:en:The Washington Times
{{Short description|American broadsheet newspaper}}
{{about ||the newspaper with a similar name published from 1894 to 1939 |The Washington Times (1894–1939) |the newspaper with a similar name published from 1939 to 1954|Washington Times-Herald}}
{{use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| logo = The Washington Times (2019-10-31).svg
| image = Washtimesfrontapril5.jpg
| caption = Front page for August 22, 2016
| type = Daily newspaper
| format = Broadsheet
| founder = Sun Myung Moon
| publisher = Larry Beasley
| editor =
| president =
| chiefeditor = Christopher Dolan
| depeditor =
| assoceditor =
| maneditor =
| newseditor = Victor Morton
| managingeditordesign = Cathy Gainor
| opeditor = Charles Hurt
| sportseditor = David Eldridge
| photoeditor =
| staff =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1982|5|17}}
| political = Conservative
| language = English
| ceased publication =
| relaunched =
| headquarters = 3600 New York Avenue NE
Washington, D.C., U.S.
| circulation = 52,059 daily
| circulation_date = 2019
| sister newspapers =
| ISSN = 0732-8494
| oclc = 8472624
| website = {{Official URL}}
| free =
| dirinteractive =
| logo_size =
| motto = America's Newspaper
| logo_alt =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| owner = Operations Holdings (via The Washington Times, LLC)
| metroeditor =
| metrochief =
| readership =
| publishing_country = United States
| publishing_city = Washington, D.C., U.S.
}}
{{Conservatism US}}
The Washington Times is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D.C. and the greater Washington metropolitan area, including suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. It also publishes a subscription-based weekly tabloid edition aimed at a national audience.{{cite web |title=Subscribe: National Weekly – Washington Times |website=The Washington Times |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/subscribe/national-weekly/ |access-date= October 2, 2020 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20160202061728/http://www.washingtontimes.com/subscribe/national-weekly/ |archive-date=February 2, 2016 |url-status= unfit}}
The first edition of The Washington Times was published on May 17, 1982. The newspaper was founded by Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon, and it was owned until 2010 by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate founded by Moon. It is currently owned by Operations Holdings, which is a part of the Unification Church movement.{{cite web|url=https://www.operationsholdings.com/about-us/ |title= About Us|publisher=Operations Holdings|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718205913/http://www.operationsholdings.com/about-us/|url-status=live}}
The Washington Times has been known for its conservative political stance, often supporting the policies of Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.{{Cite news|last=Goodman|first=Walter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/review-television-sun-myung-moon-changes-robes.html|title=Review/Television; Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes|date=January 21, 1992|periodical=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409160211/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/news/review-television-sun-myung-moon-changes-robes.html|archive-date=April 9, 2019|author-link=Walter Goodman (critic)|url-access=limited}}{{Cite book|last=Boot|first=Max|title=The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right|publisher=Liveright Publishing|year=2018|isbn=9781631495670|page=124|chapter=The Cost of Capitulation|lccn=2018036979|author-link=Max Boot}} During the 1990s and 2000s, The Washington Times published stories supporting neo-confederate historical revisionism. It also drew controversy by publishing conspiracy theories and racist columns by a former editor about U.S. president Barack Obama. The Washington Times has published columns contradicting scientific consensus on multiple environmental and health issues.{{toc limit|3}}
History
=1980s=
File:The Washington Times headquarters on New York Ave. NE in Washington, D.C.jpg NE in Washington, D.C.]]
The Washington Times was founded May 17, 1982, by News World Communications, a New York City-based international media conglomerate associated with the Unification Church, which also owns United Press International (UPI) and newspapers in Japan, South America, and South Korea.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/18/us/around-the-nation-sun-myung-moon-paper-appears-in-washington.html|title=Sun Myung Moon Paper Appears in Washington|date=May 18, 1982|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630093619/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/18/us/around-the-nation-sun-myung-moon-paper-appears-in-washington.html|archive-date=June 30, 2012|url-access=limited|access-date=February 13, 2017}}
Bo Hi Pak, chief aide to Unification Church founder and leader Sun Myung Moon, was the founding president and founding chairman of the board.Pak was founding president of The Washington Times Corporation (1982–1992), and founding chairman of the board. Bo Hi Pak, Appendix B: Brief Chronology of the Life of Dr. Bo Hi Pak, in Messiah: My Testimony to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Vol I by Bo Hi Pak (2000), Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Moon asked Richard L. Rubenstein, a rabbi and college professor who had written on the Holocaust, to serve on the board of directors.{{Cite news|title=Rabbi Joins the Board of Moonie Newspaper|date=May 21, 1982|work=The Palm Beach Post}} The newspaper's first editor and publisher was James R. Whelan.{{Cite news|last=Weber|first=Bruce|date=December 3, 2012|title=James R. Whelan, First Editor of The Washington Times, Dies at 79|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/business/james-r-whelan-first-editor-of-the-washington-times-dies-at-79.html|access-date=September 17, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523013212/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/business/james-r-whelan-first-editor-of-the-washington-times-dies-at-79.html|url-status=live}}
The Washington Times was founded one year after The Washington Star, a Washington, D.C. daily newspaper, went out of business, leaving the city with The Washington Post as its only daily newspaper. A large percentage of the newspaper's news staff came from the Star.
Unusual among daily newspapers when The Washington Times was founded, the newspaper published full color front pages in all its sections and color elements throughout. It also used ink that it advertised as being less likely to come off on the reader's hands than the type used by The Washington Post.{{cite book|last=Frum|first=David|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/146|title=How We Got Here: The 70's|publisher=Basic Books|year=2000|isbn=978-0-465-04195-4|location=New York City|page=146|chapter=God Moves to Dallas|lccn=00271770|author-link=David Frum|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/146|url-access=registration}} At its start, it had 125 reporters, 25 percent of whom were members of the Unification Church of the United States.{{Cite news|last=Bumiller|first=Elisabeth|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/wtimes.htm|title=The Nation's Capital Gets A New Daily Newspaper|date=May 17, 1982|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906184720/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/wtimes.htm|archive-date=September 6, 2008|page=C01|author-link=Elisabeth Bumiller}}
President Ronald Reagan read The Washington Times every day during his presidency.{{Cite web|url=https://fair.org/extra/behind-the-times/|title=Behind the Times|last=Clarkson|first=Fred|date=August–September 1987|publisher=Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214004725/http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1569|archive-date=February 14, 2006}} In 1997, he said: "The American people know the truth. You, my friends at The Washington Times, have told it to them. It wasn't always the popular thing to do. But you were a loud and powerful voice. Like me, you arrived in Washington at the beginning of the most momentous decade of the century. Together, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. And—oh, yes—we won the Cold War."{{Cite news|last=Gorenfeld|first=John|url=https://prospect.org/features/dear-leader-s-paper-moon/|title=Dear Leader's Paper Moon|date=June 19, 2005|work=The American Prospect|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328090910/http://prospect.org/article/dear-leaders-paper-moon|archive-date=March 28, 2012}}
After a brief editorship under Smith Hempstone, Arnaud de Borchgrave, a former UPI and Newsweek reporter, became executive editor, serving from 1985 to 1991.{{cite news|last=Gamarekian|first=Barbara|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/18/us/washington-times-editor-resigns-but-will-stay-on-to-write-articles.html|title=Washington Times Editor Resigns, But Will Stay On to Write Articles|date=May 18, 1991|newspaper=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525230439/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/18/us/washington-times-editor-resigns-but-will-stay-on-to-write-articles.html|archive-date=May 25, 2015|url-access=limited}} Borchgrave was credited with encouraging energetic reporting by staff but was known to make unorthodox journalistic decisions. During his tenure, The Washington Times mounted a fundraising drive for Contra rebels in Nicaragua and offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of Nazi war criminals.{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/business/media/arnaud-de-borchgrave-a-journalist-whose-life-was-a-tale-itself-dies-at-88.html|title=Arnaud de Borchgrave, Journalist Whose Life Was a Tale Itself, Dies at 88|date=February 16, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=March 11, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030080029/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/business/media/arnaud-de-borchgrave-a-journalist-whose-life-was-a-tale-itself-dies-at-88.html|archive-date=October 30, 2019|author-link=Sam Roberts (newspaper journalist)|url-access=limited}}{{Cite news|last=Langer|first=Emily|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/arnaud-de-borchgrave-swashbuckling-newsweek-foreign-correspondent-dies/2015/02/15/52609204-b552-11e4-a200-c008a01a6692_story.html|title=Arnaud de Borchgrave, swashbuckling Newsweek foreign correspondent, dies|date=February 15, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200428225436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/arnaud-de-borchgrave-swashbuckling-newsweek-foreign-correspondent-dies/2015/02/15/52609204-b552-11e4-a200-c008a01a6692_story.html|archive-date=April 28, 2020|url-access=limited|access-date=May 23, 2018}}
From 1985 to 2008, News World published a weekly news magazine called Insight on the News, also called just Insight, as a companion to The Washington Times. Insight{{'}}s reporting sometimes resulted in journalistic controversy.[https://www.cjr.org/politics/insightmag_a_mustread.php Insightmag, a Mustread] Columbia Journalism Review January 27, 2007{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E2DD143FF93AA15752C0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title=Feeding Frenzy For a Big Story, Even if It's False |work=The New York Times | date=January 29, 2007 | first=David D.|last=Kirkpatrick |author-link=David D. Kirkpatrick| access-date = November 25, 2007}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=newsworld |title=Resources: Who Owns What |access-date=February 2, 2008 |date=November 24, 2003 |work=The Columbia Journalism Review |archive-date=July 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728094939/http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=newsworld |url-status=dead }} "News World Communications is the media arm of Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church."{{cite news|author1=Annys Shin|title=News World Layoffs to Idle 86 Workers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2004/05/03/news-world-layoffs-to-idle-86-workers/e65cc104-8e36-442f-953c-4c1450dfbe96/|access-date=January 15, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 3, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103123501/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2004/05/03/news-world-layoffs-to-idle-86-workers/e65cc104-8e36-442f-953c-4c1450dfbe96/|archive-date=January 3, 2024|url-status=live}}
=1990s=
File:Washington Times dispenser.jpg
In 1991, Moon said he had spent between $900 million and $1 billion on The Washington Times.{{cite web|url=https://www.unification.net/1991/911223.html|title=Reverend Sun Myung Moon Speaks on Our Mission During the Time of World Transition|last=Anderson|first=Damian|date=December 23, 1991|website=Unification.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218021945/https://www.unification.net/1991/911223.html|archive-date=February 18, 2019|access-date=July 1, 2013}} By 2002, Moon had spent between $1.7 billion and $2 billion, according to different estimates.
Wesley Pruden, previously a correspondent and then a managing editor of The Washington Times, was named executive editor in 1991.{{Cite news|last=Freedman|first=Allan|url=http://archives.cjr.org/year/95/2/times.asp|title=Washington's Other Paper|date=March–April 1995|work=Columbia Journalism Review|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20040223081524/http://archives.cjr.org/year/95/2/times.asp|archive-date=February 23, 2004}} During his editorship, the paper took a strongly conservative and nativist editorial stance.{{Cite news |last=Blake |first=Mariah |date=February 11, 2013 |title=The Washington Times takes a giant step—backwards |url=https://archives.cjr.org/united_states_project/the_washington_times_takes_a_b.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200428214735/https://archives.cjr.org/united_states_project/the_washington_times_takes_a_b.php |archive-date=April 28, 2020 |access-date=June 29, 2018 |work=Columbia Journalism Review}}
In 1992, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung gave his first and only interview with the Western news media to The Washington Times reporter Josette Sheeran, who later became executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme.{{Cite news|last=Rosenthal|first=Elisabeth|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/americas/11sheeran.html|title=A Desire to Feed the World and Inspire Self-Sufficiency|date=August 11, 2007|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423150231/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/americas/11sheeran.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall|archive-date=April 23, 2019|author-link=Elisabeth Rosenthal|url-access=limited}}
In 1992, The Washington Times had one-eighth the circulation of The Washington Post (100,000 compared to 800,000) and two-thirds of its subscribers subscribed to both papers.{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Alex S.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/27/business/the-media-business-washington-times-moves-to-reinvent-itself.html|title=The Media Business; Washington Times Moves to Reinvent Itself|date=January 27, 1992|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101191045/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/27/business/the-media-business-washington-times-moves-to-reinvent-itself.html|archive-date=January 1, 2016|author-link=Alex Jones (journalist)|url-access=limited}} In 1994, it introduced a weekly national edition, which was published in a tabloid format and distributed nationally.{{Cite news|last=William|first=Glaberson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/27/business/the-media-business-conservative-daily-tries-to-expand-national-niche.html|title=The Media Business; Conservative Daily Tries to Expand National Niche|date=June 27, 1994|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306200853/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/27/business/the-media-business-conservative-daily-tries-to-expand-national-niche.html|archive-date=March 6, 2016|url-access=limited}} U.S. President George H. W. Bush encouraged the political influence of The Washington Times and other Unification Church movement activism in support of American foreign policy.
In 1997, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, which is critical of U.S. and Israeli policies, praised The Washington Times and its sister publication, The Middle East Times, for what it called their objective and informative coverage of Islam and the Middle East, while criticizing The Washington Times for its generally pro-Israel editorial positions. The Report suggested that these newspapers and The Christian Science Monitor, each owned by religious institutions, were less influenced by pro-Israel pressure groups than corporate-owned newspapers.[http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1297/9712060.html As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam?] {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050421165328/http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1297/9712060.html |date=April 21, 2005 }}, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1997
=2000s=
File:2008 09 The Washington Times - Printing and Distribution Center.jpg
In 2002, at an event held to celebrate The Washington Times{{'}} 20th anniversary, Moon said, "The Washington Times is responsible to let the American people know about God" and "The Washington Times will become the instrument in spreading the truth about God to the world."{{cite news|last=Ahrens|first=Frank|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/05/23/moon-speech-raises-old-ghosts-as-the-times-turns-20/505334e8-8ce6-44eb-a767-ee7895107cae/|title=Moon Speech Raises Old Ghosts as the Times Turns 20|date=May 23, 2002|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 16, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200428224258/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/05/23/moon-speech-raises-old-ghosts-as-the-times-turns-20/505334e8-8ce6-44eb-a767-ee7895107cae/|archive-date=April 28, 2020|url-access=limited}}
In 2004, David Ignatius, a correspondent for The Washington Post, reported that Chung Hwan Kwak, a leader in the Unification Church, wanted The Washington Times to "support international organizations such as the United Nations and to campaign for world peace and interfaith understanding." This, Ignatius wrote, created difficulties for Pruden and some of The Washington Times{{'}} columnists. Ignatius also mentioned the Unification Church movement's reconciliatory attitude towards North Korea, which at the time included joint business ventures, and Kwak's advocacy for greater understanding between the U.S. and the Islamic world as issues of contention. Ignatius predicted that conservatives in Congress and the George W. Bush administration would support Pruden's position over Kwak's.{{Cite news|last=Ignatius|first=David|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50909-2004Jun17.html|title=Tension of the Times|date=June 18, 2004|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106154418/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50909-2004Jun17.html|archive-date=November 6, 2012|page=A29|quote=Insiders say the church's new line is that with the end of the Cold War, it's important to support international organizations such as the United Nations and to campaign for world peace and interfaith understanding. That stance would be awkward for The Washington Times's hard-line editor in chief, Wesley Pruden, and its stable of neoconservative columnists.|author-link=David Ignatius}}
In 2006, Moon's son, Hyun Jin Moon, president and CEO of News World Communications, dismissed managing editor Francis "Fran" Coombs following accusations of racist editorializing. Coombs had made some racist and sexist comments, for which he was sued by other employees at The Washington Times.{{Cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Max |author-link=Max Blumenthal |date=September 20, 2006 |title=Hell of a Times |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/hell-times/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428214516/http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/hell-times/ |archive-date=April 28, 2020}}{{Cite web |last=Archibald |first=George |date=September 29, 2006 |title=Top Washington Times Editor's Wife Confirms Racism Allegations |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/top-washington-times-edit_b_30565 |access-date=November 2, 2022 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}
In January 2008, Pruden retired, and John F. Solomon, who worked with the Associated Press and had most recently been head of investigative reporting and mixed media development at The Washington Post, was appointed executive editor.[http://www.connpost.com/ci_8089629?source=rss State Native to lead DC newspaper] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211111011/http://www.connpost.com/ci_8089629?source=rss|date=February 11, 2009}} Connecticut Post January 26, 2008{{Cite news|last=Abruzzese|first=Sarah|url=http://biz.yahoo.com/nytimes/080211/1194745974399.html?.v=4|title=Ex-Washington Post Reporter to Lead a Rival|date=February 11, 2008|work=The New York Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112123853/http://biz.yahoo.com/nytimes/080211/1194745974399.html?.v=4|archive-date=January 12, 2012|via=Yahoo! Finance}}{{cite news|last=Wemple|first=Erik|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34649|title=Playing Center: John Solomon is pushing evenhandedness at the Washington Times|date=February 29, 2008|work=Washington City Paper|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130209030105/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/34649/playing-center|archive-date=February 9, 2013|author-link=Erik Wemple|access-date=March 1, 2008}}
A month later, The Washington Times changed some of its style guide to conform more to what was becoming mainstream media usage. It announced that it would no longer use words like "illegal aliens" and "homosexual" and, in most cases, opt for "more neutral terminology" like "illegal immigrants" and "gay", respectively. It also decided to stop using "Hillary" when referring to then U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, and the word "marriage" in the expression "gay marriage" would no longer appear in quotes in the newspaper. These policy changes drew criticism from some conservatives.{{cite news|last=Koppelman|first=Alex|url=https://www.salon.com/2008/02/27/washington_times/|title=Washington Times updates style guide|date=February 27, 2008|work=Salon|access-date=July 1, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724005037/http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/02/26/washington_times/index.html|archive-date=July 24, 2008}} Prospect magazine attributed The Washington Times{{'}} apparent political moderation to differences of opinion over the United Nations and North Korea, and wrote, "The Republican right may be losing its most devoted media ally."{{Cite magazine|date=September 2006|title=News & curiosities|url=http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7720|magazine=Prospect|issue=126|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903174638/http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7720|archive-date=September 3, 2007|url-status=dead}}
In November 2009, The New York Times reported that The Washington Times would no longer be receiving funds from the Unification Church movement and might have to cease publication or become an online publication only.{{Cite news|last=Parker|first=Ashley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/business/media/01moon.html|title=With Tumult at the Top, Washington Times Faces Uncertainty|date=November 30, 2009|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624150627/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/business/media/01moon.html|archive-date=June 24, 2017|author-link=Ashley Parker|url-access=limited}} Later that year, it dismissed 40 percent of its 370 employees and stopped its subscription service, instead distributing the paper free in some areas of the Washington metropolitan area, including federal government departments and agencies. However, a subscription website owned by the paper, theconservatives.com, and the Times{{'}} three-hour radio program, America's Morning News, both continued.{{Cite news|last=Parker|first=Ashley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/business/media/03paper.html|title=Large Staff Cuts Announced at the Washington Times|date=December 2, 2009|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716023800/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/business/media/03paper.html|archive-date=July 16, 2017|author-link=Ashley Parker|url-access=limited}} The paper also announced that it would cease publication of its Sunday edition, along with other changes, partly in order to end its reliance on subsidies from the Unification Church.[https://web.archive.org/web/20190305144454/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054777 Washington Times Dropping Sunday Edition As Part of 'Refocused' Approach],{{Dead link|date=April 2020}} Editor & Publisher, December 21, 2009
On December 31, 2009, The Washington Times announced that it would no longer be a full-service newspaper, eliminating its metropolitan news and sports sections.{{Cite news|url=https://thedailyrecord.com/2009/12/31/washington-times-cuts-sports-section-others/|title=Washington Times cuts sports section, others|date=December 31, 2009|work=The Daily Record|access-date=April 28, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020040409/https://thedailyrecord.com/2009/12/31/washington-times-cuts-sports-section-others/|archive-date=October 20, 2014|agency=Associated Press}}{{Cite news|last=Daly|first=Dan|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/01/daly-the-end-of-times/|title=Daly: Eulogy for sports|date=January 1, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310182841/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/01/daly-the-end-of-times/|archive-date=March 10, 2010|url-access=limited}}
=2010s=
File:2008 07 The Washington Times newsroom 02.jpg
In July 2010, the Unification Church issued a letter protesting the direction The Washington Times was taking and urging closer ties with it.{{Cite web|url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2010/unification-church-ceo-others-respond-to-unsigned-blog-post-about-washington-times/|title=Unification Church CEO, others respond to unsigned blog post about Washington Times|last=Romenesko|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Romenesko|date=July 22, 2010|via=the Poynter Institute|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724054956/http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=187388|archive-date=July 24, 2010}} In August 2010, a deal was made to sell it to a group more closely related to the movement. Editor-in-chief Sam Dealey said that this was a welcome development among the Times{{'}} staff.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/business/media/25times.html|title=Deal in Works for The Washington Times|date=August 25, 2010|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716160758/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/business/media/25times.html|archive-date=July 16, 2017|agency=Associated Press|url-access=limited}}
In November 2010, Moon and a group of former editors purchased The Washington Times from News World Communications for $1. This ended a conflict within the Moon family that had been threatening to shut down the paper completely.{{cite news|last=Shapira|first=Ian|title=Moon group buys back Washington Times|date=November 3, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=C1}} In June 2011, Ed Kelley, formerly of The Oklahoman, was hired as editor overseeing both news and opinion content.[https://web.archive.org/web/20181220033850/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-times-names-ed-kelley-as-editor-will-oversee-news-coverage-and-opinion-content/2011/06/10/AGP2gqOH_story.html Washington Times names Ed Kelley as editor; will oversee news coverage and opinion content], The Washington Post, June 10, 2011{{Cite news|url=https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/06/10/washington-times-names-ed-kelley-as-editor/|title=Washington Times Names Ed Kelley As Editor|date=June 10, 2011|access-date=April 28, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909234311/https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/06/10/washington-times-names-ed-kelley-as-editor/|archive-date=September 9, 2015|publisher=CBS Baltimore|agency=Associated Press}}
In March 2011, The Washington Times announced that some former staffers would be rehired and that the paper would bring back its sports, metro, and life sections.{{Cite news|last=Hagey|first=Keach|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/onmedia/0311/Washington_Times_relaunching_Monday.html|title=Washington Times relaunching Monday|date=March 16, 2011|work=Politico|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095520/https://www.politico.com/blogs/onmedia/0311/Washington_Times_relaunching_Monday.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}
In 2012, Douglas D. M. Joo stepped down as senior executive, president, and chairman.{{Cite news|last=Sands|first=David R.|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/14/longtime-times-executive-joo-resigns/|title=Longtime Times executive Joo resigns, takes job in Korea|date=October 14, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=February 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720074307/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/14/longtime-times-executive-joo-resigns/|archive-date=July 20, 2016}} Times president Tom McDevitt took his place as chairman, and Larry Beasley was hired as the company's new president and chief executive officer.{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/16/new-times-ceo-moves-quickly-name-leadership-team-s/?page=1|title=New Times CEO moves quickly to name leadership team, set path to profitability|date=October 16, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=February 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325185116/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/16/new-times-ceo-moves-quickly-name-leadership-team-s/|archive-date=March 25, 2014|url-access=limited}}
In March 2013, The Washington Times partnered with Herring Networks to create a new conservative cable news channel, One America News Network (OAN), which began broadcasting in mid‑2013.*{{cite news|last=Harper|first=Jennifer|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/13/the-washington-times-extending-reach-cable-network/|title=The Washington Times extending reach with cable network|date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=March 15, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216212754/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/13/the-washington-times-extending-reach-cable-network/|archive-date=December 16, 2014|url-access=limited}}* {{cite news|last=Freedlander|first=David|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/one-america-news-network-new-conservative-cable-channel-sets-launch|title=One America News Network, New Conservative Cable Channel, Sets Launch|date=March 14, 2013|newspaper=The Daily Beast|access-date=March 15, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330161551/https://www.thedailybeast.com/one-america-news-network-new-conservative-cable-channel-sets-launch|archive-date=March 30, 2019}}
- {{cite news|last=Hagey|first=Keach|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324392804578358743706989224|title=Herring Plans to Launch New Conservative News Network|date=March 14, 2013|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=March 15, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190814151542/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324392804578358743706989224|archive-date=August 14, 2019|url-access=subscription}}
In July 2013, The Washington Times hired David Keene, former president of the National Rifle Association and chairman of the American Conservative Union, to serve as its opinion editor.{{Cite news|last=Byers|first=Dylan|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/07/david-keene-exnra-president-named-washington-times-168277.html|title=David Keene, ex-NRA president, named Washington Times opinion editor|date=July 15, 2013|work=Politico|access-date=December 26, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008221330/https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/07/david-keene-exnra-president-named-washington-times-168277.html|archive-date=October 8, 2014|author-link=Dylan Byers}}
In September 2013, Solomon returned as editor and vice president of content and business development.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/8/solomon-returns-lead-content-business-strategies-w/|title=Solomon returns to lead content, business strategies at The Washington Times|date=July 8, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=February 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121092826/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/8/solomon-returns-lead-content-business-strategies-w/|archive-date=November 21, 2013|url-access=limited}}{{Cite web|url=http://jimromenesko.com/2013/07/08/john-solomon-returns-to-the-washington-times/|title=John Solomon returns to The Washington Times|last=Romenesko|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Romenesko|date=July 8, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423010844/http://jimromenesko.com/2013/07/08/john-solomon-returns-to-the-washington-times/|archive-date=April 23, 2016|access-date=April 7, 2016}} Solomon's tenure was marked by a focus on profitability.{{Cite news|last=Wemple|first=Erik|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2015/12/07/john-solomon-leaves-washington-times-joins-circa-re-launch/|title=John Solomon leaves Washington Times, joins Circa re-launch|date=December 7, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222134228/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2015/12/07/john-solomon-leaves-washington-times-joins-circa-re-launch/|archive-date=February 22, 2016|author-link=Erik Wemple|url-access=limited}}
In September 2015, the newspaper had its first profitable month, ending a streak of monthly financial losses over the paper's first 33 years.{{Cite news |date=October 15, 2015 |title=The Washington Times reports first profitable month |url=https://apnews.com/1d470c008efe41e2bd0777173c246f36/washington-times-reports-first-profitable-month |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307164110/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1d470c008efe41e2bd0777173c246f36/washington-times-reports-first-profitable-month |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=February 7, 2016 |work=Associated Press}}{{cite news|last=Harper|first=Jennifer|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/14/washington-times-reaches-profitability-after-33-ye/|title=Washington Times reaches profitability after 33 years, $1 billion in losses|date=October 14, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005065111/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/14/washington-times-reaches-profitability-after-33-ye/|archive-date=October 5, 2016|url-access=limited}} In December 2015, Solomon left for Circa News.
The Washington Times opinion editor Charles Hurt was one of Trump's earliest supporters in Washington, D.C.{{Cite news|last=Lowry|first=Rich|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/the-trump-show-214075|title=The Trump Dynasty Takes Over the GOP|date=July 20, 2016|work=Politico Magazine|access-date=May 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027122711/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/the-trump-show-214075|archive-date=October 27, 2016|author-link=Rich Lowry}}
During the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Times did not endorse a presidential candidate, but it endorsed Trump for reelection in the 2020 presidential election.Washington Times, October 26, 2020, [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/oct/26/editorial-donald-trump-for-reelection Donald Trump for Reelection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027152248/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/oct/26/editorial-donald-trump-for-reelection/ |date=October 27, 2020 }}
=2020s=
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Washington Times received between $1 million and $2 million in federal-backed small business loans from Citibank as related of the Paycheck Protection Program. The Washington Times which it said helped retain of its 91 employees.{{Cite web |title=Here are the major media companies that received coronavirus relief loans |author=James Bikales |work=The Hill |date=July 6, 2020 |access-date=July 10, 2020 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/506121-here-are-the-major-media-companies-that-received-coronavirus-relief-loans |archive-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710235724/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/506121-here-are-the-major-media-companies-that-received-coronavirus-relief-loans |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=THE WASHINGTON TIMES LLC – Coronavirus Bailouts – ProPublica |last1=Syed |first1=Moiz |last2=Willis |first2=Derek |work=ProPublica |date=July 7, 2020 |access-date=July 10, 2020 |url=https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/the-washington-times-llc-8d41841196142db1e7c0c193013089df |archive-date=July 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711220537/https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/the-washington-times-llc-8d41841196142db1e7c0c193013089df |url-status=live }} During the 2024 presidential election, The Washington Times endorsed Trump for election.The Washington Post, 2.8.2024
Reactions
In the 1980s, reporters for The Washington Times visited imprisoned then South African activist Nelson Mandela, who wrote about the newspaper in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. He said, "They seemed less intent on finding out my views than on proving that I was a Communist and a terrorist. All of their questions were slanted in that direction, and when I reiterated that I was neither a Communist nor a terrorist, they attempted to show that I was not a Christian either by asserting that the Reverend Martin Luther King never resorted to violence."{{Cite book |last=Ritchie |first=Donald A. |title=Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780195178616 |pages=262–263 |chapter=Company Town Papers |lccn=2004018892 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/reportingfromwas00ritc#page/262/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration}}{{Cite book|last=Mandela|first=Nelson|url=https://archive.org/stream/longwalktofreedo00mand#page/452/mode/2up|title=Long Walk to Freedom|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|year=1994|isbn=9780316545853|pages=453–454|lccn=94079980|author-link=Nelson Mandela|url-access=registration}}
The Washington Times holds a conservative political stance.{{cite news |last=Glaberson |first=William |date=June 27, 1994 |title=Conservative Daily Tries to Expand National Niche |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/27/business/the-media-business-conservative-daily-tries-to-expand-national-niche.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111100818/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/27/business/the-media-business-conservative-daily-tries-to-expand-national-niche.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |access-date=January 30, 2022 |work=The New York Times |quote=The Washington Times, the conservative daily that is linked to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church}}{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Mimi|date=March 22, 2001|title=Bush, aides boost access of conservative media|work=USA Today|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-03-22-media.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306060210/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-03-22-media.htm|archive-date=March 6, 2013|quote=Cheney talked to The Washington Times, a much smaller newspaper known for its conservative tilt}}{{Cite news |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=March 27, 2018 |title=Seth Rich's brother sues right-wing activists, Washington Times over conspiracy theories |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/media/seth-rich-brother-sues-washington-times/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629183030/https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/media/seth-rich-brother-sues-washington-times/index.html |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |access-date=May 22, 2018 |publisher=CNN Money |pages=Unification Church |quote=...The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper...}}{{Cite book |last=Shipoli |first=Erdoan A. |title=Islam, Securitization, and US Foreign Policy |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2018 |isbn=9783319711102 |page=247 |chapter=Desecuritization and Resecuritization of Islam in US Foreign Policy: The Obama and the Trump Administrations Unification Church |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-71111-9 |lccn=2018935256}} In 1995, the Columbia Journalism Review wrote that The Washington Times "is like no major city daily in America in the way that it wears its political heart on its sleeve. No major paper in America would dare be so partisan." In 2002, The Washington Post reported that the newspaper "was established by Moon to combat communism and be a conservative alternative to what Moon perceived as the liberal leanings of The Washington Post. Since then, the paper has fought to prove its editorial independence, trying to demonstrate that it is neither a "Moonie paper" nor a booster of the political right but rather a fair and balanced reporter of the news."
In October 2002, veteran Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee complimented The Washington Times, saying, "I see them get some local stories that I think the Post doesn't have and should have had."{{cite magazine|last=Scott|first=Sherman|date=September–October 2002|title=Donald Graham's Washington Pos'|url=https://www.cjr.org/issues/2002/5/wash-stability.asp|magazine=Columbia Journalism Review|issue=5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031124234138/https://www.cjr.org/issues/2002/5/wash-stability.asp|archive-date=November 24, 2003|access-date=March 19, 2018|url-status=dead}} In 2007, Mother Jones reported that The Washington Times had become "essential reading for political news junkies" soon after its founding, and described it as a "conservative newspaper with close ties to every Republican administration since Reagan."{{Cite news|last=Ridgeway|first=James|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/04/bush-sr-celebrate-rev-sun-myung-moon-again/|title=Bush Sr. To Celebrate Rev. Sun Myung Moon – Again|date=April 27, 2007|work=Mother Jones|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213043915/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/04/bush-sr-celebrate-rev-sun-myung-moon-again|archive-date=December 13, 2013|author-link=James Ridgeway}}
In August 2008, in a Harper's essay, American historian{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08012008/profile3.html|title=Bill Moyers interviews Thomas Frank|date=August 1, 2008|work=Bill Moyers Journal|publisher=PBS|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618112157/https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08012008/profile3.html|archive-date=June 18, 2012|access-date=February 6, 2016}} Thomas Frank linked The Washington Times to the modern American conservative movement, saying: "There is even a daily newspaper—The Washington Times—published strictly for the movement's benefit, a propaganda sheet whose distortions are so obvious and so alien that it puts one in mind of those official party organs one encounters when traveling in authoritarian countries."{{Cite magazine|last=Frank|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Frank|date=August 2008|title=The wrecking crew: How a gang of right-wing con men destroyed Washington and made a killing|url=https://harpers.org/archive/2008/08/the-wrecking-crew/|magazine=Harper's Magazine|pages=35–45|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225130341/https://harpers.org/archive/2008/08/the-wrecking-crew/|archive-date=December 25, 2017|url-status=live}}
In January 2011, conservative commentator Paul Weyrich said, "The Washington Post became very arrogant and they just decided that they would determine what was news and what wasn't news and they wouldn't cover a lot of things that went on. And The Washington Times has forced the Post to cover a lot of things that they wouldn't cover if the Times wasn't in existence."{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107074820/http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript.shtml|url-status=dead|title=Welcome mediachannel.org - BlueHost.com|archivedate=January 7, 2011|website=www.mediachannel.org}}
In December 2012, The New York Times wrote that The Washington Times had become "a crucial training ground for many rising conservative journalists and a must-read for those in the movement. A veritable who's who of conservatives—Tony Blankley, Frank J. Gaffney Jr., Larry Kudlow, John Podhoretz and Tony Snow—has churned out copy for its pages." The Columbia Journalism Review noted that reporters for The Washington Times had used it as a springboard to other mainstream news outlets.{{Cite magazine|last=Chinni|first=Dante|date=September–October 2002|title=The Other Paper: The Washington Times's Role|url=https://www.cjr.org/issues/2002/5/wash-chinni.asp|magazine=Columbia Journalism Review|issue=5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419012416/https://www.cjr.org/issues/2002/5/wash-chinni.asp|archive-date=April 19, 2006|url-status=dead}}
Awards
- In 2013, The Washington Times won two Sigma Delta Chi Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for excellence in journalism, including "Professional Journalists for Deadline Reporting (Daily Circulation of 1–50,000)" and "Investigative Reporting (Daily Circulation 1–50,000)".
- In 2014, Thom Loverro, lead sports columnist for The Washington Times, won a Sigma Delta Chi Award for Sports Column Writing.
- In 2018, Guy Taylor and Dan Boylan, reporters for The Washington Times, won Honorable Mentions for the 31st annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.{{Cite web|title=Journalism Award Prizes|url=https://geraldrfordfoundation.org/journalism-award-prizes/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=Gerald R. Ford Foundation|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=June 4, 2018|title=Reporting on the Presidency Honorable Mention 2017|url=https://geraldrfordfoundation.org/reporting-on-the-presidency-honorable-mention-2017/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=Gerald R. Ford Foundation|language=en-US}}
- In 2019, The Washington Times advertising department won first and third place in the VPA News and Advertising contest in the Special Sections (standalone section non-slick cover) category. Outstanding design and creative artwork for the Qatar and Rolling Thunder Special Section covers landed the department the award.{{Cite web|last=Staff|first=Virginia Press|title=VPA News & Advertising Contest Page|url=https://www.vpa.net/2019-vpa-news-advertising-contest-winners-gallery/|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=Virginia Press Association|language=en-US|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019183808/https://www.vpa.net/2019-vpa-news-advertising-contest-winners-gallery/|url-status=dead}}
- In 2020, Alexander Hunter, designer and editorial illustrator for The Washington Times, won the Sigma Delta Chi Award for excellence in journalism.{{Cite news|title=Times cartoonist Hunter wins SPJ award for excellence in journalism|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/16/alexander-hunter-times-cartoonist-wins-spj-award/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016165433/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/16/alexander-hunter-times-cartoonist-wins-spj-award/|archive-date=October 16, 2020|access-date=October 19, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Times|language=en-US}}
Controversies
= General controversies =
Some former employees, including Whelan, have insisted that The Washington Times was always under Moon's control. Whelan, whose contract guaranteed editorial autonomy, left the paper in 1984 when the owners refused to renew his contract.{{Cite news|last=Rasky|first=Susan F.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/23/us/ex-publisher-says-moon-church-ran-newspaper.html|title=Ex-Publisher Says Moon Church Ran Newspaper|date=July 23, 1984|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306133504/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/23/us/ex-publisher-says-moon-church-ran-newspaper.html|archive-date=March 6, 2016|author-link=Susan Rasky|url-access=limited}} Three years later, editorial page editor William P. Cheshire and four of his staff resigned, charging that, at the explicit direction of Sang Kook Han, a top official of the Unification Church, executive editor Arnaud de Borchgrave had stifled editorial criticism of political repression in South Korea under President Chun Doo-hwan.{{Cite news|title=Five resign from Washington Times|date=April 15, 1987|newspaper=The Washington Post}}
In 1982, The Washington Times refused to publish film critic Scott Sublett's negative review of the movie Inchon, which was also sponsored by the Unification Church.{{cite news|last=Romano|first=Lois|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/09/18/review-is-killed/1a499be1-0dd1-460b-896e-14f0a232b84d/|title=Review is Killed|date=September 18, 1982|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200429090116/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/09/18/review-is-killed/1a499be1-0dd1-460b-896e-14f0a232b84d/|archive-date=April 29, 2020|page=C1|author-link=Lois Romano|url-access=limited|access-date=April 29, 2020}}
In 1988, The Washington Times published a misleading story suggesting that Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis had sought psychiatric help, and included a quote from Dukakis' sister-in-law saying "it is possible" he visited a psychiatrist. However, The Washington Times misleadingly clipped the full quote by the sister-in-law, which was: "It's possible, but I doubt it."{{Cite news|last=Randolph|first=Eleanor|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/08/13/reporter-quits-over-dukakis-story/a20b4aae-a28c-4dff-85d0-e3bd5d359306/|title=Reporter Quits over Dukakis Story|date=August 13, 1988|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200429091512/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/08/13/reporter-quits-over-dukakis-story/a20b4aae-a28c-4dff-85d0-e3bd5d359306/|archive-date=April 29, 2020|url-access=limited|access-date=December 27, 2018}}
Reporter Peggy Weyrich quit in 1991 after one of her articles about Anita Hill's testimony in the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nominee hearings was rewritten to depict Hill as a "fantasizer".
During the presidency of Bill Clinton The Washington Times reporting on his alleged sex scandals was often picked up by other, more respected, news media which contributed to enhanced public awareness of the topic, and eventually to Clinton's impeachment. In 1999 the Senate voted to acquit Clinton, allowing him to complete his second term as president.{{cite book |last1=D'Antonio |first1=Michael |title=The Hunting of Hillary: The Forty-Year Campaign to Destroy Hillary Clinton |date=2020 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1250154606 |page=288 |language=en-us}}{{cite web| last=Glass| first=Andrew| title=House votes to impeach Clinton, Oct. 8, 1998| url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/08/house-votes-to-impeach-clinton-oct-8-1998-243550| date=October 8, 2017| work=Politico| access-date=June 12, 2019| archive-date=September 28, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928144724/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/08/house-votes-to-impeach-clinton-oct-8-1998-243550/| url-status=live}}
In a 1997 column in The Washington Times, Frank Gaffney falsely alleged that a seismic incident in Russia was a nuclear detonation at that nation's Novaya Zemlya test site, which would have meant that Russia had violated the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTB).{{cite journal|last1=Isaacs|first1=John|date=November–December 1997|title=Spinning to the Right|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgwAAAAAMBAJ|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=53|issue=6|pages=14–15|doi=10.1080/00963402.1997.11456781|bibcode=1997BuAtS..53f..14I|access-date=July 22, 2016|via=Google Books|archive-date=January 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107130554/https://books.google.com/books?id=vgwAAAAAMBAJ|url-status=live}} Subsequent scientific analysis of the Novaya Zemlya event showed that it was a routine earthquake.{{cite web|last1=van der Vink|first1=Gregory|url=https://www.armscontrol.org/print/357|title=False Accusations, Undetected Tests and Implications for the CTB Treaty|date=May 1988|access-date=July 22, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523100845/https://www.armscontrol.org/print/357|archive-date=May 23, 2018|publisher=Arms Control Association|last2=Park|first2=Jeffrey|last3=Allen|first3=Richard|last4=Wallace|first4=Terry|last5=Hennet|first5=Christel}} Reporting on the allegation, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists observed that following its publication: "fax machines around Washington, D.C. and across the country poured out pages detailing Russian duplicity. They came from Frank Gaffney."
In 2002, The Washington Times published a story accusing the National Educational Association (NEA), the largest teachers' union in the United States, of teaching students that the policies of the U.S. government were partly responsible for the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.{{Cite news|last=Nyhan|first=Brendan|url=https://www.salon.com/2002/09/05/nea/|title=The big NEA-Sept. 11 lie|date=September 5, 2002|work=Salon|access-date=December 24, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155932/https://www.salon.com/2002/09/05/nea/|archive-date=September 24, 2015|author-link=Brendan Nyhan}} The NEA responded to the story by denying all of its accusations.{{cite news|last=Young|first=Cathy|url=http://cathyyoung.net/bgcolumns/2002/unfair.html|title=An unfair attack on teachers union|date=September 2, 2002|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=April 17, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712162654/http://cathyyoung.net/bgcolumns/2002/unfair.html|archive-date=July 12, 2015|author-link=Cathy Young}}{{cite press release|title=Letter to The Washington Times from NEA President|date=August 20, 2002|publisher=National Education Association|url=http://www.nea.org/nr/nr020820b.html|last=Chase|first=Bob|access-date=April 17, 2008|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517134505/http://www.nea.org/nr/nr020820b.html|archive-date=May 17, 2008}} Brendan Nyhan, later a political science professor at the University of Michigan, wrote that The Washington Times story was a lie and a myth.
In 2018, The Washington Times published a commentary piece by retired U.S. Navy admiral James A. Lyons which promoted conspiracy theories about the murder of Seth Rich. Lyon wrote that it was "well known in intelligence circles that Seth Rich and his brother, Aaron Rich, downloaded the DNC emails and was paid by WikiLeaks for that information." The piece cited no evidence for the assertion.{{Cite news|last=Eltagouri|first=Marwa|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/03/27/brother-of-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-sues-right-wing-activists-newspaper-over-conspiracy-theories/|title=Brother of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich sues right-wing activists, newspaper over conspiracy theories|date=March 27, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 22, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190715225019/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/03/27/brother-of-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-sues-right-wing-activists-newspaper-over-conspiracy-theories/?noredirect=on|archive-date=July 15, 2019|url-access=limited}} Aaron Rich filed a lawsuit against The Washington Times, saying that it acted with "reckless disregard for the truth" and that it did not retract or remove the piece after "receiving notice of the falsity of the statements about Aaron after the publication".{{Cite news|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/media/seth-rich-brad-bauman-lawsuit/index.html|title=Former Seth Rich family spokesman files lawsuit against individuals, media outlet he says defamed him|date=May 21, 2018|access-date=May 22, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904234609/https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/media/seth-rich-brad-bauman-lawsuit/index.html|archive-date=September 4, 2019|publisher=CNN Money}}{{Cite news|last=Anapol|first=Avery|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/380452-brother-of-slain-dnc-staffer-sues-washington-times-conservative-activists|title=Brother of slain DNC staffer sues Washington Times, conservative activists|date=March 27, 2018|work=The Hill|access-date=May 22, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805095307/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/380452-brother-of-slain-dnc-staffer-sues-washington-times-conservative-activists|archive-date=August 5, 2018}} Rich and The Washington Times settled their lawsuit, and the paper issued an unusually robust retraction.{{cite news|last1=Darcy|first1=Oliver|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/10/01/media/washington-times-aaron-rich/index.html|title=The Washington Times settles lawsuit with Seth Rich's brother, issues retraction and apology for its coverage|date=October 1, 2018|access-date=October 1, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221115632/https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/01/media/washington-times-aaron-rich/index.html|archive-date=February 21, 2019|publisher=CNN Money}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/30/retraction-aaron-rich-and-murder-seth-rich/|title=Retraction: Aaron Rich and the murder of Seth Rich|date=September 30, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=October 1, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181001142200/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/30/retraction-aaron-rich-and-murder-seth-rich/|archive-date=October 1, 2018|url-access=limited}}
On January 6, 2021, after violent pro-Trump rioters attacked the United States Capitol, The Washington Times published a false story quoting an unidentified retired military officer claiming that the facial recognition system company XRVision had used its technology and identified two members of antifa amid the mob.{{Cite news |last1=Grynbaum |first1=Michael M. |last2=Alba |first2=Davey|author-link2=Davey Alba |last3=Epstein |first3=Reid J. |date=March 1, 2021 |title=How Pro-Trump Forces Pushed a Lie About Antifa at the Capitol Riot |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/us/politics/antifa-conspiracy-capitol-riot.html |url-access=limited |access-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/us/politics/antifa-conspiracy-capitol-riot.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}} XRVision quickly denied this, sending a cease and desist to The Washington Times, and issued a statement saying that its technology had actually identified two Neo-Nazis and a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory and that it had not done any detection work for a retired military officer authorized to share that information. On January 7, the article was removed from the website and replaced with a corrected version.{{Cite news |last=Cox |first=Chelsey |date=January 8, 2021 |title=Fact check: False claim of facial recognition of antifa members during U.S. Capitol riot |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/01/07/fact-check-false-claim-facial-recognition-antifa-capitol/6580679002/ |access-date=January 8, 2021}} Before the correction, Representative Matt Gaetz cited the original story as proof that antifa were partially responsible for the attack in the floor debate of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count, and it was widely shared on social media.
The Washington Times has twice published articles, one written by the ambassador of Turkey to the United States and one by an attorney and lobbyist for the Turkish government, that featured Armenian genocide denial.{{cite journal |last1=Zarifian |first1=Julien |title=The United States and the (Non-)Recognition of the Armenian Genocide |journal=Études arméniennes contemporaines |date=2013 |issue=1 |pages=75–95 |doi=10.4000/eac.361 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/eac/361?lang=en|doi-access=free }}
= Science coverage =
== Climate change denial ==
The Washington Times has promoted climate change denial.{{Cite book|last1=McCright|first1=Aaron M.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society|last2=Dunlap|first2=Riley E.|date=August 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199566600|editor-last=Dryzek|editor-first=John S.|editor-link=John Dryzek|series=Oxford Handbooks|page=152|chapter=Organized Climate Change Denial|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199566600.003.0010|lccn=2011929381|editor-last2=Norgaard|editor-first2=Richard B.|editor-link2=Richard B. Norgaard|editor-last3=Schlosberg|editor-first3=David|editor-link3=David Schlosberg}}{{Cite magazine |last=Beilinson |first=Jerry |date=April 29, 2014 |title=Playing Climate-Change Telephone |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/playing-climate-change-telephone |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720091815/https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/playing-climate-change-telephone |archive-date=July 20, 2017 |access-date=May 22, 2018 |magazine=The New Yorker}}{{Cite web |date=August 28, 2015 |first=Emmanuel |last=Vincent |title=Analysis of "Deceptive temperature record claims" |url=https://science.feedback.org/review/tom-harris-deceptive-temperature-record-claims/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916095727/https://science.feedback.org/review/tom-harris-deceptive-temperature-record-claims/ |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |website=Science Feedback |publisher=Climate Feedback}}{{Cite news |last=Hiltzik |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Hiltzik |date=December 4, 2015 |title=The attack on climate change scientists continues in Washington |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-attack-on-climate-change-scientists-20151204-column.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724231236/https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-attack-on-climate-change-scientists-20151204-column.html |archive-date=July 24, 2016 |work=Los Angeles Times}} Michael E. Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, characterizes The Washington Times as a prominent outlet that propagates "climate change disinformation".{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Michael E.|title=The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines|date=March 2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231526388|page=64|chapter=The Origins of Denial|lccn=2011038813|author-link=Michael E. Mann}} Naomi Oreskes, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, and Erik M. Conway, historian of science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, wrote in their 2010 book Merchants of Doubt that The Washington Times has given the public a false sense that the science of anthropogenic climate change was in dispute by giving disproportionate coverage of fringe viewpoints and by preventing scientists from rebutting coverage in The Washington Times.{{Cite journal|last=Kitcher|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Kitcher|date=June 4, 2010|title=The Climate Change Debates|journal=Science|volume=328|issue=5983|pages=1230–1234|bibcode=2010Sci...328.1230K|doi=10.1126/science.1189312|s2cid=154865206 |doi-access=}} The Washington Times reprinted a column by Steve Milloy criticizing research of climate change in the Arctic without disclosing Milloy's financial ties to the fossil fuel industry.{{Cite book|last1=Oreskes|first1=Naomi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpMh3nh3JI0C|title=Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming|last2=Conway|first2=Erik M.|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|year=2010|isbn=9781608192939|page=247|chapter=Conclusion: Of Free Speech and Free Markets|lccn=2009043183|author-link=Naomi Oreskes|author-link2=Erik M. Conway|access-date=December 29, 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516171645/https://books.google.com/books?id=fpMh3nh3JI0C|url-status=live}}
In 1993, The Washington Times published articles purporting to debunk climate change.{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=William K. |date=September 14, 1993 |title=Scientists Confront Renewed Backlash on Global Warming |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/14/science/scientists-confront-renewed-backlash-on-global-warming.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410203331/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/14/science/scientists-confront-renewed-backlash-on-global-warming.html |archive-date=April 10, 2019 |access-date=December 28, 2018 |work=The New York Times}} It headlined its story about the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change: "Under the deal, the use of coal, oil and other fossil fuel in the United States would be cut by more than one-third by 2002, resulting in lower standards of living for consumers and a long-term reduction in economic growth."
During the Climatic Research Unit email controversy (also known as "Climategate") in 2009 in the lead-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, The Washington Times wrote in an editorial: "these revelations of fudged science should have a cooling effect on global-warming hysteria and the panicked policies that are being pushed forward to address the unproven theory."{{Cite web|url=https://shorensteincenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/d72_mayer.pdf|title=Stories of Climate Change: Competing Narratives, the Media, and U.S. Public Opinion 2001–2010|last=Mayer|first=Frederick|date=February 2012|access-date=December 28, 2018|archive-date=May 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517215037/https://shorensteincenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/d72_mayer.pdf|url-status=live}} Eight committees investigated the controversy and found no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct. In 2010, The Washington Times published an article claiming that February 2010 snow storms "Undermin[e] The Case For Global Warming One Flake At A Time".{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/washington-times-february_n_455199|title=Washington Times: February Snow Storms "Undermin[e] The Case For Global Warming One Flake At A Time"|date=April 11, 2010|newspaper=The Huffington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002014355/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/washington-times-february_n_455199|archive-date=October 2, 2019}} A 2014 The Washington Times editorial mocked the "global warming scam" and asserted: "The planetary thermometer hasn't budged in 15 years. Wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes and other 'extreme' weather events are at normal or below-normal levels. Pacific islands aren't submerged. There's so much ice the polar bears are celebrating."{{Cite journal|last=Corneliussen|first=Steven T.|date=July 1, 2014|title=News dispatches from the climate wars|journal=Physics Today|issue=7 |page=11671 |doi=10.1063/PT.5.8054|doi-access=|bibcode=2014PhT..2014g1671C }} The Washington Times cited a blog post in support of these claims; PolitiFact fact-checked the claims in the blog post and concluded it was "pants-on-fire" false.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/jun/25/steve-doocy/foxs-doocy-nasa-fudged-data-make-case-global-warmi/|title=Fox's Doocy: NASA fudged data to make the case for global warming|last=Greenberg|first=Jon|date=June 25, 2014|publisher=PolitiFact|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104190355/https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/jun/25/steve-doocy/foxs-doocy-nasa-fudged-data-make-case-global-warmi/|archive-date=January 4, 2019|access-date=April 29, 2020}} The Washington Times later said that a NASA scientist claimed that global warming was on a "hiatus" and that NASA had found evidence of global cooling; Rebecca Leber of The New Republic said that the NASA scientist in question said the opposite of what The Washington Times claimed.{{Cite magazine|last=Leber|first=Rebecca|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/119033/conservatives-misrepresent-climate-scientist|title=The Right-Wing Press' New Climate Change Lie|date=August 10, 2014|magazine=The New Republic|access-date=May 22, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200429064331/https://newrepublic.com/article/119033/conservatives-misrepresent-climate-scientist|archive-date=April 29, 2020}}
In 2015, The Washington Times published a column by Republican Texas congressman Lamar Smith in which he argued that the work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was "not good science, [but] science fiction." The American Association for the Advancement of Science and six other scientific organizations objected to Smith's politicalisation of scientific research saying: "Scientists should not be subjected to fraud investigations or harassment simply for providing scientific results that some may see as politically controversial. Science cannot thrive when policymakers—regardless of party affiliation—use policy disagreements as a pretext to attack scientific conclusions."
In November 2021, a study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate described The Washington Times as being among "ten fringe publishers" that together were responsible for nearly 70 percent of Facebook user interactions with content that denied climate change. Facebook disputed the study's methodology.{{cite web|last=Porterfield|first=Carlie|date=November 2, 2021|title=Breitbart Leads Climate Change Misinformation On Facebook, Study Says|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/11/02/breitbart-leads-climate-change-misinformation-on-facebook-study-says/|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=Forbes}}{{Cite web |last=Waldman |first=Scott |date=February 23, 2022 |title=Climate denial still flourishes on Facebook — report |url=https://www.eenews.net/articles/climate-denial-still-flourishes-on-facebook-report/ |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=E&E News |language=en-US}}{{cite web | date=November 2, 2021 | title=The Toxic Ten: How ten fringe publishers fuel 69% of digital climate change denial | publisher=Center for Countering Digital Hate | url=https://www.counterhate.com/toxicten | access-date=November 3, 2021 }}
== Ozone depletion denial==
In the 1990s, The Washington Times published columns which cast doubt on the scientific consensus on the causes of ozone depletion (which had led to the "ozone hole"). It published columns disputing the science as late as 2000.{{Cite book |last1=Oreskes |first1=Naomi |author-link=Naomi Oreskes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpMh3nh3JI0C |title=Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming |last2=Conway |first2=Erik M. |author-link2=Erik M. Conway |publisher=Bloomsbury Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781608192939 |pages=130–135 |chapter=Constructing a Counternarrative: The Fight over the Ozone Hole |lccn=2009043183 |access-date=December 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516171645/https://books.google.com/books?id=fpMh3nh3JI0C |archive-date=May 16, 2020 |url-status=live}} In 1991, NASA scientists warned of the potential of a major Arctic ozone hole developing in the spring of 1992 due to elevated levels of chlorine monoxide in the Arctic stratosphere. However, as the Arctic winter was unusually warm, the chemical reactions needed for ozone depletion did not occur. Even though the science was not incorrect, The Washington Times, along with other conservative media, subsequently created a "crying wolf" narrative, where scientists were portrayed as political activists who were following an environmental agenda rather than the science. In 1992, it published an editorial saying: "This is not the disinterested, objective, just-the-facts tone one ordinarily expects from scientists... This is the cry of the apocalyptic, laying the groundwork for a decidedly non-scientific end: public policy... it would be nice if the next time NASA cries 'wolf,' fewer journalists, politicians and citizens heed the warning like sheep."{{Cite journal|last1=Brysse|first1=Keynyn|last2=Oreskes|first2=Naomi|author-link2=Naomi Oreskes|last3=o'Reilly|first3=Jessica|last4=Oppenheimer|first4=Michael|author-link4=Michael Oppenheimer|date=February 2013|title=Climate change prediction: Erring on the side of least drama?|url=http://www.phys.uri.edu/nigh/FFRI/LeastDrama.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Global Environmental Change|volume=23|issue=1|pages=327–337|doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.10.008|bibcode=2013GEC....23..327B |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809005641/http://www.phys.uri.edu/nigh/FFRI/LeastDrama.pdf|archive-date=August 9, 2017|via=the University of Rhode Island}}
== Second-hand smoke denial==
In 1995, The Washington Times published a column by Fred Singer, who is known for promoting views contrary to mainstream science on a number of issues, where Singer referred to the science on the adverse health impact of second-hand smoke as the "second-hand smoke scare" and accused the Environmental Protection Agency of distorting data when it classified second-hand smoke as harmful. Singer's column also denied the scientific consensus on climate change and on the health risks of exposure to environmental radiation.{{Cite news |last=Singer |first=Fred |date=1995 |title=Anthology of 1995's Environmental Myths |url=http://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=2715 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20181229193017/http://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=2715 |archive-date=December 29, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Times |via=the Independent Institute}}{{Cite book |last=Powell |first=James Lawrence |author-link=James L. Powell |url=http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-inquisition-of-climate-science/9780231157193 |title=The Inquisition of Climate Science |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780231527842 |pages=57, 198 |chapter=Tobacco Tactics: The Scientist-Deniers |lccn=2011018611 |access-date=December 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525020933/https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-inquisition-of-climate-science/9780231157193 |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |url-status=live}} In 1995, The Washington Times published an editorial titled "How not to spend science dollars" condemning a grant to the National Cancer Institute to study how political contributions from tobacco companies shape policy-making and the voting behavior of politicians.{{Cite journal|last1=Landman|first1=Anne|last2=Glantz|first2=Stanton A.|author-link2=Stanton Glantz|date=January 2009|title=Tobacco Industry Efforts to Undermine Policy-Relevant Research|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=99|issue=1|pages=45–58|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2007.130740|pmc=2600597|pmid=19008508}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=xkyk0101|title=How not to spend science dollars|date=May 28, 1995|newspaper=The Washington Times|page=B2|via=the University of California, San Francisco|access-date=December 29, 2018|archive-date=October 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028200232/https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=xkyk0101|url-status=live}}
==Controversial reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic==
In January 2020, The Washington Times published two articles about the COVID-19 pandemic that suggested that the virus was created by the government of the People's Republic of China as a biological weapon. One article quoted a former Israeli intelligence officer as a source. The two articles were shared on hundreds of social media sites, potentially reaching an audience of millions.{{Cite news|author=BBC Monitoring|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-51271037|title=China coronavirus: Misinformation spreads online|date=January 30, 2020|access-date=February 25, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221223336/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-51271037|archive-date=February 21, 2020|publisher=BBC News}}
= Allegations of racism=
Under Pruden's editorship (1992–2008), The Washington Times regularly printed excerpts from racist hard-right publications including VDARE and American Renaissance, and from Bill White, leader of the American National Socialist Workers' Party, in its Culture Briefs section.
In 2013, Columbia Journalism Review reported that under Pruden's editorship The Washington Times was: "a forum for the racialist hard right, including white nationalists, neo-Confederates, and anti-immigrant scare mongers." Between 1998 and 2004, the Times covered every biennial American Renaissance conference, hosted by the white supremacist New Century Foundation. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, "the paper's coverage of these events—which are hotbeds for holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, and eugenicists—was stunningly one sided", and favorably depicted the conference and attendees. In 2009, journalist David Neiwert wrote that it championed, "various white-nationalist causes emanating from the neo-Confederate movement (with which, until a recent housecleaning, two senior editors had long associations.)"{{Cite book|last=Neiwert|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdlqCwAAQBAJ|title=The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right|publisher=Paradigm Publishers|year=2009|isbn=9781317260615|edition=2016 Routledge|page=80|chapter=The Transmitters|author-link=David Neiwert|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819205400/https://books.google.com/books?id=RdlqCwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
A page in The Washington Times{{'}} Sunday edition was devoted to the American Civil War, on which the Confederacy was several times described with admiration.{{Cite news|last=Tkacik|first=Moe|url=https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/13039788/just-like-old-times-at-the-washington-times|title=Just Like Old Times at The Washington Times?|date=November 5, 2010|work=Washington City Paper|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415135228/https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/13039788/just-like-old-times-at-the-washington-times|archive-date=April 15, 2020}} In 1993, Pruden gave an interview to the neo-Confederate magazine Southern Partisan, which has been called "arguably the most important neo-Confederate periodical" by the Southern Poverty Law Center,{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2010/01/25/neo-confederate-movement|title=The Neo-Confederate Movement|author=Euan Hague|date=January 25, 2010|website=Southern Poverty Law Center}} where he said: "Every year I make sure that we have a story in the paper about any observance of Robert E. Lee's birthday." Pruden said, "And the fact that it falls around Martin Luther King's birthday," to which a Southern Partisan interviewer interjected, "Makes it all the better," with Pruden finishing, "I make sure we have a story. Oh, yes."
== Sam Francis controversy ==
{{Further|Dinesh D'Souza|Sam Francis (writer)}}
The Washington Times employed Sam Francis, a white nationalist, as a columnist and editor, beginning in 1991 after he was chosen by Pat Buchanan to take over his column.{{Cite book|last1=Berich|first1=Heidi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7p6TDR1zwcC|title=Hate Crimes|last2=Hicks|first2=Kevin|publisher=Praeger Publishing|year=2009|isbn=9780275995690|editor-last=Perry|editor-first=Barbara|volume=1: Understanding and Defining Hate Crime|pages=112–113|chapter=White Nationalism in America|lccn=2008052727|editor-last2=Levin|editor-first2=Brian|access-date=October 30, 2018|archive-date=December 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216111744/https://books.google.com/books?id=M7p6TDR1zwcC|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Shenk|first=Timothy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/aug/16/secret-history-trumpism-donald-trump|title=The dark history of Donald Trump's rightwing revolt|date=August 16, 2016|work=The Guardian|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414045825/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/aug/16/secret-history-trumpism-donald-trump|archive-date=April 14, 2019}}{{Cite book|title=Fascism|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=9780415290159|editor-last=Griffin|editor-first=Roger|editor-link=Roger Griffin|series=Critical Concepts in Political Science|page=155|chapter=Post-War Fascisms|lccn=2003047269|editor-last2=Feldman|editor-first2=Matthew}}{{Cite book|last=Potok|first=Mark|title=Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|isbn=9780203402191|editor1=Eatwell|editor-first=Roger|editor-link=Roger Eatwell|page=59|chapter=The American Radical Right: The 1990s and Beyond|doi=10.4324/9780203402191|lccn=2003010829|editor2=Mudde|editor-first2=Cas|editor-link2=Cas Mudde}}{{Cite book|last=MacMullan|first=Terrance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnrkXM1C-eIC|title=Habits of Whiteness: A Pragmatist Reconstruction|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780253002884|page=147|chapter=Contemporary Debates on Whiteness|lccn=2008050145|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819032153/https://books.google.com/books?id=dnrkXM1C-eIC|url-status=live}}
In 1995, Francis resigned or was forced out after Dinesh D'Souza reported on racist comments that Francis made at a conference hosted by American Renaissance the previous year.{{Cite book|last=Murphy|first=Paul V.|url=https://www.uncpress.org/book/9780807849606/the-rebuke-of-history|title=The Rebuke of History: The Southern Agrarians and American Conservative Thought|date=September 2001|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=9780807849606|page=247|lccn=2001027128|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226084423/https://www.uncpress.org/book/9780807849606/the-rebuke-of-history/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Kurtz |first=Howard |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/10/19/washington-times-clips-its-right-wing/dd009c93-883b-446c-bbbf-94c0a0570a1a/ |title=Washington Times Clips its Right Wing|date=October 19, 1995 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200429073257/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/10/19/washington-times-clips-its-right-wing/dd009c93-883b-446c-bbbf-94c0a0570a1a/ |archive-date=April 29, 2020 |author-link=Howard Kurtz |url-access=limited |access-date=December 24, 2018}}{{Cite news|last1=Frantz|first1=Douglas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/23/us/politics-on-the-move-buchanan-drawing-extremist-support-and-problems-too.html|title=Politics: On the Move; Buchanan Drawing Extremist Support, and Problems, Too|date=February 23, 1996|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225130121/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/23/us/politics-on-the-move-buchanan-drawing-extremist-support-and-problems-too.html|archive-date=December 25, 2018|last2=Janofsky|first2=Michael|author-link=Douglas Frantz|url-access=limited}} At the conference, Francis called on whites to: "reassert our identity and our solidarity, and we must do so in explicitly racial terms through the articulation of a racial consciousness as whites... The civilization that we as whites created in Europe and America could not have developed apart from the genetic endowments of the creating people."
Francis was an aide to Republican senator John East of North Carolina before joining the editorial staff of The Washington Times in 1986. Five years later, he became a columnist for the newspaper, and his column became syndicated. In addition to his journalistic career, Francis was an adjunct scholar at the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Auburn, Alabama.{{cite book|editor-last=Rockwell |editor-first=Llewellyn H. |title=Murray Rothbard, In Memoriam |date=August 18, 2014 |publisher=von Mises Institute |location=Auburn, AL |pages=64, 127 |url=https://mises.org/books/memoriam.pdf}}
In June 1995, editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden "had cut back on Francis' column" after The Washington Times ran his essay criticizing the Southern Baptist Convention for its approval of a resolution which apologized for slavery.Timothy Stanley, The Crusader: The Life and Tumultuous Times of Pat Buchanan (New York City: St. Martin's Press, 2012), p. 358; {{ISBN|978-0-312-58174-9}} In the piece, Francis asserted that "The contrition of the Southern Baptists for slavery and racism is a bit more than a politically fashionable gesture intended to massage race relations"Samuel T. Francis, "All those things to apologize for," The Washington Times, June 27, 1995. and that "Neither slavery' nor racism' as an institution is a sin."
In September 1995, Pruden dismissed Francis from The Washington Times after conservative journalist Dinesh D'Souza, in a column in The Washington Post, described Francis's appearance at the 1994 American Renaissance conference:
A lively controversialist, Francis began with some largely valid complaints about how the Southern heritage is demonized in mainstream culture. He went on, however, to attack the liberal principles of humanism and universalism for facilitating "the war against the white race". At one point he described country music megastar Garth Brooks as "repulsive" because "he has that stupid universalist song (We Shall Be Free), in which we all intermarry."Dinesh D'Souza, "Racism: It's a White (and Black) Thing", The Washington Post, September 24, 1995.
After D'Souza's column was published, Pruden "decided he did not want the Times associated with such views after looking into other Francis writings, in which he advocated the possible deportation of legal immigrants and forced birth control for welfare mothers."
When Francis died in 2005, The Washington Times wrote a "glowing" obituary that omitted his racist beliefs and his firing from the paper, and described him as a "scholarly, challenging and sometimes pungent writer"; in response, editor David Mastio of the conservative Washington Examiner wrote in an obituary: "Sam Francis was merely a racist and doesn't deserve to be remembered as anything less."{{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/shots-fired-book-delayed/|title=Shots Fired, Book Delayed|date=August 28, 2006|work=Adweek|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409061020/https://www.adweek.com/digital/shots-fired-book-delayed/|archive-date=April 9, 2019}}{{Cite news|last=Mastio|first=David|url=http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/02/22/opinion/op-ed/01agoped.txt|title=Francis re-fought immoral battles of 1964|date=February 22, 2005|work=Washington Examiner|access-date=December 26, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181226023344/http://calledasseen.blogspot.com/2005/02/washington-examiner-op-ed-on-sam.html|archive-date=December 26, 2018}} Mastio added that Francis: "led a double life {{ndash}} by day he served up conservative, red meat that was strong but never quite out of bounds by mainstream standards; by night, unbeknownst to the Times or his syndicate, he pushed white supremacist ideas."
== Southern Poverty Law Center report ==
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) noted that The Washington Times had, by 2005, published at least 35 articles by Marian Kester Coombs, who was married to managing editor Francis Coombs. She had a record of racially incendiary rhetoric and had written for the white nationalist magazine The Occidental Quarterly,{{Cite magazine|last1=Beirich|first1=Heidi|last2=Potok|first2=Mark|date=April 28, 2005|title=Washington Times Editor and Wife Promote Radical Right Agenda|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2005/washington-times-editor-and-wife-promote-radical-right-agenda|magazine=Intelligence Report|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212171435/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2005/washington-times-editor-and-wife-promote-radical-right-agenda|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=live}} which has been described as a "stalwart" of the alt-right movement in the United States{{Cite web|url=https://www.theworldweekly.com/reader/view/4253/how-white-nationalism-in-america-is-changing-under-donald-trump|title=How white nationalism in America is changing under Donald Trump|last=Courtney-Guy|first=Sam|date=August 10, 2017|website=The World Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709234902/https://www.theworldweekly.com/reader/view/4253/how-white-nationalism-in-america-is-changing-under-donald-trump|archive-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=usurped}} and as a "far-right, racially obsessed US magazine".[http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/occidental-quarterly Southern Poverty Law Center: Occidental Quarterly] Linked July 7, 2013{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Tony|title=Denial:History Betrayed|year=2008|publisher=Melbourne University Press|isbn=978-0522854824|page=275|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-FgN-K2zBYC&q=%22Occidental+Quarterly%22&pg=PA275}} The SPLC highlighted columns written by Marian Kester Coombs in The Washington Times, in which she asserted that the whole of human history was "the struggle of ... races"; that non-white immigration is the "importing [of] poverty and revolution" that will end in "the eventual loss of sovereign American territory"; and that Muslims in England "are turning life in this once pleasant land into a misery for its native inhabitants."
= Coverage of Barack Obama =
In 2007 The Washington Times{{'}} companion news magazine Insight on the News, also called just Insight, published a story which claimed that someone on the campaign staff of American presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton had leaked a report to one of Insight's reporters which said that Obama had "spent at least four years in a so-called madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia".{{cite news|last=Bacon|first=Perry Jr.|title=Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112802757_2.html|date=November 29, 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post}} Insight's editor, Jeff Kuhner, also claimed that the source said that the Clinton campaign was "preparing an accusation that her rival Senator Barack Obama had covered up a brief period he had spent in an Islamic religious school in Indonesia when he was six." Clinton denied the allegations. When interviewed by the New York Times, Kuhner refused to name the person said to be the reporter's source to the New York Times.{{cite news | title=Anatomy of an anonymous political smear | date=January 29, 2007 | url =http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/29/news/rumor.php | work =International Herald Tribune | access-date = February 18, 2008 }}
Insight's story was reported on first by conservative talk radio and Fox News Channel, and then by The New York Times and other major newspapers. CNN reporter John Vause visited State Elementary School Menteng 01, a secular public school which Obama had attended for one year after attending a Roman Catholic school for three, and found that each student received two hours of religious instruction per week in his or her own faith. He was told by Hardi Priyono, deputy headmaster of the school, "This is a public school. We don't focus on religion. In our daily lives, we try to respect religion, but we don't give preferential treatment."{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/index.html|title=CNN debunks false report about Obama|work=CNN|date=January 22, 2007|access-date=January 26, 2007}} Students at Besuki wore Western clothing, and the Chicago Tribune described the school as "so progressive that teachers wore miniskirts and all students were encouraged to celebrate Christmas".{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/09/politics/washingtonpost/main6379181.shtml |title=Indonesia Catholic School Promotes Ties to Obama |access-date=August 19, 2010 |date=August 19, 2010 |first=Andrew |last=Higgins |work=CBS News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116024343/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/09/politics/washingtonpost/main6379181.shtml |archive-date=November 16, 2010 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-islam-story-archive,0,3358809.story|title=Obama madrassa myth debunked|last=Barker|first=Kim|date=March 25, 2007|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=September 4, 2010}}{{cite news |publisher=PolitiFact.com |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2007/dec/20/chain-email/obama-attended-an-indonesian-public-school/ |title=Obama attended an Indonesian public school |date=December 20, 2007 |access-date=March 8, 2010}} Interviews by Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press found that students of all faiths have been welcome there since before Obama's attendance. Akmad Solichin, the vice principal of the school, told Pickler: "The allegations are completely baseless. Yes, most of our students are Muslim, but there are Christians as well. Everyone's welcome here ... it's a public school."{{cite news|title=Obama challenges allegation about Islamic school |first=Nedra |last=Pickler |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070124-1317-obama-2008.html |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune |date=January 24, 2007 |access-date=February 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517100058/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070124-1317-obama-2008.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008 }}
In 2008, The Washington Times published a column by Frank Gaffney that promoted the false conspiracy theories which asserted that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and was courting the "jihadist vote". Gaffney also published pieces in 2009 and 2010 promoting the false assertion that Obama is a Muslim.* {{Cite news |last=Swan |first=Betsy |author-link=Betsy Woodruff Swan |date=December 15, 2015 |title=Cruz's Cozy Ties To DC's Most Prominent, Paranoid Islamophobe |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/cruzs-cozy-ties-to-dcs-most-prominent-paranoid-islamophobe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200428222736/https://www.thedailybeast.com/cruzs-cozy-ties-to-dcs-most-prominent-paranoid-islamophobe |archive-date=April 28, 2020 |access-date=May 22, 2018 |newspaper=The Daily Beast}}
- {{Cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=November 16, 2016 |title=Meet Frank Gaffney, the anti-Muslim gadfly reportedly advising Donald Trump's transition team |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/08/meet-frank-gaffney-the-anti-muslim-gadfly-who-produced-donald-trumps-anti-muslim-poll/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160723154428/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/08/meet-frank-gaffney-the-anti-muslim-gadfly-who-produced-donald-trumps-anti-muslim-poll/ |archive-date=July 23, 2016 |access-date=May 22, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}
- {{Cite news |last=Clifton |first=Eli |date=December 8, 2015 |title=Meet Donald Trump's Islamophobia Expert |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/08/donald-trump-frank-gaffney-islamophobia-poll/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160315145247/http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/08/donald-trump-frank-gaffney-islamophobia-poll/ |archive-date=March 15, 2016 |access-date=May 22, 2018 |work=Foreign Policy}}
- {{Cite news |last=Schlesinger |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Schlesinger |date=June 9, 2009 |title=The Nutty 'Obama Is a Muslim' Charge Is Back (Now With a Hitler Comparison!) |url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2009/06/09/the-nutty-obama-is-a-muslim-charge-is-back-now-with-a-hitler-comparison |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719120554/https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2009/06/09/the-nutty-obama-is-a-muslim-charge-is-back-now-with-a-hitler-comparison |archive-date=July 19, 2014 |work=U.S. News & World Report}}
- {{Cite news |last=Nyhan |first=Brendan |author-link=Brendan Nyhan |date=August 24, 2010 |title=Pundits Blame the Victims on Obama Muslim Myth |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pundits-blame-the-victims_b_692327 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914230619/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-nyhan/pundits-blame-the-victims_b_692327.html |archive-date=September 14, 2013 |work=The Huffington Post}}
In a 2009 column entitled {{" '}}Inner Muslim' at work in Cairo", Pruden wrote that President Obama was the: "first president without an instinctive appreciation of the culture, history, tradition, common law and literature whence America sprang. The genetic imprint writ large in his 43 predecessors is missing from the Obama DNA." In another 2009 column, Pruden wrote that Obama had "no natural instinct or blood impulse" for what America was about because he was "sired by a Kenyan father" and "born to a mother attracted to men of the Third World." Pruden's columns stirred controversy, leading The Washington Times to assign David Mastio, its deputy editor, to edit his work.
In 2016, The Washington Times claimed that $3.6 million in federal funds were spent on a 2013 golf outing for President Obama and pro-golfer Tiger Woods which was widely reported on by the American news media in 2013.{{cite news |last1=Holland |first1=Steve |title=In A First, Obama Plays Golf With Tiger Woods |agency=Reuters|date=February 17, 2013}}{{cite news |last1=Irwin |first1=Neil |title=Congratulations, America! Your Deficit Fell 37 Percent In 2013 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 31, 2013}}{{cite news |last1=Calmes |first1=Jackie |title=Back In A Swing State, This Time For Sport |work=The New York Times |date=February 17, 2013}} Snopes rated the article "mostly false", because the estimated cost included both official presidential travel and a brief vacation in Florida. The online article contained hyperlinks to other, unrelated, stories from The Washington Times. These links' appearance were not readily distinguishable from the citation links sometimes used to support or substantiate reporting.{{Cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-golf-outing-with-tiger-woods/|title=FALSE: Obama Golf Outing with Tiger Woods Cost Nearly $4 Million|last=LaCapria|first=Kim|date=October 28, 2016|publisher=Snopes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200429082955/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-golf-outing-with-tiger-woods/|archive-date=April 29, 2020|access-date=May 22, 2018}} Not included in The Washington Times the article were any links to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report of expenditure for the 2013 trip, which included a detailed overview of President Obama's activities of February 15 to 18, 2013.{{cite journal |last1=Government Accountability Office |author1-link=Government Accountability Office |title=Presidential Travel: Estimated Costs for a Specific Presidential Trip to Illinois and Florida |date=October 2016 |volume=GAO-17-24 |url=https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-17-24 |access-date=May 19, 2021 |publisher=United States Congress}}
=Islamophobia and anti-Muslim=
Gaffney, known for his "long history of pushing extreme anti-Muslim views", wrote weekly columns for The Washington Times from the late 1990s to 2016.{{Cite news|last=Clifton|first=Eli|date=December 8, 2015|title=Meet Donald Trump's Islamophobia Expert|work=Foreign Policy|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/08/donald-trump-frank-gaffney-islamophobia-poll/|url-status=live|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160315145247/http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/08/donald-trump-frank-gaffney-islamophobia-poll/|archive-date=March 15, 2016}}{{Cite news|last=Beinart|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Beinart|date=March 19, 2017|title=Frank Gaffney's Campaign to Denationalize American Muslims|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/frank-gaffney-donald-trump-and-the-denationalization-of-american-muslims/519954/|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170319230057/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/frank-gaffney-donald-trump-and-the-denationalization-of-american-muslims/519954/|archive-date=March 19, 2017}} According to John Esposito, a Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, Gaffney's "editorial track record in the Washington Times is long on accusation and short on supportive evidence."{{Cite book|last=Esposito|first=John L.|title=The Future of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780199975778|page=19|chapter=The Many Faces of Islam and Muslims|lccn=2009018732|author-link=John Esposito|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/futureofislam0000espo#page/18/mode/2up|chapter-url-access=registration}} In columns for the Times, Gaffney helped to popularize conspiracy theories that Islamic terrorists were infiltrating the Bush administration, the conservative movement and the Obama administration.{{Cite book|last=Bail|first=Christopher A.|title=Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2015|isbn=9780691159423|pages=49–51, 99|lccn=2014947502}}{{Cite news|last=Terkel|first=Amanda|date=August 1, 2012|title=Frank Gaffney Plotting To Take Down Grover Norquist With Muslim Brotherhood Accusations|work=The Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/frank-gaffney-grover-norquist-muslim-brotherhood_n_1699604|url-status=live|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821135129/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/frank-gaffney-grover-norquist-muslim-brotherhood_n_1699604.html|archive-date=August 21, 2014}}{{Cite news|last=Swan|first=Betsy|author-link=Betsy Woodruff Swan|date=December 15, 2015|title=Cruz's Cozy Ties To DC's Most Prominent, Paranoid Islamophobe|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/15/cruz-s-cozy-ties-to-dc-s-most-prominent-paranoid-islamophobe|url-status=live|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200428222736/https://www.thedailybeast.com/cruzs-cozy-ties-to-dcs-most-prominent-paranoid-islamophobe|archive-date=April 28, 2020}} In 2015, the Times published a column describing refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War as an "Islamic Trojan Horse" conducting a "'jihad' by another name".{{Cite news|last=Stuster|first=J. Dana|date=December 14, 2015|title=The paranoid style in Islamophobic politics|work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/262953-the-paranoid-style-in-islamophobic-politics|url-status=live|access-date=December 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225101255/https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/262953-the-paranoid-style-in-islamophobic-politics|archive-date=February 25, 2017}}{{Cite news|last=Stableford|first=Dylan|date=December 15, 2016|title=Monica Crowley, latest addition to Trump's national security team, believes in fighting Islam 'the way we fought the Nazis'|work=Yahoo! News|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/monica-crowley-latest-addition-to-trumps-national-security-team-believes-in-fighting-islam-the-way-we-fought-the-nazis-212132606.html|url-status=live|access-date=December 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102154701/https://www.yahoo.com/news/monica-crowley-latest-addition-to-trumps-national-security-team-believes-in-fighting-islam-the-way-we-fought-the-nazis-212132606.html|archive-date=January 2, 2017}}
The Muslim advocacy group Council on American–Islamic Relations listed The Washington Times among media outlets it said "regularly demonstrates or supports Islamophobic themes."{{Cite news|last=Winston|first=Kimberly|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865656561/Report-says-list-of-6Islamophobic-groups7-reaches-new-high.html|title=Report says list of 'Islamophobic groups' reaches new high|date=June 20, 2016|work=Deseret News|access-date=December 25, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418035701/https://www.deseret.com/2016/6/20/20590586/report-says-list-of-islamophobic-groups-reaches-new-high|archive-date=April 18, 2020|agency=Religion News Service}} In 1998, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram wrote that The Washington Times its editorial policy was "rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."{{Cite news|last=Nafie|first=Ibrahim|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm|title=The same old game|date=November 12–18, 1998|work=Al-Ahram|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193404/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm|archive-date=February 15, 2009|issue=403|author-link=Ebrahim Nafae}}
Staff
=Editors-in-chief=
- James R. Whelan (1982–1984)
- Smith Hempstone (1984–1986)
- Arnaud de Borchgrave (1986–1992)
- Wesley Pruden (1992–2008)
- John F. Solomon (2008–2009) (2013–2015)
- Sam Dealey (2010)
- Ed Kelley (2011–2012)
- David S. Jackson (2012–2013)
- Christopher Dolan (present as of 2024)
=Managing editors=
- Josette Shiner (1992–1997)
- Francis Coombs (?–2008){{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/times-says-goodbye-to-pruden-coombs/|title=Times Says Goodbye To Pruden, Coombs|date=January 28, 2008|website=Adweek|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209142009/https://www.adweek.com/digital/times-says-goodbye-to-pruden-coombs/|archive-date=December 9, 2018}}
- Cathy Gaynor (present as of 2024)[https://www.washingtontimes.com/contact-us/ Cathy Gaynor] at The Washington Times
=Opinion editors=
- Ann Crutcher (1984–1985)
- William P. Cheshire (1985–1987)
- Tony Snow (1987–1990)
- Tod Lindberg (1991–1998)
- Tony Blankley (2002–2007)
- Richard Miniter{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703325.html|title=Washington Times editor Richard Miniter files discrimination claim|last=Kurtz|first=Howard|date=November 17, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=February 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226021751/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703325.html|url-status=live}} (2009)
- Brett Decker (2009–2013)
- Wesley Pruden (2013)
- David Keene (2014–2016)
- Charles Hurt (2016–present){{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/18/charles-hurt-rejoins-the-washington-times-as-new-o/|title=Charles Hurt rejoins The Washington Times as new opinion editor|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=December 18, 2016|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-date=May 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505231658/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/18/charles-hurt-rejoins-the-washington-times-as-new-o/|url-status=live}}
=Current commentary contributors=
- Jennifer Harper ("Inside the Beltway" columnist)
- Charles Hurt (opinion editor and columnist)
- Mark Kellner (faith and family reporter)
- Robert H. Knight (opinion columnist)
- Stephen Moore (opinion columnist)
- Everett Piper (opinion columnist)
- Cal Thomas (opinion columnist)[https://www.washingtontimes.com/ Washington Times Commentary, retrieved March 9, 2024]
=Former contributors=
- George Archibald (congressional, political, United Nations, and education reporter)
- Bruce Bartlett (opinion columnist)
- David Brooks (editorial writer, film reviewer)
- Amanda Carpenter (columnist)
- Ben Carson (opinion columnist)
- Monica Crowley (online opinion editor and columnist)
- Dave Fay (editor and journalists, deceased)
- Bruce Fein (opinion columnist)
- Sam Francis (editor and columnist, deceased)
- Frank Gaffney (columnist)
- Madison Gesiotto Gilbert (opinion columnist)
- Michael Hayden (opinion columnist)
- Nat Hentoff (opinion columnist)
- Shirley A. Husar (opinion columnist)
- Ernest Istook (opinion columnist)
- Drew Johnson (columnist)
- Tom Knott (sports columnist)
- Larry Kudlow (economics columnist)
- Jeff Kuhner (opinion columnist)
- Willie Lawson (opinion columnist)
- Tod Lindberg (opinion columnist)
- Herbert London (opinion columnist) (deceased)
- Michelle Malkin (columnist)
- John McCaslin ("Inside the Beltway" columnist)
- Oliver North (opinion columnist)
- Ted Nugent (opinion columnist)
- Rand Paul{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/8/sen-rand-paul-trust-verify-immigration-reform/ |title=Sen. Rand Paul: Trust but verify on immigration reform |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=February 8, 2013 |access-date=July 1, 2013 |archive-date=June 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625191145/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/8/sen-rand-paul-trust-verify-immigration-reform// |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/5/washington-times-ends-sen-rand-paul-column-amid-pl/ |title=Washington Times ends Sen. Rand Paul column amid plagiarism allegations |work=The Washington Times |date=November 5, 2013 |access-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-date=November 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106030734/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/5/washington-times-ends-sen-rand-paul-column-amid-pl/ |url-status=live }} (opinion columnist)
- Jeremiah O'Leary
- John Podhoretz (columnist)
- Wesley Pruden (editor emeritus and opinion columnist)
- Fred Reed (journalist)
- Rob Redding (journalist and talk host)
- James S. Robbins (opinion columnist)
- Bill Sammon (White House correspondent)
- Mercedes Schlapp (opinion columnist)
- Thomas Sowell (columnist)
- Mark Steyn (opinion columnist){{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080407/COMMENTARY08/963463285/1012 |title=Closing time at Cafe Clinton? |website=The Washington Times |date=April 11, 2008 |access-date=June 21, 2016 |url-status = unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411170458/http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080407/COMMENTARY08/963463285/1012 |archive-date=April 11, 2008 }}
- Janine Turner (opinion columnist)
- Harlan K. Ullman (opinion columnist)
- Diana West (opinion columnist)
=Others=
- Julia Duin: Religion editor
- Daniel Wattenberg: Arts and Entertainment editor
{{inc-lit|date=October 2021}}
See also
{{Portal|United States|Journalism}}
- Media in Washington, D.C., List of newspapers in Washington, D.C.
- News World Communications
- The Unification Church and politics
- Unification Church of the United States
- The Washington Post (1877–present)
- The Washington Star (1852–1981)
- Washington Times-Herald, a former Washington, D.C. daily newspaper founded by William Randolph Hearst as The Evening Times{{cite news |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/ |title=About The Washington Times (Washington {{bracket|D.C.}}) 1902–1939 |work=Chronicling America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130235120/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/ |archive-date=January 30, 2016 |url-status = live|publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C.}}
- Fox News
- Insight on the News
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|The Washington Times}}
- {{Official website}}
{{White House James S. Brady Press Briefing Room Seating Chart}}
{{Unification Church}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Times, The}}
Category:1982 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Category:Climate change denial
Category:Conservative media in the United States
Category:National newspapers published in the United States
Category:Newspapers established in 1982