Politico

• 1. Founding And Early Growth

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  On the 23rd of January 2007, a website called The Politico launched with a specific mission to cover politics in granular detail. John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei left The Washington Post to become editor-in-chief and executive editor respectively. Robert L. Allbritton provided the financial backing for this new venture. Their first hire was Mike Allen, a writer who had previously worked for Time magazine. Frederick J. Ryan Jr. served as its first president and chief executive officer. Martin Tolchin joined the editorial founding team shortly after launch. Journalists covering political campaigns carried video cameras to every assignment from day one. They were encouraged to promote their work on other platforms beyond the site itself. By 2008, the outlet received more than three million unique visits per month. The New York Times reported in September 2008 that operations would expand following the election. Staff numbers more than tripled between the 2008 and 2012 elections. Michael Kinsley and Joe Scarborough joined as notable opinion writers during this period. The web pages shortened their name from The Politico to simply Politico in 2009.

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• 2. Editorial Evolution And Style

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  In 2011, Politico began to focus more on long-form journalism and news analysis instead of just breaking news. Susan Glasser arrived in June 2013 to oversee opinion from prominent outside voices and long-form storytelling. Richard Berke resigned as editor in August 2014 before Glasser took over the role in September 2014. Jim VandeHei became CEO in October 2013 and led the company through significant growth phases. Revenue expanded by 25% in 2014 alone under his leadership. By 2016, Politico had nearly 500 employees worldwide. Tensions developed between Allbritton and VandeHei regarding the direction of the company. They announced they would leave after the 2016 presidential election but departed much sooner. Patrick Steel served as CEO between 2017 and 2021 before departing early that year. Goli Sheikholeslami was named CEO by new owner Axel Springer in January 2022. Dafna Linzer joined as executive editor in March 2022 but left after one year. Carrie Budoff Brown succeeded Glasser to expand the focus on investigating Washington policymakers.

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• 3. Global Expansion And Acquisitions

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  In September 2014, a joint venture formed with German publisher Axel Springer SE to launch its European edition based in Brussels. The publication Politico Europe debuted in print on the 23rd of April 2015. Early 2016 saw about 50 editorial employees and two dozen business employees working at the Brussels operation. A third-party survey ranked Politico.eu as the most widely read news organization among 249 Brussels influencers. Stephen Brown died suddenly of a heart attack on the 18th of March 2021 while serving as editor-in-chief of Politico Europe. Jamil Anderlini took over as Editor-in-Chief of Politico Europe in July 2021. Kate Day was appointed Senior Executive Editor of the European operation in late 2024. In December 2020, Politico acquired E&E News to expand coverage of energy and environmental sectors. Terms of that deal were not disclosed publicly. The company also purchased Capital New York in September 2013 which covered Florida and New Jersey separately. They rebranded state feeds as Politico Florida, Politico New Jersey, and Politico New York in April 2015. Politico California Pro launched in September 2018 to cover state-level politics.

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• 4. The Axel Springer Takeover

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  Axel Springer SE announced completion of the acquisition for over $1 billion in October 2021. Mathias Döpfner served as Chief Executive of the German media firm during the transaction. He stated that staff would need to adhere to principles including support for Israel's right to exist and a free-market economy. Employees who disagreed with these principles should not work for Axel Springer according to Döpfner. The new owners said they would add staff and eventually put news content behind a paywall. A policy enforcing pro-Israel views is enforced at German newspaper Bild though not required via signed documents for Politico staff. Martin Varsavsky resigned from the board in May 2025 after accusing Politico of left-wing bias regarding Gaza war coverage. Haaretz reported that Politico would enforce a policy requiring employees to acknowledge Israel's right to exist following the sale. Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting also noted this enforcement of editorial standards. The company published an exposé critical of NGO leadership during the pandemic response in September 2022 in cooperation with Die Welt.

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• 5. Major Investigative Leaks

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  On the 2nd of May 2022, Politico obtained and released a 98-page draft document about the Supreme Court poised to strike down Roe v. Wade. The story became the most-trafficked in the publisher's history with 11 million views by May 6. Chief Justice John Roberts directed the Marshal of the Court to investigate the source of the leak. Politicos first tweet on the report gained more than triple the impressions it normally saw in an entire month. Sherman and Palmer broke open the scandal forcing Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois to resign in 2015. Marianne Levine helped bring down Trump's Labor Secretary pick Andy Puzder in 2017 after reporting spousal abuse allegations. Rachana Pradhan and Dan Diamond authored a bombshell investigation into Tom Price flying on charter jets paid for by taxpayers in September 2017. Alex Thompson broke a report in February 2022 showing Eric Lander demeaning colleagues as science adviser to President Joe Biden. Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter Canellos, and staff won a George Polk Award in 2022 for revealing the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

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• 6. Controversies And Ethical Debates

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  In January 2024, Politico Playbook incorrectly reported that Sonia Sotomayor had dinner with leading Democrats before oral arguments. The outlet later admitted they mistook Chuck Schumer's wife Iris Weinshall for the justice who never attended the event. Cambridge Analytica targeted pro-Trump voters with native advertising on Politico during the 2016 election cycle. Ben Shapiro appeared as a guest writer in January 2021 defending Republicans opposing Donald Trump's second impeachment. More than 100 staffers signed a letter criticizing the decision to feature Shapiro's article. Matthew Kaminski declined to apologize stating the newspaper stands by every word in the article. An investigation found Politico publishes advertising for the fossil fuel industry while failing to distinguish it from independent journalism. Journalists covering climate change worry conflicts of interest reduce credibility of their reporting. In September 2024, Politico announced a partnership with Capital AI to produce an AI tool summarizing journalism for subscribers. A union representing journalists took leadership to arbitration in July 2025 over violations of contract terms regarding AI rollout.

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