‘The Hill’ television program gets Washington welcome ahead of Monday debut

Washington is welcoming the arrival of “The Hill,” as the newest addition to the NewsNation lineup kicked off with a glitzy launch party.

“The crown jewel of our new, 24-hour programming block is going to be a show that we are partnering with our friends and our colleagues at The Hill called, not surprisingly, ‘The Hill,’” Michael Corn, NewsNation’s president of news, said before a VIP crowd Wednesday at The Hay-Adams hotel in downtown Washington.

The weekday political program is poised to debut on Monday at 5 p.m. on NewsNation, with former Vice President Mike Pence as the show’s first guest.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, The Hill’s parent company.

“Our goal here is really to take viewpoints from across the spectrum of Washington,” Cherie Grzech, vice president of news for NewsNation, said.

The Hill Editor in Chief Bob Cusack noted the publication’s growth over the years since its 1994 founding, saying to laughs, “The staff of seven, we put out a newspaper on Wednesday… There was no internet. There was no nothing. Just several … reporters putting out a paper, and then they would go see a matinee.” 

“We’re very excited to be partnering with NewsNation on this project to really bring news to all America, and I think that’s the unique opportunity that we’ve been given here,” The Hill General Manager Joe Ruffolo said.

Among the guests at the launch event: former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) — complimenting Rep. Ryan Zinke’s (R-Mont.) black cowboy hat — Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), White House communications director Ben LaBolt, Bipartisan Policy Center’s Steve Scully, NewsNation’s Leland Vittert, GOP strategist Rina Shah, Airlines for America’s Rebecca Spicer, Axios’s Mike Allen, Stephanie Penn, Libby Weit, “The Hill” executive producer Rob Yarin, NewsNation politics contributor Johanna Maska, Matt Corridoni, Asjia Garner, Scott Mulhauser, Jessica Hoy, Michael Moroney and Kara Hauck.

–Updated on April 20 at 7:11 a.m.