Guide Note

Founded in 1877, the Washington Post is the District of Columbia's oldest newspaper, and a world leader in political news and commentary.

Fast Facts

1. Daily Circulation: Approx. 699,100
2. Stock symbol (NYSE): WPO
3. Founder: Stilson Hutchins
4. Year Established: 1877
5. Industry: Journalism, Publishing
6. Phone: 202.334.6000
7. Fax: 703.469.2995
8. HQ: Washington, D.C.
9. Publisher: Katharine Weymouth
10. Editor: Leonard Downie, Jr.
11. Products (if applicable):
12. Published the first accounting of Watergate by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the 1970's.

• 1877: Paper begins publication six days a week
• 1880: Adds Sunday edition
• 1954: Post merges with rival, Washington Times-Herald, renamed Washington Post and Times-Herald
• 1963: Katharine Graham inherits paper upon husband's suicide
• 1973: Paper drops Times-Herald, becomes just Washington Post
• 1973: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein win Pulitzer Prize for Watergate break-in coverage
• 1996: Online version of paper unveiled

The Washington Post is generally considered the nation's premier source for political news, given its proximity to the halls of power in the nation's capital. The paper's coverage of the 1972 Watergate break-in is widely credited with setting in motion the chain of events which caused President Richard Nixon to resign, and established the Post as a paper with a strong investigative reporting emphasis. While the Post has often been criticized by conservatives for supposedly having a liberal "bias", liberals roundly criticized the paper for its editorial support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.