Outlet profile

Slate

U.S. left

Owned byGraham Holdings Company, a diversified media conglomerate controlled by the Graham/Meyer family (descendants of the late Eugene Meyer, including chairman Donald E. Graham)

FundingAdvertising revenue and reader subscriptions via its Slate Plus membership program, which offers ad-free podcasts, bonus content, and other perks

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Slate was founded on June 24, 1996 by editor Michael Kinsley as an early experiment in web-only journalism, initially backed and owned by Microsoft. In 2004 Microsoft sold it to The Washington Post Company, which created The Slate Group in 2008 as an umbrella for its digital properties. When The Washington Post Company sold the flagship newspaper to Jeff Bezos in 2013, Slate remained with the renamed Graham Holdings Company, where it has stayed. Throughout its history Slate has been editorially liberal, known for its contrarian 'Slate pitch' style—taking counterintuitive or provocative positions on current events—though that tone has shifted toward more direct progressive advocacy in recent years. The outlet introduced a subscription tier called Slate Plus in 2014, adding a membership revenue stream alongside advertising. AllSides upgraded its rating of Slate from 'Lean Left' to 'Left' after determining the site never meaningfully incorporates right-of-center perspectives. During both Trump terms Slate has been openly critical, framing coverage around concerns about democratic backsliding, press freedom, and executive overreach.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-06-25; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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