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Outlet profile

Ohio Capital Journal

U.S. left-leaning / progressive

Owned byStates Newsroom, an independent nonprofit (501(c)(3)) network of state-capital news outlets
FundingNonprofit donations; major funders have included Google Initiatives, the Thomas R. Brown Family Private Foundation, and the progressive Wyss Foundation; formerly fiscally sponsored by the Hopewell Fund, part of the Arabella Advisors liberal donor network
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Ohio Capital Journal launched in 2019 as part of a national expansion by States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that grew out of NC Policy Watch, a progressive think tank founded in North Carolina in 2004. States Newsroom used the Hopewell Fund — a liberal donor-advised fund linked to the Arabella Advisors network — as its fiscal sponsor before incorporating as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2019. The outlet is based in Columbus and focuses on Ohio state government, legislation, and politics; its editor in chief, David DeWitt, has covered Ohio public affairs since 2007. In 2021, States Newsroom accepted a $1 million donation from the progressive Wyss Foundation, prompting NewsGuard to remark that the network's journalism was 'bought by people with a political agenda.' A 2024 NewsGuard study further categorized States Newsroom as a partisan outlet designed to appear apolitical. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the Ohio Capital Journal as 'Left' with 'Mostly Factual' reporting, while AllSides and Ground News both classify it as 'Lean Left.' The outlet describes its own mission as connecting Ohioans to state government, but critics note that its opinion content explicitly embraces 'principled progressive commentary.' Since January 2025, its coverage of the Trump administration's second term has focused heavily on the negative effects of federal cuts to health insurance, Medicaid, and child care assistance in Ohio.

Sources

  1. Ohio Capital Journal – InfluenceWatch
  2. Ohio Capital Journal – Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. Ohio Capital Journal – AllSides Media Bias
  4. About – Ohio Capital Journal
  5. States Newsroom – Wikipedia (Ohio Capital Journal entry)
  6. Ohio saw the largest drop in enrollment after Trump/Republican ACA cuts
  7. Under one Trump cut, Ohio families lose the most
  8. Trump childcare rule that will cost Ohioans goes final
  9. As many as 356,000 Ohioans will lose health coverage under Trump spending law

Profile compiled 2026-07-11; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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