# Washington Post *American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.* *The Washington Post* is a daily newspaper based in Washington, D.C. It was started in 1877, and since October 2013 it has been owned by Nash Holdings, a holding company belonging to Jeff Bezos, which paid US$250 million for it. Its Wikipedia article calls it "considered a newspaper of record in the United States" and credits it with 76 [[Pulitzer Prize]]s, a total exceeded only by The [[New York Times]].[^1] In the [[Minnesota]] record the Post appears as a publisher of contemporaneous news reporting. The project's claim rows cite it as notice or public-record context, not as a primary document. The items include coverage of the state's Senate and governor's races from 1982 to 1996 and of official accounts of the May 2020 violence in Minnesota.[^2] They also include an Associated Press report on a 2023 lockdown at the [[Stillwater]] prison and a 2025 report on a state senator's resignation.[^3][^4] One item in the project's at-issue record turns on a Post headline. *Humphrey Estate Sold* ran on May 1, 1979, and the buyer and the price in that article sit behind an archive wall that the project's research could not pass.[^5] ## Who Stilson Hutchins owned the paper from its founding until 1889. That year he sold it to Frank Hatton, a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio.[^6] The paper's later principal owners were: - John R. McLean (1905–1916) - Edward (Ned) McLean (1916–1933) - Eugene Meyer (1933–1948) - The Washington Post Company (1948–2013) - Nash Holdings (since 2013)[^7] Its publishers have included Philip L. Graham (1946–1961), Katharine Graham (1969–1979), Donald E. Graham (1979–2000), Katharine Weymouth (2008–2014), Frederick J. Ryan Jr. (2014–2023), William Lewis (2024–2026) and Jeff D'Onofrio (since 2026). Its executive editors have included Ben Bradlee (1968–1991), Leonard Downie Jr. (1991–2008), Martin Baron (2012–2021), Sally Buzbee (2021–2024) and Matt Murray (since 2024).[^7] ## What Meyer bought the bankrupt paper in 1933. He told the public at the time that neither he nor the paper would be beholden to any political party. The Wikipedia account sets that pledge beside his position and the paper's output. Herbert Hoover had appointed Meyer, a leading Republican, chairman of the [[Federal Reserve]] in 1930. The account records that Meyer's opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal shaped both the editorials and the news coverage, including news stories he wrote under a pseudonym.[^8] Two episodes define the paper's national record. In 1971 it printed the Pentagon Papers, which the Wikipedia account says helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War. Its reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein then investigated the break-in at the Democratic National Committee. That inquiry grew into the Watergate scandal, which ended with President Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974.[^1] In September 1980 the paper ran Janet Cooke's front-page Sunday feature *Jimmy's World*, a profile of an eight-year-old heroin addict. Bob Woodward, then assistant managing editor, entered it for a Pulitzer, and Cooke received the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing on April 13, 1981. The story was later shown to have been invented in its entirety, and the paper gave the prize back.[^9] In July 2009, Politico reported that Weymouth had planned closed dinner "salons" at her home for lobbyists, trade-group members, politicians and business people. Weymouth canceled them, saying, "This should never have happened." Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli, who was named on the flier as a host, said he was "appalled".[^9] ## When - **April 1878:** The Post bought a rival paper, *The Washington Union*. The merged paper appeared as *The Washington Post and Union* from April 15 to April 29, 1878, with a circulation of 13,000.[^6] - **1880:** A Sunday edition made the Post the first paper in the city to appear seven days a week.[^6] - **1893:** The paper moved to 14th and E streets NW, where it stayed until 1950.[^6] - **2009:** It shut its Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City bureaus and ended its *National Weekly Edition*.[^10] - **October 2013:** The Graham family sold the paper to Nash Holdings.[^1] ## Where The Post prints no edition for distribution beyond the East Coast. Most of its print readers live in Washington and its Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. In 2021 it kept 21 foreign bureaus, along with local bureaus in Maryland and Virginia.[^10] Its international breaking-news hubs are in London and Seoul.[^1] For decades the paper's main office stood at 1150 15th Street NW. That building stayed with Graham Holdings in the 2013 sale. In May 2014 the Post leased the west tower of One Franklin Square, at 1301 K Street NW. The paper has its own ZIP Code, 20071.[^10] ## How much - **Sale of the paper:** Nash Holdings paid US$250 million in 2013.[^1] - **Real estate:** In November 2013 Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street, 1515 and 1523 L Street, and the land under 1100 15th Street for $159 million.[^10] - **The 2009 salons:** Sponsorship was priced at $25,000 for one salon and $250,000 for a series of 11.[^9] ## How many - **Subscribers, 2023:** The Post had 130,000 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, third among American newspapers on both counts.[^1] - **Circulation, March 2023:** Average printed weekday circulation was 139,232. This is a different measure from the subscriber count, and it comes from the same Wikipedia article.[^10] - **Print subscribers, 2025:** The total fell below 100,000, the first time in 55 years.[^1] - **Awards:** Wikipedia credits Post journalists with 76 Pulitzer Prizes, 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue record carries one item naming the Post, ranked 80. The paper ran *Humphrey Estate Sold* on May 1, 1979, sixteen months after Hubert H. Humphrey died on January 13, 1978. He died at his residence on Lake Waverly in [[Waverly]], [[Wright County, Minnesota]].[^5] The project's dossier records the following about the property and its sale: - The property was known as "Triple H". - It was acquired in the mid-1950s. The dossier's sources give both 1956 and 1958, the deed was not retrieved, and no single year is stated. - The article's body, including the buyer and the price, could not be retrieved, and both are marked unverified. - Local reporting says the house became a treatment center within a few years of 1978. Whether the original structure still stands is unverified, and the dossier does not argue from either point.[^5] As of 2026, the disposition of the former Vice President's Wright County estate is not a publicly readable fact. The project anchors the item to *The White House Government Transparency Task Force Fact Sheet* of July 2026. Its stated reason is that a paywalled archive of a public figure's estate disposition is a practical transparency failure.[^11] ## In the Minnesota record ### What **Prison lockdown, 2023.** On September 3, 2023, the Post carried an Associated Press report on a lockdown at the Stillwater prison. According to that report, the Department of Corrections activated a crisis negotiation team and placed the prison on emergency lockdown. Two officers were secured in a control area, and no injuries were reported. About 1,200 inmates were housed at the facility.[^3] **Max Mason pardon, 2020.** On June 12, 2020, the [[Minnesota Board of Pardons]] voted unanimously to grant Minnesota's first posthumous pardon. The board consists of the [[governor]], the [[Minnesota Attorney General]] and the chief justice. The pardon cleared [[Max Mason]] in the case tied to the 1920 Duluth lynchings. The project's validated source list for this fact names the Post along with an Attorney General release, MPR and CNN.[^12] ### When - October 22, 1982 — coverage of the Minnesota Senate race in the 1982 elections.[^13] - June 18, 1984 — *Challenger to Boschwitz Is Selected*.[^14] - August 3, 1984 — *Bert Lance Quits Post as Mondale Campaign Chief*.[^15] - September 1, 1986 — coverage of crossover voters in Minnesota.[^16] - October 16, 1988 — *Humphrey stepping out of father's shadow*.[^17] - September 14, 1994 — coverage of the Minnesota governor's race.[^18] - October 22, 1996 — coverage of attacks in the Wellstone–Boschwitz rematch.[^19] - October 15, 2007 — item on American Indian rights activist Vernon Bellecourt.[^20] - August 13, 2018 — coverage of primary elections in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont and Connecticut.[^21] - May 30, 2020 — *Officials blame outsiders for violence in Minnesota but contradict one another on who is responsible*.[^2] - June 1, 2020 — full audio of a call in which, per the headline, President Trump berated governors over the protests.[^22] - 2020 — investigative graphic on arrests of George Floyd protesters.[^23] - July 23, 2020 — report that Minnesota's governor would sign a police accountability bill.[^24] - July 29, 2020 — report on the so-called umbrella man in [[Minneapolis]].[^25] - October 9, 2020 — coverage of Derek Chauvin's bail in the Minneapolis case.[^26] - October 23, 2020 — investigation of a Trump rally in Duluth and COVID-19 guidelines.[^27] - September 3, 2023 — the Stillwater lockdown report described above.[^3] - August 9, 2024 — fact-check assessing claims about Walz's service.[^28] - March 21, 2025 — report on the resignation of Minnesota state senator Justin Eichorn.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *The Washington Post* (rev. 1382045264, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead section — founding, newspaper-of-record description, 2023 and 2025 subscriber counts, Pentagon Papers, Watergate, 2013 sale for US$250 million, Pulitzer, Nieman and WHNPA counts, London and Seoul hubs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post [^2]: *The Washington Post*, *Officials blame outsiders for violence in Minnesota but contradict one another on who is responsible* (May 30, 2020) — news reporting cited as public-record context. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/officials-blame-outsiders-for-violence-in-minnesota-but-contradict-each-other-on-who-is-responsible/2020/05/30/d722e9d6-a2b1-11ea-b5c9-570a91917d8d_story.html [^3]: Associated Press via *The Washington Post*, report on the Stillwater prison lockdown (September 3, 2023) — crisis negotiation team, emergency lockdown, two officers secured, no injuries, about 1,200 inmates. News. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/09/03/minnesota-stillwater-prison-lockdown/f37766f4-4a81-11ee-bfca-04e0ac43f9e4_story.html [^4]: *The Washington Post*, report on the resignation of Minnesota state senator Justin Eichorn (March 21, 2025). https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/21/minnesota-state-senator-justin-eichorn-resigns/ [^5]: *HHH Waverly Apex Dossier* §II and gap G-7 (2026-09-02; validated), summarizing *The Washington Post*, *Humphrey Estate Sold* (May 1, 1979) — date of the article; buyer and price not retrieved; residence, death date, property name and acquisition range. The article body is behind the publisher's archive and is not carried in the pack. https://www.washingtonpost.com [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *The Washington Post* (rev. 1382045264), "History" section — Hutchins founding, 1878 *Union* purchase, 1880 Sunday edition, 1889 sale, 1893–1950 building. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *The Washington Post* (rev. 1382045264), "Organization" section — major stockholders, publishers and executive editors by period. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *The Washington Post* (rev. 1382045264), "Political positions" section — Meyer's 1933 pledge, his Federal Reserve appointment, and the paper's New Deal coverage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *The Washington Post* (rev. 1382045264), "Controversies" section — *Jimmy's World* and the 2009 salon plan, prices, cancellation and quotations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *The Washington Post* (rev. 1382045264), "Bureaus and circulation" section — bureaus, 2009 closures, distribution, March 2023 circulation, offices, 2013 real-estate sale, ZIP Code. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post [^11]: The White House, *The White House Government Transparency Task Force Fact Sheet* (July 2026) — anchor document for at-issue item AI-Humphrey-080. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/07/the-white-house-government-transparency-task-force-fact-sheet/ [^12]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18; validated), item [56] — Board of Pardons vote of June 12, 2020, listing the Washington Post among its sources. The specific Post article and the Attorney General release are not carried in the pack. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ [^13]: *The Washington Post*, coverage of the 1982 Minnesota Senate race (October 22, 1982). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/10/22/the-1982-elections-the-minnesota-senate-race/3a8bee9d-2086-4b33-b748-5da6ca9ce3e0/ [^14]: *The Washington Post*, *Challenger to Boschwitz Is Selected* (June 18, 1984). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/06/18/challenger-to-boschwitz-is-selected/2a778eda-5d7d-4c78-8f8c-e70736d2bc8f/ [^15]: *The Washington Post*, *Bert Lance Quits Post as Mondale Campaign Chief* (August 3, 1984). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/08/03/bert-lance-quits-post-as-mondale-campaign-chief/6c51acb5-9bdc-4b3c-b063-9548be2b25b7/ [^16]: *The Washington Post*, coverage of Minnesota crossover voting (September 1, 1986). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/09/01/courting-the-minnesota-crossover/70131472-19f9-4f59-85f4-72d81b194066/ [^17]: *The Washington Post*, *Humphrey stepping out of father's shadow* (October 16, 1988). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/10/16/humphrey-stepping-out-of-fathers-shadow/738a05cc-50d0-4434-bc38-bb8547f31734/ [^18]: *The Washington Post*, coverage of the Minnesota governor's race (September 14, 1994). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/09/14/minnesota-governor-prevails/79bbaa9c-12ca-4f90-8cdc-8d3529bbf034/ [^19]: *The Washington Post*, coverage of the Wellstone–Boschwitz rematch (October 22, 1996). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/10/22/in-wellstone-boschwitz-rematch-attacks-seem-to-have-backfired/89338d32-103c-4bef-8db6-7ffc32d4d6e2/ [^20]: *The Washington Post*, item on Vernon Bellecourt (October 15, 2007). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2007/10/15/american-indian-rights-activist-vernon-bellecourt/ [^21]: *The Washington Post*, coverage of the August 2018 primaries (August 13, 2018). https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/primary-elections-minnesota-wisconsin-vermont-connecticut/2018/08/13/94646364-9f29-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html [^22]: *The Washington Post*, full call audio, Trump and governors on the protests (June 1, 2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/full-call-audio-trump-berates-governors-over-protests/2020/06/01/1e6e9fb6-bd8f-4349-a5ff-5bedde5b8516_video.html [^23]: *The Washington Post*, investigative graphic on arrests of George Floyd protesters (2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/investigations/george-floyd-protesters-arrests/ [^24]: *The Washington Post*, report on the Minnesota police accountability bill (July 23, 2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/minnesota-governor-to-sign-police-accountability-bill/2020/07/23/fc27b6ba-ccde-11ea-99b0-8426e26d203b_story.html [^25]: *The Washington Post*, report on the "umbrella man" in Minneapolis (July 29, 2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/29/umbrella-man-white-supremacist-minneapolis/ [^26]: *The Washington Post*, report on Chauvin's bail (October 9, 2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/chauvin-bail-minneapolis-george-floyd/2020/10/09/e24408ae-0a53-11eb-9be6-cf25fb429f1a_story.html [^27]: *The Washington Post*, investigation of the Duluth rally and COVID-19 guidelines (October 23, 2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/trump-duluth-rally-covid-guidelines/2020/10/23/10c1367c-1317-11eb-82af-864652063d61_story.html [^28]: *The Washington Post*, fact-check of claims about Walz's service (August 9, 2024). https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/09/assessing-claims-about-walz-service/