The Washington Spectator

The Washington Spectator
Type Monthly periodical
Founder(s) Tristram Coffin
Publisher Hamilton Fish V
Editor Louis Dubose
Founded 1974
ISSN 0887-428X
Website www.washingtonspectator.org

The Washington Spectator is an independent political periodical with a circulation of 60,000, published monthly by The Public Concern Foundation. It was founded by Tristram Coffin in 1971 as Washington Watch,[1] and became The Washington Spectator in 1974.[2] Generally, every issue covers a single topic—most often, one that is not receiving sufficient coverage in the mainstream media outlets.

Current leadership

The current editor-in-chief is Lou Dubose,[3] who assumed the editorship in 2007. Dubose is the author of Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency and co-author, with Molly Ivins, of the books Bushwhacked: Life in George Bush’s America, Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush, and Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights.

The current publisher is Hamilton Fish.[4]

History

Besides founder and former editor Coffin, former editors include Ben A. Franklin, who helmed the periodical from 1993 to 2005.[5] In the early 1990s, the Spectator distinguished itself with reporting on the sexual assault scandals of Oregon Senator Robert Packwood, who resigned his office in 1995. [6]

Recent staffers include David Weigel, a reporter who specializes in covering right-wing fringe politics and currently works for Slate and MSNBC. Former publisher Kevin Walter now serves as associate publisher of Mother Jones magazine.[7] Phillip Frazer has also served as publisher of the Spectator.

References

  1. ↑ Fish, Hamilton. "Ben A. Franklin, 1927-2005," The Washington Spectator, January 1, 2006.
  2. ↑ Robert McG. Thomas Jr. "Tristram Coffin Is Dead at 84; Created Washington Spectator," The New York Times, June 16, 1997.
  3. ↑ Nichols, Lee. "Mr. Dubose Goes to Washington – Part Time," The Austin Chronicle, July 20, 2007.
  4. ↑ "About the Spectator," The Washington Spectator (retrieved October 17, 2011).
  5. ↑ "Ben A. Franklin, 78, Reporter for The Times, Dies," The New York Times, November 22, 2005.
  6. ↑ Fibich, Linda. "A Gadfly's Fight for Credentials," American Journalism Review, November 1995.
  7. ↑ Kevin Walter biography on motherjones.com (retrieved October 17, 2011).

External links