Politico printed a word to readers Thursday clarifying how its subscription mannequin works because it faces a flurry of assaults from critics, together with President Trump, who’ve accused it of benefiting from taxpayer {dollars}, particularly the funding of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“POLITICO has been the topic of debate on X this week. A few of it has been misinformed, and a few of it has been flat-out false. Let’s set the file straight,” the outlet wrote as part of a memo printed on its web site. “POLITICO is a privately owned firm. We’ve by no means obtained any authorities funding — no subsidies, no grants, no handouts. Not one dime, ever, in 18 years.”
The word is available in response to social media posts and public statements from Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and others who’ve expressed outrage that a lot of authorities companies and federal staff subscribe to Politico’s costly “Professional” information content material.
The expenditures had been revealed this week as a part of Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity work to reform main federal departments together with USAID.
It is not uncommon for federal companies to permit staff to expense subscriptions to newspapers, wire companies and other media outlets as a operate of their jobs, whereas subscriptions to area of interest content material in a particular coverage space can value 1000’s of {dollars} a 12 months.
Most Politico Professional subscribers are within the non-public sector, the corporate stated Thursday, and are available from throughout the ideological spectrum, with a renewal price of round 90 p.c yearly “as a result of they depend on our reporting, information, and insights.”
“Authorities companies that subscribe achieve this by customary public procurement processes— identical to every other software they purchase to work smarter and be extra environment friendly. This isn’t funding. It’s a transaction — simply as the federal government buys analysis, gear, software program, and trade stories. Some on-line voices are intentionally spreading falsehoods,” the outlet stated. “Let’s be clear: POLITICO has no monetary dependence on the federal government and no hidden agenda. We cowl politics and coverage — that’s our job.”
Add comment