When Charles Peters founded the Washington Monthly back in 1969, the political media landscape was obviously very different. There was obviously no internet. Cable TV was a tiny, mostly right-wing-backed phenomenon unknown to most Americans. Most people who wanted to be well-informed read daily newspapers (and in a number of cities, there were still more than one), and then usually one general-interest magazine and maybe a more purely political magazine.
Almost everything else changed since then–but not so much the Washington Monthly. No, it doesn’t publish as often, and yes, a lot of the content is web-based, and of course many writers and editors have come and gone (often on to higher-profile gigs). But the mission hasn’t changed, or even the magazine’s niche as a place for people especially interested in having an honest government that works. I discovered the Monthly around 1980 and it instantly became my favorite publication; for all I know some readers of this post discovered it the day before last. In any event, we can’t take its continuation for granted, so please consider making a donation here. You’ll earn the gratitude of both current and future readers, for whom it may become, as it has been for many of us, a constant companion.
