daily newspaper model to a consumer digital platform and a business-to-business national weekly magazine covering politics and government and serving select readers in government, public affairs, advocacy, academia and politics.
This will allow us to build upon the strong foundation we established over the last seven years, while deepening our commitment to providing insightful and investigative political coverage and commentary to an influential and sophisticated readership that influences politics and policy, both in the nation’s capital and around the country. With a distinguished staff of political columnists and reporters, washingtonexaminer.com and the Washington Examiner weekly will offer expanded commentary, analysis and coverage of institutions, organizations, individuals and issues affecting national legislation and policy across a number of key areas. The website will engage visitors with web-only reporting and commentary throughout the day, complemented by WEX-branded digital and social media.The print publication will be delivered to 45,000 key influencers throughout Washington D.C. and to legislative and executive offices in state capitals across the nation.
Stephen Smith, the current editor of WEX, will stay on to guide the editorial, joined by Mark Tapscott, and Jennifer Peebles. On the business side, Steve Sparks, Kathy Schaffhauser, and Gina Sacripanti will help lead operations. We will continue to publish the daily until June 14. We will be hiring for an additional 20 positions for the new digital platform and weekly publication.
I’m happy to see Tapscott, who I’ve known for many years, is among those keeping their job.
And, yes, the Washington Times was filling the niche going back to the Reagan administration. But they’d gone full-on crazy, barely concealing their Moonie ties, and the Examiner was siphoning off all their best talent.
