Robert L. Albritton - Office of The Board of Regents People should be celebrating, not shooting spitballs., For his part, VandeHei had grown irritated by what he viewed as Allbrittons erratic involvement in Politico, according to a former member of the companys leadership. . That year, its website averaged 3.1 million unique visitors a month; only 11 US newspapers logged higher traffic. Politico's Robert Allbritton on Trump, a Record Year, and Axios Allbritton and his wife, Barbara, were major contributors through to numerous organizations through the Allbritton Foundation. VandeHei had never had a full-time job in journalism, and now hed be running a newspaper. If he was right about that, says the source, he would have gotten a very handsome financial reward for his work, and he desperately wanted it., A former member of Politicos leadership says personal financial incentives had nothing to do with VandeHeis recommendation that Allbritton sell. It will be harder to keep his sense of humor and low profile. Neither was attached. And then, the early recruit recalls VandeHei saying, we will be so awesome that Google will buy us.. When students demonstrated and some were arrested, Allbritton pulled up a lawn chair, popped a beer, and watched. I thought it would be cool, says Harris. And that ran counter to the secrets of Politicos success, where a lot of good ideas came from batting ideas around., Says VandeHei: This makes no sense. Riggs had earned its good name. According to a former member of Politicos leadership, the departures were driven by an erosion of faith in Allbritton. He agreed to help get the venture off the ground. And then the next step Id be like, Oh, these people arent much smarter than I am. Were not trying to be all things to all types of people; were trying to do one thing well.. This biography of an American publisher is a stub. He has welcomed audiences to Politicos presidential debates, hosted eight Politico tables at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, and assumed his fathers place at the Gridiron and Alfalfa club dinners. In 2014, the company partnered with Axel Springer, the German publishing giant, to create Politico Europe. There he sat down to lunch with his father, Joe, and his mother, Barbara. They have multi-revenue streams and a layered audience, so they can take advantage of their national reach and a very targeted local readership at the same time., She agrees that ad dollars are plentiful on Capitol Hill. The masthead changes precipitated defections. By 2001, when his son took over, larger banks such as Wachovia and Bank of America had invaded, bought local franchises, and expanded branches and services. The following year, Vanity Fair named VandeHei, Harris, and Allbritton to its annual New Establishment power ranking. He and I are sitting in his office on the 27th floor of a Rosslyn office tower that once housed the Gannett media company and USA Today. of Washington LLC It is its own little microcosm. I just want to be able to shop at the grocery store and not have people know I am anything more than an average guy buying tomatoes, he says. When the TBD staff arrived in Rosslyn, they were surprised by Allbrittons role. As Politicos reporters scoured the Hill for anything resembling news, congressional press aides gained leverage. We cant run this place as a mom-and-pop shop, VandeHei told a colleague. The men and their wives went out to dinner, and the two families vacationed together on Anguilla. His father was by then a millionaire many times over. He wasnt the CEO like you think of CEOs, remembers Brady. Robert didnt respect Jims standing to make those kinds of judgments. Besides, after selling the TV stations for nearly $1 billion, Allbritton believed he had more than enough capital to finance Politicos ambitions. Tolchin had discussed the Capital Leader editing job. Robert sought advice from Stephen Trachtenberg, then president of George Washington University, which Robert had attended for a semester. Photo-illustration by Miles Donovan. Most of the familys gifts are anonymous. The [only] other one that was really in the running was Power and Politics, VandeHei says. But at the bottom of it all, when you cant see someones books, you have to rely on what they say., Allbritton says, Were making a little bit of money in the middle of a recession, and weve been in business only 2 years. This was about 25% of all the recorded Allbritton's in USA. He has written about the Koch Brothers attempt to take over The Cato Institute, David Gregorys ouster as moderator of NBCs Meet the Press, the collapse of Washingtons Metro system, and the conflict that split apart the founders of Politico. They paid a decent price for it., Says Trachtenberg: He saved everybodys bacon. He chooses the latter. By that time, Robert had lost respect for Jim as a CEO, says a person familiar with Allbrittons thinking. With VandeHei in the CEOs office and Harris often in Europe, the Rosslyn newsroom drifted off course. On Wednesday, November 15, the week before Thanksgiving, they arranged a meeting in Grahams office. At one point, VandeHei and Allen traveled to Breitbarts home in California, where they watched him run the site from his basement. At one point, according to VandeHei, one of the Post executives said, You are making a catastrophic mistake.. His peace of mind comes in part from his decision not to buy the nine New York Times Company TV stations three years ago. Dont expect any press releases. Theyre publishing 600,000 copies; were putting out 35,000. Our dream, VandeHei and Harris wrote in a September 2015 memo, is a Politico journalistic presence in every capital of every state and country of consequence by 2020.. Two years ago, the couple had a son, Alexander Lewis Allbritton. By 2008, Politico was heralded as an unqualified triumph, as its tabloid-style reporting came to define the presidential campaign. Finally, he spent two months at the Leesburg Airport getting his pilots license. It was the first major cutback the station has had to make. She has a special interest and training in the diagnosis of pigmented lesions, dermoscopy, and melanoma detection. So we are not tolerating it and have moved on., About the dispute, VandeHei says: This isnt a soap opera. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Certain items were perfect for the Huffington Post, others for Drudge. Research A Recap of the Allbritton Garden Brunch (That We Weren't - Adweek What gives Politico a leg up on the Post and other newspapers is that it started as a Web publication with a print edition rather than a print product that publishes on the Web. Gary Peck, MD Asked what he learned from being the focus of so much coverage, Allbritton throws up his hands and smiles. And I think that always bothered [Allbritton].. Theodore Roosevelt Island is in the foreground, the White House, Washington Monument, and Capitol just beyond. He and Hardy decided to take the trip anyway. [4] He resigned due to prostate cancer during investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission involving oil money from Equatorial Guinea at the same time that Riggs was facing broader charges of money laundering; his son Robert assumed the chairman position after his resignation; the bank was later purchased by PNC in 2005. I absolutely admire what hes been able to do with himself and his life. Allbritton Opens up $24 Million Home for Prom Weekend According to a source familiar with the discussions, VandeHei concluded that a bubble in the industry would inflate Politicos value, too. The Justice Department and FBI looked into Riggss international-banking practices and charged it with criminal failure to report numerous suspicious transactions. Riggs pleaded guilty and agreed to pay another $16 million in fines. I wouldnt do this thing, he told his parents. According to a person familiar with the situation, these transactions served as reminders to VandeHei and Harris that they didnt have true equity stakes. We want to do this., Okay, Ryan said. It needed more branches.. David Bass, a public-relations executive, had been hired to help Allbritton Communications find an editor for its new newspaper. He remembers standing near the pilot and marveling at the dials and gauges. He agreed. And he was just wrong about that., A former member of Politicos leadership says VandeHei never bullied the owner. They could hire a staff of three. But, he adds, I never gave up my day job at Allbritton Communications.. I fully intended to resurrect it, he says. Some staffers were livid at VandeHei and his allies for making their announcement smack in the middle of a presidential election; others were confused about the reasons for the mass departure of much of the companys leadership. I spent much of my time watching the sweep hand reach 5 oclock., He called his father, then Riggss chairman. In February 1993, his father put him to work in Allbritton Communications. Instead, this source says VandeHei thought a deal would provide the capital infusion Politico needed to reach its aggressive growth targets. They were an improbable matchVandeHei a scrapper from Wisconsin, Allbritton an heir to a multibillion-dollar dynasty. They could spoon-feed previously unreported materials to Politico, whichin its dash to be firstwould publish these scoops with little regard for news value. The Vince Lombardi of the newsroom, says former Politico reporter Jonathan Allen. He graduated from Wesleyan in 1992 and went directly into Riggs Banks investment-management side. It doesnt really work for me, VandeHei said. Allbritton, who personally bankrolled the new company, retained ownership of 100 percent of its stock. According to Juliet Eilperin, a Roll Call colleague who now works for the Washington Post, VandeHei spoke openly about his Christian faith and conservative upbringing: Those were things, she says, that kind of allowed him to establish relationships with prominent Republicans and aides that might have been more difficult for one of the more stereotypical Ivy League liberal journalists.. I want to get this done before the end of the game, VandeHei said. I quit.. Were competing against everyone out there. This article first appeared in the August 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. Friendship grew into romance, which deepened when they returned to Washington. He considered himself a citizen of the Washington Post. Don Graham had had a hand in hiring him in 1985. We are making money, Allbritton says. Deciding not to buy the nine television stations from the New York Times Company was a crucial decision for Allbrittonand for the DC news business. The bankwhich a federal judge called a greedy corporate henchmanpleaded guilty to violating an anti-money-laundering law and paid $41 million in fines. You have to flip your view and think of Politico beyond what you see in DC. Using his initials, he changed the call letters to WJLA. I interviewed the best anchors and on-air talent in the region and cherry-picked the best to create a star staff, he says. In 2002, the Post snatched him from the Wall Street Journal. Allbritton Communications seemed an ideal buyer. [8] He is survived by his widow, Barbara, and their son, Robert and two grandchildren.[1]. [1], He died on December 12, 2012, aged 87, of heart trouble, in Houston, Texas. The Washington City Paper called it a bloodbath. He assured the remaining employees that their jobs were secure, but newsroom directors told them that afternoon they would have to accept a pay cut and a subsequent salary freeze. By 1998, Allbritton was chief operating officer of Allbritton Communications. Ten years after acquiring Riggs Bank, the bank started to under perform, causing great financial distress on Allbritton. That afternoon, Phil Bennett responded with the Posts offer: Harris would stay in the newsroom as national political editor; VandeHei would go across the Potomac and become political editor at Washingtonpost.com. Instead, VandeHei argued that Allbritton should capitalize on the opportunity before him. He declined to be interviewed for this story. Allbritton chose a different course: He arranged public debates and forums, paid for by Politico, to promote Politicos brand. Dr. Allbritton lives in Georgetown with her husband Robert, publisher of Politico, and three children. VandeHei said Harris was concerned they would lack exposure and lose their standing as top political reporters. The three talked. VandeHei, 38, and Harris, 45, dont seem to be natural allies. That soon became official. Harris was a cerebral, frumpy-looking editorthe nutty professor, says a former colleaguewho provided institutional credibility. VandeHei and Harris handed out a memo that described their vision. Mississippi had the highest population of Allbritton families in 1840. In a series of interviews, Allbritton makes clear that he doesnt relish the limelight. [Robert] Allbritton has been studying the Washington . Rick Berke, whod been hired away from the New York Times as top editor, abruptly resigned after less than a year. Robert Allbritton (born February 16, 1969[1]) is the owner and founder of Capitol News Company, the parent company of Capitol Hill political newspaper and website Politico. We worked and filed midnights on Saturday because thats when Henry Paulson was meeting and making decisions. Soon he and John Harris, the Posts highly regarded political editor, began having what-if conversations about Project X. VandeHei is tall and thin and has a manic bent; Harris is stout, a few years older, and seems more steady. It had been nearly ten years since Allbritton and VandeHei founded the news outlet. Allbritton took the memo up to the 27th floor. He wanted to be involved in most of the decisions, Brady says. From a 2009 Washingtonian magazine story by Harry Jaffe headlined The Son Also Rises: Robert Allbritton may seem low-key, but one of his top people says, He has vision, balls, and money.'. He also chaired Houston International Bank, Houston Citizens Bank and University Bankshares. A banker from Houston, Joe proceeded to build an empire that included eight TV stations, most notably Washington's ABC affiliate, WJLA. We were in a constant rolling conversation about ideas. American chief executive, publisher and editor, FCC approves $1B Allbritton TV sale to Sinclair, "Robert Allbritton Resigns as CEO of Riggs Ahead of Merger", "Washington's Most Powerful, Least Famous People", Alumni Pledge $5M to Create New Center on Campus, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Allbritton&oldid=1147954034, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 06:32. The Allbrittons sent their only child to the citys best private schools: Beauvoir, St. Patricks, St. Albans. In 1981, when Joe Allbritton bid $70 million for 40 percent of the stock and a controlling interest, Riggs was the regions largest bank. [4] Allbritton has been described by The New Republic as having "reshaped the way we follow politics. 5530 Wisconsin Avenue #820 I knew journalism was changing, and no one had come up with answers about how to take advantage of the changes.. Dermatologic Providers, Maral K. Skelsey, MD These publications can make a lot of money from a small group of advertisers, she says. To understand whyand to understand how the story of Politicos first decade is in many ways the story of Washington in the digital ageit helps to go back to the beginning. Sure enough, there he was: The lanky kid who once covered high-school sports for a tiny paper in an anonymous Midwestern city was now the star political reporter at the most glamorous newspaper in America. Graham ran the meeting. It had a good name. Theres not enough revenue online to make it work. It was clear that he was out trying to prove himself, says Chuck Conconi, a longtime Washington journalist who hosted a TV show for the company. Robert Allbritton didn't need to climb his way to the top of Washington journalismhe was born there. It had confounded its competition in the political-news industry. Allbritton Brunch: The new party in town - Politico I do have a sense of responsibility for this community, he says. Harris grabbed an umbrella and walked over. VandeHei was the competitive spark; he fired off predawn e-mails about story ideas and delivered Churchillian speeches on the perils of complacency. In attendance were Graham, executive editor Len Downie, managing editor Phil Bennett, Web editor Liz Spayd, and Washingtonpost.compublisher Caroline Little. His father, Joe Allbritton, had been a big player in Washington business and political circles since coming from Texas in 1973; he entered the media market by buying the old Washington Star and Channel 7, and he took control of Riggs National Bank. Highlights From The 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner Weekend She has been in private practice since 2007. In 1978, Mr. Albritton joined Texas American Bank as Senior Vice President. According to Bass, Allbritton could give VandeHei and Harris the resources to transform it from a second-rate version of the Hill into the news organization of VandeHeis dreams. Harris found himself defending his partner. Its not far-fetched to see another publication or two feeding happily at the same trough. Its hard to compare, Allbritton says. [7], Allbritton also made a name for himself in thoroughbred horse racing. Meanwhile, throughout the summer and fall of 2015, VandeHei and Allbrittons relationship unraveled. We would not get quality journalism if we were pushing the coverage left or right.. Turned off by Politicos manic pace and narrow focus on politics, he quit in June. First published in January 2007, Politico has become something of a media phenomenon. Its a businessand a very successful one. Beginning in 2006, the conversations turned to VandeHeis idea for a new business: creating the New York Yankees of political journalism. Politico was his baby, a former Politico executive says. This was a way out.. VandeHei told a colleague that his ideal outcome would be a new standalone company with equity stakes for all employees, just as hed once imagined for Project X. VandeHei believed nothing incentivized employees like ownership. In high school, his guidance counselor was so underwhelmed that he recommended that VandeHeison of an accountant and a stay-at-home motherconsider trade school or the Army. Robert and Elena pledged $5 million to create a Center for the Study of Public Life at Wesleyan. Other than that, Politico follows an old-school model of gathering and disseminating news. He wanted to be seen as the guy in charge, Allbritton says. In 2007 Robert started Politico, which began as a small tabloid paper covering Capitol Hill. But Politico executive editor Jim VandeHei says: Robert has vision, balls, and moneyand knows how to use all three.. He said they risked losing their high-profile appearances on TV talk shows; they would drop into oblivion. Cash-rich at the time, it owned eight TV stations, led by WJLA, its flagship ABC affiliate in Washington, and NewsChannel 8, a cable station here. Robert L. Albritton of Fort Worth graduated with honors from Texas A&M University receiving a double major in Economics and Marketing in 1971. Friedman called CBS News president Sean McManus to make sure he could make good on the promise; VandeHei called Harris at the Post. New systems, more branches, better hours. Riggs was the meal.. I tend to agree with that.. Axel Springer, the companys partner in Europe, was looking to acquire stakes in digital-media companies in the United States. VandeHei and Harris, by contrast, received what are called phantom shares. (Mike Allen, Times White House reporter who would soon join the venture, had phantom shares as well.) 1969) Law School: LLB, Baylor University (1949) Everybody brought something to the table. Speaking to the press, VandeHei made sure to flatter his benefactor. When Fred Ryan stepped down as CEO (hes now publisher of the Post), VandeHei got the job. Allbritton served in the United States Navy during World War II. In the 80s, he took control of Riggs Bank, the citys largest and most historic financial institution. People liked the idea, VandeHei says. The elder Allbritton died in 2012. Felisa Lewis, MD Under this arrangement, Allbritton would pay each of them a low-single-digit percentage of the companys total value if certain conditions were triggered. "Barbie" is Allbritton's wife, Barbara, who was a director of Riggs Bank until early 2004,when she and her husband resigned as directors. But theyd come to the conclusion that the Post under Downie wasnt nimble enough to produce the Internet and newspaper publication they hoped to create. There were handshakes all around. The next day, Ryan met VandeHei and Harris for lunch at the Metropolitan Club. It was to be a newspaper in the image of the Hill. One of his first questions was Why did you go to Allbritton?. According to the early recruit, VandeHei said hed divide the companys equity among himself, his cofounder, and each reporter and editor they hired. Just out of loyalty, I thought, Lets give it a shot. . When the deal was signed in November 2006, the only thing missing was the crucial benefit that most start-up leaders enjoy and that VandeHei had envisioned for Project Xs founding members: equity. She was very aware of the challenges the newspaper industry is going through.. As his relationship with Allbritton frayed, VandeHei had come to admire Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dpfner, who was also a journalist turned businessman. Allbritton himself spends much less time in the corporate suite on the 27th floor these days. I was bored to tears, he says. Robert Allbritton, Politico Publisher, to Net Fortune From Axel Don grabbed those opportunities and did something with them. Seeking to bridge the gap between print and digital news, it has hired many top journalists and broken more than a few stories. Politico hired Josh Gerstein from the New York Sun and David Cloud from the New York Times. Instead, he often works alongside top editors and executives, at a desk with a view of Politicos newsroom. The ESPN of Politics, as Allbritton Communications then-president, Fred Ryan, describes it. Among them was Jerry Fritz, who is still with the company. My melanoma was treated at the Washington Hospital Center. The defense contractors, the advocacy groups, the nonprofits have to get their messages out, and they have good-sized budgets.. It freed Robert Allbritton to devote his time and money to launching Politico, the hard-charging newspaper and digital publication that covers political news from Capitol Hill to the White House. It was a feeding frenzy, he says. Despite his prominent role in Washington, little is known about the man who has controlled two local TV stations for more than a decade and was at the helm of Riggs Bank in its final days. I knew it wasnt the right move for us, he says. Today, Allbritton recalls Joe imparting lessons about business through first-hand experience: If he had business meetings, hed say, Oh, come in. Its time to double down and take another risk, he said. Jim was no longer having fun at this job and was regarding Robert as a pain in the ass, says a person familiar with these discussions. Who funds and runs the Politico? | Salon.com Harris had just returned to the paper after cowriting a book about the 2004 presidential campaign. The Allbrittons took Dickerson to their ski lodge in Snowmass, Colorado. [3], From 1981 to 2001, he was chairman of Riggs Bank. They could generate more than enough cash to pay their interest expenses, Berckmann says. Once the website launched in January 2007, VandeHei spent his days bouncing from one reporter to the next: His manic energy turned the team into a bunch of wolves running after red meat, says a former reporter. Two papersRoll Call and the Hillwere making money covering politics and policy. Allbritton Name Meaning & Allbritton Family History at - Ancestry Joe, in his eighties, was retired but still a force, and Robert was running things. Allbritton would be late to meetings and, when he attended, would sometimes distract executives by fiddling with his smartphone or giggling, according to this sourcethe sort of thing that might be no big deal in good times, but not when relationships were already stressed. But making weekends mandatory when nothings breaking isnt sustainable.. Joe Allbritton phoned his son a few weeks before Christmas 2000 and said, I have six weeks to live.. He was replaced by Susan Glasser, a former Foreign Policy editor whod launched Politicos new magazine. The defection of VandeHei and Harris jolted the Washington Post. Weve had opportunities most people can only dream of. Robert Allbritton and Politico: How He's Doing Now Plus a Look Back at He jumped off at Dupont Circle, plugged his air card into his laptop, and filed for the Web site. Determined to restore prestige to the family name, Allbritton returned to the media company full-time and began thinking about ways to generate new business. The Allbrittons have been very philanthropic. He believed Politico was far more valuable than Business Insider and, according to a person familiar with the discussions, he proceeded to try and bully Allbritton into selling. Father and son were close. But that wasnt always practicable because he wasnt always in the office on a day-to-day basis. This muddled TBDs vision and direction, Brady says: His decisions sometimes seemed like they came out of nowhere.. Reports of wages in the $200,000 range are fiction, VandeHei says. I asked Allbritton how he could have started up a news operation and be making money when so many newspapers and Web sites are operating in the red? According to a former member of Politicos leadership, they wondered what might happen if the owner got more involved in the day-to-day journalism at his politics site. Allbritton received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in 1992, [8] and has served as a member of its board of trustees. Barbara Allbritton, the mother of Politico owner Robert Allbritton, is suing the federal government for more than $40 million over what she says are excessive taxes assessed on her family's extensive art collection by the Internal Revenue Service. A trio of reportersJake Sherman, Anna Palmer, and Daniel Lippmanrecently inherited the Playbook franchise from Allen. Except for family trips to Disney World and Michigans Mackinac Island, it was the first time hed left Wisconsin. In addition to Politico Publisher Robert Allbritton and wife, Elena, holding court at their rarely seen $24 million Georgetown home for Sunday brunch, Politico will publish a special magazine. He knew that managing nine more TV stations around the country would put pressure on his team of three executives. The previous days events had rattled Politicos rank and file. He is a very caring professional who is truly concerned about his patients., Dermatologic Surgery Center Full Body Cancer Screen Robert, who'd been in kindergarten when Joe bought the Star and its TV station in 1974, had worked with his father at Riggs Bank and WJLA-TV. He had said, I dont want to run a newspaper on Capitol Hill.. Joe Lewis Allbritton (December 29, 1924 December 12, 2012) was an American banker, publisher and philanthropist. Now, as publisher of Politico, hes taking on a more public role. To this new staff, they seemed an odd pair. Imagine if someone put together the six or seven people we know that are really, really good at this, put them in one place, put them on the web, get them on TV, he remembers thinking. Allbritton positioned the Politico newsroom at one end of an open room the size of a football field on the first floor of 1100 Wilson Boulevard. Chevy Chase, MD20815 His father expected him to work for a few years and return to school for an MBA. For most readers, its not a newspaper., VandeHei and Harris often talk about Politicos digital platforms and the newsrooms shared DNA and metabolism.. Last week,. The senior Allbritton may have been overstating the case, but he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. But the price kept going up and the deal never got done. If you can travel well with someone, he says, its a pretty good indication you can get along.. The congressional team excelled in covering the bailout story, he says. His family soon relocated to Houston, Texas, where his father owned a small business. [11] On July 11, Harris announced that Politico veteran Carrie Budoff Brown will become its new top editor. Mike Allen plans to join them after the election. [1], In 1975, he purchased The Washington Star along with its television station and smaller stations in the south. In 1991, his 3-year-old horse, Hansel, won two legs of the U.S. And though he still owned the TV stations his dad had assembled, he took particular pride in his headline-making new-media outlet. Under Breitbarts tutelage, VandeHei and Allen learned how to extract from an article the very specific sentences or data points that could catch fire with either liberal or conservative audiences, and then how to package and feed them to the online communities that would be most receptive.
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