''The Washington Spectator'' is a left-leaning independent political

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

with a circulation of 60,000, published monthly by The Public Concern Foundation. It was founded by Tristram Coffin (AKA Tris Coffin) in 1971 as ''Washington Watch'', and became ''The Washington Spectator'' in 1974. Coffin remained editor until 1993. Generally, every issue covers a single topic—most often, one that its editors believe is not receiving sufficient coverage in the mainstream media outlets.

Circulation

In 1997, the ''Washington Spectator'' had a circulation of some 65,000.

Staff

The current editor-in-chief is

Lou Dubose Louis (Lou) Dubose is an American journalist. He has been the editor of the independent political periodical ''The Washington Spectator'' since 2007. Under Dubose's editorship, the ''Spectator'' has covered Washington politics and dateline stories ...

, 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 Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins (August 30, 1944 – January 31, 2007) was an American newspaper columnist, author, political commentator, and humorist. Born in California and raised in Texas, Ivins attended Smith College and the Columbia Univers ...

, 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 V Hamilton Fish V (born September 5, 1951), also known as "Ham", is a U.S. publisher, social entrepreneur, environmental advocate, and film producer in New York City. He is currently the publisher and editor of the monthly independent political pe ...

Founder Tris Coffin

Tristram Coffin (1912–1997), born in

Hood River, Oregon The city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in Oregon whe ...

, grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from

Depauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

. He worked for the ''

Indianapolis Times The ''Indianapolis Times'' was an evening newspaper that served the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1888 to 1965 when the paper ceased publishing. History The ''Indianapolis Times'' began as the ''Sun'' in 1888, "the only one cent paper ...

'', for whom he covered gangster

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...

, before becoming press secretary to Governor Clifford Townsend and then staffer when Townsend became an assistant secretary at the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

. During World War II, Coffin returned to journalism as a radio reporter, covering the White House for

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

and Capitol Hill for ABC Radio. Coffin then joined Drew Pearson's ''Washington Merry-Go-Round''. In 1947, he published a critical book on US President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, entitled ''Missouri Compromise'', after which he established a syndicated column, "Tris Coffin's Daybook," while working for ABC. (Coffin wrote half a dozen other books.) In 1968, Coffin raised funds to start the ''Washington Watch'' newsletter, which became the ''Washington Spectator'' in 1975. After writing and editing the newsletter for more than two decades, Coffin retired; he died in 1997.

Ralph de Toledano Ralph de Toledano (August 17, 1916 – February 3, 2007) was an American writer in the conservative movement in the United States throughout the second half of the 20th century. A friend of Richard Nixon, he was a journalist and editor of ''Newsw ...

and

Victor Lasky Victor Lasky (7 January 1918 – 22 February 1990) was a conservative columnist in the United States who wrote several best-selling books. He was syndicated by the North American Newspaper Alliance. Background On January 7, 1918, Victor Lasky w ...

cited Coffin in their book ''Seeds of Treason'' (1950).

Others

Besides founder and former editor Coffin, former editors include Ben A. Franklin, who helmed the periodical from 1993 to 2005. In the early 1990s, the ''Spectator'' distinguished itself with reporting on the sexual assault scandals of Oregon Senator

Robert Packwood Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of ...

, who resigned his office in 1995. Recent staffers include David Weigel, a reporter for ''The Washington Post''. Former publisher Kevin Walter now serves as associate publisher of ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'' magazine.Kevin Walte
biography
on motherjones.com (Retrieved October 17, 2011).

Phillip Frazer Phillip Frazer (born 1 May 1946, in Melbourne, Australia) is a writer, editor and publisher. He was a founder of the weekly teen pop newspaper ''Go-Set'' in 1966, NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. which was a popular Australian music paper from 1966 t ...

also served as publisher of the ''Spectator''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Spectator Monthly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1974 Magazines published in New York City Political magazines published in the United States