Politico Playbook

Politico (stylized in all caps), known originally as The Politico, is a Washington metropolitan area, U.S., based politics focused newspaper company owned since 2021 by German publisher Axel Springer SE. It covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally. Primarily providing distributed news, analysis and opinion online, it also produces printed newspapers, radio, and podcasts. Its coverage focuses on topics such as the federal government, lobbying and the media. Founded by American banker Robert Allbritton in 2007, it was acquired by Axel Springer, a German publisher, in 2021. Axel Springer is Europe's largest newspaper publisher and had previously acquired Insider. Ideologically, its coverage has been described as moderate. History Origins, style, and growth Politico was founded in 2007 to focus on politics with fast-paced Internet reporting in granular detail, comparable to the sports analysis of SportsCenter or ESPN. John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei left The Washington Post to become Politicos editor-in-chief and executive editor, respectively. With the financial backing of Robert L. Allbritton, the pair launched the website on January 23, 2007. Their first hire was Mike Allen, a writer for Time, and Frederick J. Ryan Jr. served as its first president and chief executive officer. Martin Tolchin was another member of the editorial founding team.