The Hotline

Last updated

The Hotline
TypeNewsletter
Formatelectronic
Owner(s) Atlantic Media
Founder(s)
PublisherNational Journal Group
Editor-in-chiefKirk Bado
Founded1987;37 years ago (1987)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters The Watergate
Washington, D.C.
Sister newspapers The National Journal
ISSN 1946-3472
OCLC number 45191522
Website www.nationaljournal.com/hotline

The Hotline is a daily political briefing published by Atlantic Media from its headquarters at The Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1987, It is currently led by editor-in-chief Kirk Bado and published independently until its acquisition in 1996 by National Journal Group, now a subsidiary of Atlantic Media. It is notable for being "the first aggregation of political news ever produced in the United States" [1] and for being a leader in converting political newsletters from mere aggregations to include detailed analysis. [2]

Contents

Description

The Hotline is a bipartisan daily digest of the political events relating to upcoming statewide and national elections. [3] In addition to condensing newspaper, magazine and digital political coverage from the previous 24 hours, [4] it also includes analysis, both of specific races and broad trends. [2] In addition to mass media, it includes analysis of TV ads and polls. [3]

The Hotline's target audience includes Congressional staffers, political operatives and pundits. [4] The Hotline reporters also contribute to its companion publication the National Journal . It comes out with two daily editions, the "Wake-Up Call" with headlines, and the "Latest Edition" with additional text and analysis. [5]

History

The Hotline was founded in 1987 as The Presidential Campaign Hotline, with he first edition in November 1987. [2] It founded by Doug Bailey and Roger Craver [6] who hired Bob Balkin as its editor. [2]

Early issued were delivered by fax machine, [2] and now it's delivered via the Internet. [4]

Notable alumni include: Josh Kraushaar, Reid Wilson, Amy Walter, [5] Chuck Todd, [5] Stephen F. Hayes, [5] Jonathan Martin, Mike Memoli, Shira T. Center, Marc Ambinder, Craig Crawford, Norah O'Donnell, Ken Rudin, John Mercurio and Adam Wollner.

Criticism and acclaim

As editor, Bob Balkin helped turn The Hotline "into a must-read for anyone involved in politics and one that transcended the simple spreading of information to become an analytical and trusted voice among Washington insiders." [2]

"I've always thought of Hotline fondly," reflected former President Bill Clinton in a 25th-anniversary video. "The day before the first cattle-call of the 1992 campaign, you all called me 'a Little Rock in a big pile.' So you can see why I'm both surprised and delighted that you've lasted 25 years. I'm a little surprised I've lasted 25 years. And I sincerely hope that you and I last another 25 more." [7]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Banville, Lee (2016). "The Hotline". Covering American Politics in the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia of News Media Titans, Trends, and Controversies. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 286. ISBN   978-1-4408-4647-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Todd, Chuck (19 September 2022). "Remembering a pioneer in political journalism". NBC News. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Federal Legislative History: News Sources". Richmond Law Library. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Cook, Charlie (2011). "Informing Insiders". In Mann, Robert; Perlmutter, David D. (eds.). Political Communication: The Manship School Guide (second ed.). Louisiana State University Press. pp. 265–272, page 266. ISBN   978-0-8071-3789-5.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Banville 2016 , p.  287
  6. ↑ Johnson, Dennis W. (2017). Democracy for Hire: A History of American Political Consulting. Oxford University Press. p. 194. ISBN   978-0-19-027269-2.
  7. ↑ The Hotline: 25th-anniversary (Video).

Related Research Articles

<i>Meet the Press</i> American news/interview television program

Meet the Press is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since the debut episode on November 6, 1947. Meet the Press specializes in interviews with leaders in Washington, D.C., across the country, and around the world on issues of politics, economics, foreign policy, and other public affairs, along with panel discussions that provide opinions and analysis. In January 2021, production moved to NBC's bureau on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

<i>The Almanac of American Politics</i>

The Almanac of American Politics is a reference work published biennially by Columbia Books & Information Services. It aims to provide a detailed look at the politics of the United States through an approach of profiling individual leaders and areas of the country. The first edition of the Almanac was published in 1972. The National Journal published biennial editions of the Almanac from 1984 through 2014. In 2015, Columbia Books & Information Services became the publisher.

<i>The Hollywood Reporter</i> American magazine and website

The Hollywood Reporter (THR) is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large-format print magazine with a revamped website. As of 2020, the day-to-day operations of the company are handled by Penske Media Corporation through a joint venture with Eldridge Industries. The magazine also sponsors and hosts major industry events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV News</span> News division of MTV

MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and Vice, but by mid-2017 MTV News was significantly downsized due to cutbacks.

Scientific, nationwide public opinion polls conducted relating to the 2008 United States presidential election include:

<i>The Tufts Daily</i> American student newspaper

The Tufts Daily, known on campus as the Daily, is the student newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The paper covers news, arts and sports both on campus and in the greater Boston area and allows members of the Tufts community to submit opinion pieces about campus, local and global issues. Unlike other student organizations and publications at Tufts, the Daily is financially self-sustaining and does not receive funding from the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Kurtz</span> American journalist and author (born 1953)

Howard Alan Kurtz is an American journalist and author and host of Media Buzz on Fox News.

<i>National Journal</i> American advisory services company and its magazine about politics

National Journal is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes daily journalism covering politics and public policy and is led by president Kevin Turpin, National Journal Daily editor-in-chief Jeff Dufour, and The Hotline editor-in-chief Kirk Bado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Crick</span> English broadcaster, journalist and author (born 1958)

Michael Lawrence Crick is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a founding member of the Channel 4 News team in 1982 and remained there until joining the BBC in 1990. He started work on the BBC's Newsnight programme in 1992, serving as political editor from 2007 until his departure from the BBC in 2011. Crick then returned to Channel 4 News as political correspondent. In 2014 he was chosen as Specialist Journalist of the Year at the Royal Television Society television journalism awards.

<i>Bangor Daily News</i> Newspaper serving Bangor, Maine, United States

The Bangor Daily News is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine.

<i>Fox & Friends First</i> American Fox News breakfast television program (since 2012)

Fox & Friends First is a breakfast television show on Fox News. It airs every weekday from 5-6 a.m. EST. The hour-long program hosted by Carley Shimkus and Todd Piro serves as a pre-show to the network's flagship morning show Fox & Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Todd</span> American journalist (born 1972)

Charles David Todd is an American television journalist who was the 12th moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He also hosted Meet the Press Now, its daily edition on NBC News Now and is currently the Chief Political Analyst for NBC News. Before taking the helm of Meet the Press, Todd was Chief White House correspondent for NBC as well as host of The Daily Rundown on MSNBC. He also serves as NBC News' on-air political analyst for NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Today.

City Press is a South African news brand that publishes on multiple platforms. Its flagship print edition is distributed nationally on Sunday, and it has a daily newsletter, online platform, and other social media platforms. These include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The newspaper is owned by Media24, which is the media arm of Naspers.

HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,000,000 unique users per month milestone.

PandoDaily, or simply Pando, was a web publication offering technology news, analysis, and commentary, with a focus on Silicon Valley and startup companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refinery29</span> American digital media and entertainment company

Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Sundial Media Group.

Bustle is an online American women's magazine founded in August 2013 by Bryan Goldberg. It positions news and politics alongside articles about beauty, celebrities, and fashion trends. By September 2016, the website had 50 million monthly readers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Kirk</span> American political activist and radio talk show host

Charles J. Kirk is an American conservative political activist, radio talk show host, and internet personality. He founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery in 2012, and has served as its executive director since. He is the CEO of Turning Point Action, Turning Point Academy, Turning Point Faith, president of Turning Point Endowment, and a member of the Council for National Policy. Kirk has written four books.

<i>Rising</i> (web series) American daily news and opinion web series

The Hill's Rising is an American daily news and opinion web series produced by Washington, D.C. political newspaper The Hill. The series is available on The Hill's website and YouTube.

David Nathan Wasserman is an American political analyst known for his coverage of elections to the United States House of Representatives. He has worked as an editor at the nonpartisan election analysis newsletter The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter since 2007 and is a contributor to NBC News. Wasserman is considered an expert on redistricting in the United States.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.