The Hill
The Hill is a newspaper and digital media site that covers American politics and the federal government. 1 It was originally founded to focus on the United States Congress but has expanded its coverage to include the entire federal government, along with trade associations, lobbying firms, and other organizations with influence over government decisions. 1
Contents
Overview
The Hill was founded in 1994 by Democratic financier Jerry Finkelstein and New York Times reporter Martin Tolchin. 2 Then-U.S. Representative Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY) was also an investor in the company. 3 Their intent was to compete with Roll Call, the long-established newspaper focused on the U.S. Congress that was owned at the time by the Economist Newspaper Group. 3
After Finkelstein’s death in 2012, his son, James Finkelstein, took over the company until he sold it in 2021 to Nexstar Media Group Inc., a publicly traded media company that is the largest owner of television stations in the United States. 2 4 5
The Hill shares journalists with NewsNation, the Nexstar Media-owned cable news network formerly known as Superstation WGN and WGN America. 6
Events and Job Board
The Hill holds events that are sponsored by major corporations, trade associations, and other entities that have an interest in influencing federal government decisions. 7 One “Meet the New Members” event featuring newly elected members of the U.S. Congress in December 2024 was sponsored by Amazon, Samsung, the American Petroleum Institute, and the CNCT app for U.S. Congressional staffers. 8
Nexstar Media operates a Hill-branded recruiting website for jobs in public policy, advocacy, government, and related fields. 9
Journalism
As of December 2024, the editor-in-chief of The Hill is Bob Cusack, who has held that role since 2014 and has been with the paper since 2003. 10
The Hill advertises itself as “trusted and non-partisan” and its news coverage is generally considered to have a centrist point of view by media bias ranking services such as Ad Fontes, All Sides, and Ground News. 11 12 13 14
The Hill publishes opinion columns from a wide variety of columnists and outside contributors, of various political viewpoints. 15
Many reporters at The Hill have gone on to influential roles in other newsrooms. In 2024, former reporter Reid Wilson noted that the paper’s alumni included: “The host of a national political television show, the Washington bureau chief of a major American newspaper, the political columnist at The Washington Post, a senior editor at The Associated Press, [and] top U.S. Congressional and political reporters at outlets like CNN, ABC News, NBC News and The Miami Herald.” 16