A wide-ranging affidavit by Washington Times editorial page editor Richard Miniter in the lawsuit he is filing against the Times provides a detailed picture of the inner workings of the newspaper that has been rocked in recent weeks by the canning of three executives and the resignation of its top editor.
Budget meetings Miniter attended show that the newspaper relies on a roughly $40 million annual subsidy, delivered weekly, from the Unification Church, he alleges in the affidavit. Church leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon founded the Times and his son Preston controls its parent company. Miniter writes:
70. Based on what I learned in budget meetings, the paper relies on a roughly $40 million annual subsidy from the Unification Church and cannot survive without that subsidy, which is paid in weekly amounts. Of the slightly more $70 million the Washington Times spends annually, less than $37 million comes from advertising and subscription revenue. In addition, the number of paid subscribers has been falling since July 2008 and advertising revenue is plunging as competition from the Washington Examiner and others intensifies.
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