Today was the first day of publication of the Washington Examiner, which makes them, as their publisher James McDonald points out, “the first generally circulated daily newspaper to be created in the Washington metropolitan area in more than three decades.” The newspaper was started by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, an evangelical Christian and supporter of the group “Focus on the Family.” (The same group that outed SpongeBob) The Post profiled Anschuntz in detail in November. If you haven’t had the chance to pick up a print edition their website is up, and they have a free PDF version posted as well — click on the “edition” pull down box on the top left.

With an opening editorial (online only in a PDF) which states “[America’s founders] greatest act of genius was to create the system of federalism,” and some highly sympathetic coverage of Bush “State of the Union address to rally nation,” the paper has the expectedly conservative slant, but it’s not without a few surprises.

After breezing through 5 pages of D.C. and local news (maybe 9 including sports), the paper quickly moves on to the remaining 55 pages which includes a gossip column (“The Buzz” – nothing notable today), AP stories (“Liberalism rises at Berkeley”), CD reviews (Mark Geary and Mannheim Steamroller), Celebrity, business, and fashion sections, and a 5-page editorial section.

The letters to the editor are printed in a feature called “Threads,” where the newspaper writes back to the letter writer and prints the exchange, a practice which seems to us heavily influenced by blog comments. Under the heading “A note from Dave,” editorial page editor Dave Matsio says they’ll be experimenting with unconventional layouts, anonymous columns, daring “the journalism profs and professional chin-scratchers” to “go hold a conference or something.” As media junkies, we’re excited about the new paper and hope they expand their local coverage as they become established in the region. What do you think of the new paper?