''The Hotline'' is a daily political briefing published by Atlantic Media from its headquarters at the
Watergate complex
The Watergate complex is a group of six buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The complex includes a development of Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment residences. It also includes a hotel and an o ...
in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Founded in 1987, It is currently led by editor-in-chief Kirk Bado and published independently until its acquisition in 1996 by National Journal Group, now a subsidiary of Atlantic Media. It is notable for being "the first aggregation of political news ever produced in the United States" and for being a leader in converting political newsletters from mere aggregations to include detailed analysis.
Description
''The Hotline'' is a
bipartisan
Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...
daily digest of the political events relating to upcoming statewide and national elections. In addition to condensing newspaper, magazine and digital political coverage from the previous 24 hours, it also includes analysis, both of specific races and broad trends. In addition to mass media, it includes analysis of TV ads and polls.
''The Hotlines target audience includes Congressional staffers, political operatives and pundits. ''The Hotline'' reporters also contribute to its companion publication the ''
National Journal
''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...
''. It comes out with two daily editions, the "Wake-Up Call" with headlines, and the "Latest Edition" with additional text and analysis.
History
''The Hotline'' was founded in 1987 as ''The Presidential Campaign Hotline'', with he first edition in November 1987. It founded by Doug Bailey and Roger Craver who hired Bob Balkin as its editor.
Early issued were delivered by fax machine, and now it's delivered via the Internet.
Notable alumni include: Josh Kraushaar, Reid Wilson,
Amy Walter
Amy Elizabeth Walter (born October 19, 1969)"Profile: Amy Walter"
,
Chuck Todd
Charles David Todd (born April 8, 1972) is an American television journalist who was the 12th moderator of NBC's ''Meet the Press''. During his time at NBC News between 2007 and 2025, Todd also hosted ''Meet the Press Now'', its daily edition ...
Norah O'Donnell
Norah Morahan O'Donnell (born January 23, 1974) is an American television journalist who is a senior correspondent for CBS News and a contributing correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. She is also the host of occasional '' Person to Person'' interv ...
As editor, Bob Balkin helped turn ''The Hotline'' "into a must-read for anyone involved in politics and one that transcended the simple spreading of information to become an analytical and trusted voice among Washington insiders."
"I've always thought of ''Hotline'' fondly," reflected former President
in a 25th-anniversary video. "The day before the first cattle-call of the 1992 campaign, you all called me 'a Little Rock in a big pile.' So you can see why I'm both surprised and delighted that you've lasted 25 years. I'm a little surprised I've lasted 25 years. And I sincerely hope that you and I last another 25 more."
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...