Democracy Dies in Darkness

Martin Tolchin, veteran political journalist who co-founded the Hill, dies at 93

He started his career at the New York Times and came out of retirement to help launch Politico

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February 18, 2022 at 4:18 p.m. EST
Martin Tolchin in 1966, when he was a reporter at the New York Times. (Don Hogan Charles/New York Times)
7 min

Martin Tolchin, a veteran political journalist who covered Congress for the New York Times, served as the founding publisher and editor of the Hill and came out of retirement to advise an upstart publication called Politico, died Feb. 17 at his home in Alexandria, Va. He was 93.

The cause was cancer, said his partner, Barbara Rosenfeld.