Townhall.com

Townhall.com is a website that publishes numerous conservative columnists. Formerly a project of the Heritage Foundation, it was purchased in 2006 by Salem Communications Corporation.

History
It started in 1991 as a BBS called 'Town Hall'. A 'Town Hall Tour' of May 1992 gives an impression that BBS, Town Hall, was a joint venture of National Review Magazine and the Heritage Foundation. In March 1993 they had about 700 individual users and they were connected to 15 organizations. To access the BBS you needed a computer and a modem using a network phone number and an access code. Joining costed $20 and beyond that the user was charged from 26 cents to 66 cents a minute depending on the time of day. Jeanne Allen was in 1993 the executive director of Town Hall. 

In March 1994 they announced that Town Hall would become a private forum on Compuserve. 

On July 19, 1994 Rich Winkel wrote about Town Hall in a Usenet posting
 * "On Compuserve computer network (202) 546-4400 [voice line at Heritage Foundation, ask for Town Hall information] An electronic bulletin board (BBS) and interactive dial-up computer service for the conservative movement carried on the Compuserve computer network. Sponsored by National Review and the Heritage Foundation. Includes electronic (ASCII) text version of materials from groups such as the The Free Congress Foundation's National Empowerment Television project, Focus on the Family, The Leadership Institute, International Freedom Foundation, Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the State Policy Network of state-based think tanks."

Townhall.com
According to the whois-information the domain name (townhall.com) was claimed on March 2, 1995. The web site (www.townhall.com) went live on June 29, 1995. Tim Butler was at that moment president of Town Hall and the organization was still owned jointly by Heritage and National Review. Soon after that 'Townhall.com' was considered to be only a Heritage Foundation project. The WayBack machine has pages that go back to 1996. On the 'media-kit' page of 'townhall.com' they write
 * "Online since 1991, and on the Web since June 1995, townhall.com reaches an established, older, and highly influential community of between 200,000 and 250,000 individual users each month. The largest conservative site on the Web, www.townhall.com is the main internet address for over 35 member sites, including publications and radio shows, think tanks, and public policy, grassroots, and educational organizations."

Townhall becomes a for-profit company
In 2004 the Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees backed a proposal to end its direct role with Townhall.com. In a note in its consolidated financial statements for the 2003 and 2004 financial years the foundation stated "the separation was completed on March 15, 2005 and Townhall.com will operate as a separte autonomous for-profit company, with no shared governance." It reported that the the Chief Executive Officer of the new for-profit entity had previosuly worked for the foundation. 

"The Foundations received consideration of $100,000 for Townhall.com, based upon an indepnedent valuation, in exchange for accounts receivable and fixed assets with a book value of approximately $76,000. The Foundation has agreed to act as guarantor of a loan for Townhall.com for up to $1,000,000 and will receive 10% of Townhall.com free cash flow, calculated on an annual basis, as defined in the agreement, up to an aggregate of $1,500,000; however no payments are due until 2012," the note reports.

Sale to Salem Communications
In April 2006, Salem Communiations announced that it had acquired Townhall.com. In addition to its original mission, Townhall.com now also serves as a promotional platform for the conservative radio hosts Salem syndicates, including Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, Bill Bennett, and Dennis Prager.

Key Staff

 * Jonathan Garthwaite, Editor-in-Chief
 * Hugh Hewitt, Executive Editor

Former Staff

 * Mary Katharine Ham, former managing editor, now online editor at the Washington Examiner.

Regular Contributors

 * Mike Adams
 * Gary Aldrich
 * Mark Alexander
 * Doug Bandow
 * Bruce Bartlett
 * Tony Blankley
 * Brent Bozell
 * Peter Brookes
 * Jay Bryant
 * Pat Buchanan
 * William F. Buckley, Jr.
 * Neil Cavuto
 * Mona Charen
 * Linda Chavez
 * Chuck Colson
 * Ward Connerly
 * Ann Coulter
 * Helle Dale
 * Larry Elder
 * Edwin J. Feulner
 * Suzanne Fields
 * Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
 * Rich Galen
 * Maggie Gallagher
 * Jonah Goldberg
 * Paul Greenberg
 * Rebecca Hagelin
 * David Horowitz
 * Dexter Ingram
 * Paul Jacob
 * Terence Jeffrey
 * Jack Kemp
 * Charles Krauthammer
 * Larry Kudlow
 * John Leo
 * David Limbaugh
 * Rich Lowry
 * Ross Mackenzie
 * Michelle Malkin
 * John McCaslin
 * Bill Murchison
 * Joel Mowbray
 * Oliver North
 * Robert Novak
 * Marvin Olasky
 * Kathleen Parker
 * Dennis Prager
 * Alan Reynolds
 * Paul Craig Roberts
 * Debra Saunders
 * Phyllis Schlafly
 * Ben Shapiro
 * Thomas Sowell
 * Jacob Sullum
 * Mark Tapscott
 * Cal Thomas
 * Matt Towery
 * Rich Tucker
 * Emmett Tyrrell
 * Diana West
 * George Will
 * Armstrong Williams
 * Walter Williams

Members

 * A World Connected
 * Accuracy in Academia
 * Accuracy in Media
 * Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
 * AgapePress
 * Alliance Defense Fund
 * American Conservative Union
 * The American Enterprise
 * American Land Rights Association
 * American Legislative Exchange Council
 * American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
 * Americans for Prosperity Foundation
 * Americans for Tax Reform
 * AnnCoulter.org
 * Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University
 * The Bradley Foundation
 * BreakPoint Online
 * Campus Report
 * Capital Research Center
 * Cato Institute
 * The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
 * The Center for Consumer Freedom
 * Center for Equal Opportunity
 * Center for Individual Freedom
 * Center for Security Policy
 * Center for the Future of Russia
 * Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change
 * Citizens Against Government Waste
 * Citizens for a Sound Economy
 * The Claremont Institute
 * clashradio.com
 * Collegiate Network
 * Competitive Enterprise Institute
 * Concerned Women for America
 * The Conservative Caucus
 * Conservative Petitions.com
 * Conservative Political Action Conference
 * Defenders of Property Rights
 * Digital Freedom Network
 * Employment Policies Institute
 * EnviroTruth.org
 * Evergreen Freedom Foundation
 * Family Research Council
 * The Federalist e-journal Digest
 * The Federalist Society
 * The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
 * Free Republic Network
 * Free-Market.Net
 * Freedom Alliance
 * Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation
 * Frontiers of Freedom
 * The Fund for American Studies
 * Georgia Public Policy Foundation
 * Green Watch
 * Greening Earth Society
 * Grove City College
 * Heartland Institute
 * The Heritage Foundation
 * Hillsdale College
 * The Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society
 * Human Events Online
 * The Human Life Review
 * Independent Women's Forum
 * Insight on the News
 * Institute for Humane Studies
 * Institute for Policy Innovation
 * Intercollegiate Studies Institute
 * ISI Books
 * Landmark Legal Foundation
 * Lawsuit Abuse Makes Us Sick
 * Leadership Institute
 * LifeNews.com
 * The Lone Star Report
 * Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute
 * Mackinac Center for Public Policy
 * Maryland Public Policy Institute
 * Massachusetts News
 * Media Research Center
 * Mountain States Legal Foundation
 * National Center for Policy Analysis
 * The National Center for Public Policy Research
 * National Legal and Policy Center
 * National Review Online
 * National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.
 * National Taxpayers Union & NTU Foundation
 * Ohio Taxpayers Association & OTA Foundation
 * OpinionEditorials.com
 * The Optimate
 * Pacific Legal Foundation
 * Pacific Research Institute
 * The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty
 * The Philadelphia Society
 * The Project for California's Future
 * The Reagan Ranch
 * religionjournal.com
 * RetireSafe.org
 * Small Business Survival Committee
 * State Policy Network
 * Susan B. Anthony List
 * Tax Foundation
 * Taxpayers League of Minnesota
 * Tech Central Station
 * Texas Public Policy Foundation
 * Townhall.com
 * Traditional Values Coalition
 * U.S. English, Inc.
 * U.S. Term Limits
 * The Washington Times National Weekly Edition
 * The Weekly Standard
 * The World & I
 * World Congress of Families
 * World Magazine
 * The Yorktown Patriot
 * Young America's Foundation

Contact Information
214 Massachusetts Ave NE Washington, DC 20002 Tel. 202-608-6099 Fax 202-544-7330 web site: www.townhall.com

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * New Media Alliance