Washington State Standard

It is funded by States Newsroom, which claims to be a “powerful force for social change, uniquely suited to challenging systemic inequality and racism.” ² Although the Standard claims to be non-partisan, the commentary articles it publishes are typically left-leaning. ³

Background

The Washington State Standard is a left-of-center news outlet located in Olympia, Washington and focused on Washington state politics and policies. It was launched by States Newsroom located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in May 2023 as its 33rd state news outlet. ⁴ As of March 2024, States Newsroom has 39 state-level news outlets focused on state politics and policy and a Washington, D.C. bureau that reports on U.S. Congressional, U.S. Supreme Court, and administrative decisions that impact the states. It was launched to focus on state governments, claiming that there has been a decrease in state level reporting by major news outlets. ⁵

States Newsroom has described itself as “a progressive political journalism startup” in the past. ⁶ A Washington Post article described States Newsroom as a news network with state sites that was backed by the Hopewell Fund, “another liberal dark-money group.” ⁷ Job postings describe its journalism as a “powerful force for social change, uniquely suited to challenging systemic inequality and racism.” ²

Political Leanings

Although States Newsroom and the Washington State Standard are self-described as non-partisan, the commentary articles that are published are typically left-leaning. A February 2024 commentary blames large corporations and “monopoly power” for suppressing wages, increasing prices, and causing a negative public mood regarding the economy. ⁸ Another February 2024 commentary espouses guaranteed basic income and cash assistance programs such as the child tax credit and the Working Families Tax Credit for Washington state. ⁹

A June 2023 commentary described the negative impacts of making abortion illegal ¹⁰ and a September 2023 article stated that President Joe Biden “has done well by the country” and that former President Donald Trump was “a pathological liar who lives in his own unhinged, mentally-disordered reality.” ¹¹

Funding

Donations to the Washington State Standard are made to States Newsroom which funds each of its state level news media outlets. Its 2022 tax return reports total revenues of $23,399,713 and total expenses of $18,734.586. It received contributions and grants worth $23,316,863. ¹²

Donors to States Newsroom include a long list of individual donors and several left-of-center institutions and donor-advised funds including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the American Endowment Foundation; the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund; The Minneapolis Foundation; National Public Radio; the Network for Good; the North Fund; the Pew Charitable Trusts; ProPublica; the Schwab Charitable Fund; the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program; the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation; the Wyss Foundation; the Hopewell Fund; and the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund. ^{13 14}

The Wyss Foundation was founded by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, a philanthropist and supporter of left-of-center groups. A 2021 New York Times article accused Wyss of investing in media organizations to “shape media coverage to help Democratic causes.” It stated that the Wyss Foundation donated $1 million to States Newsroom. ¹⁵

Leadership

Bill Lucia is the editor-in-chief of the Washington State Standard. He received a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He has been reporting on state and local policy and politics for over 10 years, including for Crosscut Public Media, Inside Washington Publishers, and Route Fifty. He joined States Newsroom and the Washington State Standard in February 2023. ¹⁶

Jerry Cornfield is the Washington State Standard’s deputy editor. He has been a reporter covering state politics and government in the states of California and Washington for about 40 years. Prior to Washington State Standard, Cornfield worked for the Everett Daily Herald in Everett, Washington for 20 years and for several newspapers and magazines in Santa Barbara, California before that. ¹⁷