''Punchbowl News'' is an online political news daily 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 ...

, which debuted on January 3, 2021 as "a membership-based news community", focused on the individuals "who power the US legislature". It aims to be non-partisan and non-judgemental, focusing on scoops and facts about Congress and the Washington power establishment, particularly core power players. The initial products from ''Punchbowl'' included a free weekday-morning newsletter. Premium subscribers (annual subscription: $300) also received afternoon and evening editions, and access to question-and-answer sessions with the authors, online via

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, and a Sunday conversation. The team launched a podcast with

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in early February 2021, and by early April 2021, it was available as ''The Daily Punch'' on Apple Podcasts Preview. Conference calls and virtual events are also to be provided to subscribers.

Concept and orientation

The publication gets its name from the codename used by the U.S. Secret Service for the U.S. Capitol. In a January 2021 interview with the ''

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,'' co-founder Jake Sherman indicated that ''Punchbowl's'' objectives were to: #.) make news "a conversation between... audience and... reporters". #.) "chart power and... focus on the one hundred ersons in power whomatter... congressional leadership... people around

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corporations that war in Washington,

long with Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

leadership at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

". Sherman indicated that the publication would be non-partisan, and refrain from value judgments and commentary, focusing instead on identifying newsworthy facts. Washington insiders, as subscribers, were the ''Punchbowl''s initial

target market A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total m ...

. Sherman described his target market as "people who have to exist in Washington, people who have to exist in the government or who deeply care about the government, either as a hobby or as a profession." Sherman said that ''Punchbowl News'' would differentiate itself from other media by largely ignoring sensational stories about the declarations, posturing, and gaffes of individual politicians and officials — focusing, instead, on "power... exercise of power... people abusing power".

History and activities

''Punchbowl News'' was founded by three journalist-authors departing ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'': Jake Sherman and

Anna Palmer Anna Palmer (born May 25, 1982) is an American political journalist based in Washington, D.C. She has been the co-founder and CEO of '' Punchbowl News'' since January 2021, and the host of the related ''Daily Punch'' Podcast. She was previously ...

(co-authors of ''

Politico Playbook ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unite ...

'' and the best-seller '' The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America''), and co-founder John Bresnahan, a then-recent

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

reporter for ''

,'' along with Rachel Schindler, formerly with

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's news team. Initial funding, organized by the media banker Aryeh Bourkoff of Kindred Media, was US $1 million, which was relatively minor startup funding compared to the semi-rivals ''Politico'' and ''

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.'' However, Sherman reported that they initially garnered far more subscribers than expected. Initial staffing involved only the four co-founders, with Palmer as CEO and Schindler running operations — but Sherman indicated in January that they planned to expand and diversify the team. Within 72 hours of the first publication of ''Punchbowl News'' on January 6, 2021, the Capitol was stormed and occupied by protestors in a violent riot. Sherman and Bresnahan were present behind a door on which protesters were banging. In February 2021, ''Punchbowl News'' was

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by Punchbowl, Inc., a

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company, for

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—claiming that the ''Punchbowl News'' company name, logo and trademark color unfairly resembled theirs. The suit was dismissed in

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for improper

venue A venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a conce ...

. Punchbowl, Inc., re-filed in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. ''Punchbowl News'' won on

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and the

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was dismissed. Punchbowl Inc. filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and ''Punchbowl News'' won again. In January 2023,

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reported that ''Punchbowl News'' received sponsorship funding from

Alibaba Group Alibaba Group Holding Limited, branded as Alibaba (), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in E-commerce in China, e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999 in Hangzho ...

. In December 2023, ''Punchbowl News'' announced its acquisition of Electo Analytics, a company created to analyze legislation. They planned to use it as a source for data for subscribers.

References

External links

* {{official News agencies based in the United States American news websites 2021 establishments in the United States