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

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

1. “Who We Are.” The Hill. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://thehill.com/about-us/.
2. McFadden, Robert D. “Jerry Finkelstein, New York Power Broker, Dies at 96.” The New York Times, November 28, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/nyregion/jerry-finkelstein-new-york-power-broker-dies-at-96.html.
3. Glaberson, William. “New Paper to Vie for Readers on Capitol Hill.” The New York Times, May 25, 1994. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/25/us/new-paper-to-vie-for-readers-on-capitol-hill.html.
4. “Nexstar Acquires the Hill, a Leading Independent Political Digital Media Platform, for $130 Million.” Nexstar Media Group, Inc., August 20, 2021. https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-acquires-the-hill/.
5. “About Nexstar.” Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.nexstar.tv/company/.
6. “2024 Election.” NewsNation. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/.
7. “Events News.” The Hill, December 11, 2024. https://thehill.com/events/.
8. “Meet the New Members.” The Hill, December 2, 2024. https://thehill.com/events/4916233-meet-the-new-members/.
9. Jobs.thehill.com. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://jobs.thehill.com/.
10. Cusack, Bob. “Bob Cusack.” The Hill. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://thehill.com/author/bob-cusack/.
11. ^[1] Media Bias chart by Allsides. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart.
12. “How Reliable Is Your News Source? Understanding Media Bias 2022.” League of Women Voters, 2022. https://my.lwv.org/california/torrance-area/article/how-reliable-your-news-source-understanding-media-bias-2022.
13. “Interactive Media Bias Chart.” Ad Fontes Media, October 9, 2024. https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/.
14. “The Hill Breaking News Headlines Today.” Ground News. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://ground.news/interest/the-hill.
15. Williams, Juan, Mark Mellman, Mick Mulvaney, and Merrill Matthews. “Columnists News: Page 1.” The Hill, December 9, 2024. https://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/.
16. Reid Wilson, opinion contributor. “An Alumni Roster to Envy and an Example of Journalistic Excellence  .” The Hill, October 23, 2024. https://thehill.com/opinion/the-hills-30th-anniversary/4948996-the-hill-alumni-impact/.