The Bunker Hill Journal

   

The Bunker Hill Journal

News' King of the Hill
The front page of the October 18, 2017 edition of The Bunker Hill Journal covering the election of Prime Minister Nemesis Heartwell.
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner(s)	Media Corp
Editor-in-chief	Dr. Adrian Pan
Opinion editor	Emilia Flores
Founded	November 11, 1896 (1896-11-11)
Language	English
Headquarters	1705 South Grand Avenue, Porciúncula, Gold Coast, K.S.
Country	Sierra
Circulation	1,788,910 (daily) (as of August 2019)
Website	www.bhj.com

The Bunker Hill Journal (sometimes abbreviated The BHJ or BHJournal) is a major Sierran business-oriented newspaper based in Porciúncula, Gold Coast. Its content focuses primarily on national politics and business, although it also covers international news, entertainment, and culture. It has the second largest circulation in the Southwest Corridor after the Porciúncula Times. It has won more than 35 Sutter Prize awards for its coverage and stories. It is known for its award-winning coverage and in-depth analysis of finance, business, and banking. On its masthead, it features the motto News' King of the Hill, highlighting its prestigious reputation and history as a newspaper of choice among Sierrans.

The Journal is published daily in broadsheet and online. The online version has been available for paying subscribers since 1997. In addition to the newspaper, the Journal publishes supplementary material including BHJ Life, a monthly lifestyle and news magazine. It features a Sunday edition, which is generally 8 pages longer than standard, daily issues. It also publishes BHJ Books, a line of books authored by the Journal's writers and other featured writers.

It was founded by Arthur M. Watkins, a Sierran entrepreneur and journalist, and was owned by the Watkins family until 1983 when it was sold to Media Corporation, for $130 million in cash. It is currently the largest newspaper in terms of circulation owned by the corporation. The editorial pages of the Journal, which run separately from the main news, lean towards Sierran conservatism (particularly the neoconservative strain) and promotes neoliberalism. It also promotes Sierran monarchism and was deeply critical of dissident republicans in the Styxie conflict. It has also promoted fringe views on scientific topics such as climate change and smoking as well as promotion of fringe and misinformed views on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines.

History

The Journal was initially a daily news bulletin that featured stock prices and indices for use by brokers and investors at Porciúncula Stock Exchange. It expanded its products to include almanacs, a local newspaper, and classified advertising. It was founded by Arthur M. Watkins, a newspaper journalist and former editor of the Porciúncula Daily Bee, on November 11, 1896. Watkins contracted James Mulholland, owner of the Mulholland Press, to print the Journal's issues. By 1905, its readership reached over 50,000 and its publication featured local news, editorials, political cartoons, and obituaries. It became a prominent voice in promoting the growth and economic boom that Porciúncula experienced, and praised the events of the unfolding Sierran Cultural Revolution.

The paper produced a number of stories that extolled the monarchy and became the personal source of national news for King Louis I by 1920, earning the newspaper the distinction as "The King's Paper". Its editorial stance became ardent supporters of the Royalist Party of Sierra and represented the voices of Sierra's entrepreneur and industrialist classes. In 1921, it relocated to its modern-day headquarters at 1705 South Grand Avenue in downtown Porciúncula in the Bunker Hill district.

In 1926, the Journal headquarters was attacked by Franklin McCurdy, a republican who accused the paper of spreading "sedition and libel" against the republican community for promoting the monarchy openly and critiquing republican resistance in the Styxie. 11 staff writers, including editor Roy D. Sell were killed by McCurdy, who set off several dynamite on the west side of the building. McCurdy was later apprehended and sentenced to 75 years in prison for his act, while the Journal continued to publish. Readership increased by nearly double its previous subscription base in the ensuing months after the attack.

Operations and organization

The Bunker Hill Journal is headquartered in Porciúncula and maintains additional newsrooms or bureaus in Seattle, Saint Anthony, Manhattan, London, Paris, Berlin, Jerusalem, Tokyo, British Hong Kong, Saigon, Manila, and Sydney. It is owned by Media Corporation as a subsidiary. The Journal was previously owned by the paper's founding family, the Watkins and their family trust.

The current publisher and chief executive officer of the Journal is Dean Hiltzik while the editor-in-chief is Dr. Adrian Pan. As of 2019, the editorial team consists of 10 executive editors and 25 section editors.

Editorial stance

Throughout its history, the Journal has maintained a pro-monarchist and pro-business platform. During the early 20th century, it was a leading force in the Sierran Cultural Revolution and promoted the ideas and philosophy of the Pacific School. Since the 1980s, the paper's editorial page has been widely perceived as conservative or neoconservative. While it has regularly published op-ed columnists across the political spectrum, the majority of its editorial staff are centrists or conservatives. The paper has predominantly endorsed Royalist candidates and has been criticized for its alleged negative reporting on Democratic-Republican and Social Democrat politicians. It supported the Anglo-American involvement in the Middle East including the Syrian Civil War. It has also been accused of being anti-Continentalist, particularly through its critical and negative coverage of the United Commonwealth and Tournesol. It has also been criticized for libelous reporting of major republican figures in the Styxie conflict.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal has been accused of promoting conspiracy theories and misinformation surrounding the pandemic, the virus and its severity along with both the vaccines and responses to the pandemic. It has been consistent in its opposition towards lockdowns and has called them authoritarian with the paper accusing Susan Kwon of being power hungry due to her support for them. It has also voiced opposition towards a vaccine mandate calling on citizens to make their own decisions, a stance that has been controversial and accused of validating misinformation surrounding the vaccines which has been made worse by writers publishing opinion pieces promoting disproven alternatives to the vaccine.

See also

• List of newspapers in the Kingdom of Sierra
• Conservatism in the Kingdom of Sierra