Anschutz Launches D.C. Examiner
This week, billionaire Philip Anschutz will begin publishing the Washington Examiner, a free daily tabloid.
The D.C. market has long been dominated by the Post, which has held a decades-long lock on advertising – one that the feisty, conservative Washington Times has yet to break.
The Washington Examiner plans to drastically undercut the Post's advertising rates. The paper may appeal to the city's large commuting population and others thirsty for an easy-to-read tabloid with the kind of features found in big city dailies.
But the Examiner is not simply a commuter's paper.
James McDonald, president and publisher of the Examiner, told Editor & Publisher that the "the company plans to distribute 270,000 copies throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. – a generous run that will then shrink slightly to 260,000 copies."
McDonald also said the paper will be different from the Post's own free tabloid, the Express.
"We are not a commuter paper," McDonald said, noting that content will not consist of "wire snippets."
The Examiner will focus on home delivery Monday through Saturday.
The Examiner says the paper will begin landing on the doorsteps of middle- and upper-income neighborhoods in Washington, Maryland and Northern Virginia on Tuesday, and be available in 1,700 new red boxes six days a week, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The tabloid will circulate in the city of Alexandria and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William in Virginia, and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland, plus the District itself.
"We are ready to go," publisher James McDonald told the Times-Dispatch. "There is a lot of excitement in the building."
The new Washington Examiner replaces Journal Newspapers' Journal, which Anschutz's Clarity Media Group bought.
The Journal was distributed in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, had a circulation of 115,000 and was doing poorly, closing down news bureaus and laying off reporting staff, according to the Times-Dispatch.
The Examiner faces heavy competition: in Washington with the Washington Post, the nation's fifth-largest daily newspaper; the Washington Times; and the weekly Times Community Newspapers, which cover the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia. Media General Inc., parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, publishes daily newspapers in the Prince William County communities of Manassas and Woodbridge.
The Times-Dispatch reported that the new paper is promising shorter, catchier stories, with a healthy dose of political, national and international news from the Associated Press and the New York Times News Service. The paper will even feature a daily gossip column and lots of entertainment news.
"There will be news that matters," publisher McDonald told the Times-Dispatch. "But we are not necessarily competing against the Post. We want to find our own place in the marketplace where there are a lot of media voices."
The paper hopes to sell advertisers on the benefits of a circulation that targets high-income neighborhoods and will sell ads for a fraction of the price the Post charges, McDonald told the Times-Dispatch. An ad in one of the final issues of the Journal asked potential advertisers, "Tired of paying big bucks for your advertising?"
The Examiner has expanded its reporting staff to 17 and expects to combine aggressive reporting by a young staff with veteran editors.
"We will be a substantial, local, free newspaper, with the emphasis on local," said editor-in-chief John Wilpers. "It will be fun and entertaining, and respect the busy lifestyles of the people who live here."
"It's hard to speculate about the future," McDonald said. "But ours will be a newspaper model that will be watched."
Added Wilpers: "This is the biggest development in the newspaper business since the launch of USA Today. This could be the next big thing."
Along with, it might be added, the possible emergence of Philip Anschutz - whose company has already trade-marked the Examiner name in 69 cities around the country - as the nation's newest newspaper baron.
Anschutz, the founder of Qwest Communications International, ranks 33rd among Forbes' richest 400 Americans and has a net worth of $5.2 billion, according to the magazine.
BusinessWeek recently listed Anschutz as one of the nation's largest charitable givers, having donated $226 million of his fortune in the past four years.
In a brief biography, Forbes described Anschutz as a former oilman who now runs a wide-ranging empire in telecom, sports and entertainment. His two biggest holdings: fiber-optic company Qwest and theater chain Regal Cinemas. He also owns L.A.'s Staples Center and London's Millennium Dome as well as Major League Soccer teams and stakes in the NBA's Lakers and the NHL's Kings.
Anschutz is described as a promoter of a family-values agenda through motion picture projects and a philanthropist who also sponsors the nationwide billboard campaign featuring celebrities and the altruistic "Pass It On" slogan.
When it comes to media projects, Anschutz may have the golden touch. For almost a decade, Hollywood rejected the screenplay for a film on the life of Ray Charles, until Anschutz took the movie under his wing.
He reportedly pumped in $40 million of his own money to bring it to the screen. The film not only has been a box office success, but also landed star Jamie Foxx the Golden Globe best actor award and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
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Phil Brennan, NewsMax.comThere's a new kid on the block in Washington, D.C., and the news is probably not putting any smiles on the faces of the folks at the mighty Washington Post.
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005
This week, billionaire Philip Anschutz will begin publishing the Washington Examiner, a free daily tabloid.
Story Continues Below
The paper will be similar in style and substance to Anschutz's San Francisco Examiner, also a free tabloid, which has made a mark in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Examiner was once the proud flagship of William Randolph Hearst's newspaper empire.The D.C. market has long been dominated by the Post, which has held a decades-long lock on advertising – one that the feisty, conservative Washington Times has yet to break.
The Washington Examiner plans to drastically undercut the Post's advertising rates. The paper may appeal to the city's large commuting population and others thirsty for an easy-to-read tabloid with the kind of features found in big city dailies.
But the Examiner is not simply a commuter's paper.
James McDonald, president and publisher of the Examiner, told Editor & Publisher that the "the company plans to distribute 270,000 copies throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. – a generous run that will then shrink slightly to 260,000 copies."
McDonald also said the paper will be different from the Post's own free tabloid, the Express.
"We are not a commuter paper," McDonald said, noting that content will not consist of "wire snippets."
The Examiner will focus on home delivery Monday through Saturday.
The Examiner says the paper will begin landing on the doorsteps of middle- and upper-income neighborhoods in Washington, Maryland and Northern Virginia on Tuesday, and be available in 1,700 new red boxes six days a week, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The tabloid will circulate in the city of Alexandria and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William in Virginia, and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland, plus the District itself.
"We are ready to go," publisher James McDonald told the Times-Dispatch. "There is a lot of excitement in the building."
The new Washington Examiner replaces Journal Newspapers' Journal, which Anschutz's Clarity Media Group bought.
The Journal was distributed in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, had a circulation of 115,000 and was doing poorly, closing down news bureaus and laying off reporting staff, according to the Times-Dispatch.
The Examiner faces heavy competition: in Washington with the Washington Post, the nation's fifth-largest daily newspaper; the Washington Times; and the weekly Times Community Newspapers, which cover the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia. Media General Inc., parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, publishes daily newspapers in the Prince William County communities of Manassas and Woodbridge.
The Times-Dispatch reported that the new paper is promising shorter, catchier stories, with a healthy dose of political, national and international news from the Associated Press and the New York Times News Service. The paper will even feature a daily gossip column and lots of entertainment news.
"There will be news that matters," publisher McDonald told the Times-Dispatch. "But we are not necessarily competing against the Post. We want to find our own place in the marketplace where there are a lot of media voices."
The paper hopes to sell advertisers on the benefits of a circulation that targets high-income neighborhoods and will sell ads for a fraction of the price the Post charges, McDonald told the Times-Dispatch. An ad in one of the final issues of the Journal asked potential advertisers, "Tired of paying big bucks for your advertising?"
The Examiner has expanded its reporting staff to 17 and expects to combine aggressive reporting by a young staff with veteran editors.
"We will be a substantial, local, free newspaper, with the emphasis on local," said editor-in-chief John Wilpers. "It will be fun and entertaining, and respect the busy lifestyles of the people who live here."
"It's hard to speculate about the future," McDonald said. "But ours will be a newspaper model that will be watched."
Added Wilpers: "This is the biggest development in the newspaper business since the launch of USA Today. This could be the next big thing."
Along with, it might be added, the possible emergence of Philip Anschutz - whose company has already trade-marked the Examiner name in 69 cities around the country - as the nation's newest newspaper baron.
Anschutz, the founder of Qwest Communications International, ranks 33rd among Forbes' richest 400 Americans and has a net worth of $5.2 billion, according to the magazine.
BusinessWeek recently listed Anschutz as one of the nation's largest charitable givers, having donated $226 million of his fortune in the past four years.
In a brief biography, Forbes described Anschutz as a former oilman who now runs a wide-ranging empire in telecom, sports and entertainment. His two biggest holdings: fiber-optic company Qwest and theater chain Regal Cinemas. He also owns L.A.'s Staples Center and London's Millennium Dome as well as Major League Soccer teams and stakes in the NBA's Lakers and the NHL's Kings.
Anschutz is described as a promoter of a family-values agenda through motion picture projects and a philanthropist who also sponsors the nationwide billboard campaign featuring celebrities and the altruistic "Pass It On" slogan.
When it comes to media projects, Anschutz may have the golden touch. For almost a decade, Hollywood rejected the screenplay for a film on the life of Ray Charles, until Anschutz took the movie under his wing.
He reportedly pumped in $40 million of his own money to bring it to the screen. The film not only has been a box office success, but also landed star Jamie Foxx the Golden Globe best actor award and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Editor's note:
