Welcome to Once Upon a Hill, a premium subscription newsletter about the obvious and obscure ways Congress shapes how diverse Americans work and live.
Every Monday and Thursday evening, independent journalist Michael Jones empties his notebook to craft an indispensable chronicle of the congressional storylines, power moves and policy developments shaping how diverse communities engage the political process. Each edition takes you beyond the news to help you pick out the signal from the noise and is anchored with timely, contextual and original reporting that empowers your political participation and holds power to account.
Inside each edition:
A free news-and-notes report featuring my take on the latest developments in Congress and national politics to plug you into what’s happening and why it matters
A deep-dive column that elevates the news to help you pick out the signal from the noise, empowers your political participation and holds power to account (paid subscribers only)
A list of evening reading recommendations to enrich your media diet (paid subscribers only)
Beyond OUAH’s core readers, subscribers include members of Congress and their aides, former Obama and current Biden administration officials, strategists, operatives and advocates who want to make sense of the issues that matter—especially to women, communities of color, LGBTQ+ people, and any other groups that existing systems and institutions have historically overlooked and underserved.
Meet the man behind OUAH
I’m Michael Jones, a national politics correspondent, the founding editor of Once Upon a Hill and the only solo independent Black reporter accredited by a congressional press gallery. This distinction brings a unique perspective to an institution traditionally led and covered by primarily white men and that deepens public trust at a time when faith in media is at an all-time low. My coverage focuses on Democratic politics in the MAGA era and how race, gender and class shape social policy.
I’ve biggest stories emerging from Capitol Hill, including the rise and unprecedented fall of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the first-year class of House progressives—including Congress’s first Gen-Z member—and too many crises to count, from a near-default on the US debt and the first expulsion of a member in more than two decades to multiple government funding cliffs and the Democratic panic over Joe Biden’s poor performance during the first presidential debate.
My work has been cited in The Washington Post, Politico, Semafor, and #blkcreatives.
Most recently, I founded and authored Supercreator News, the premier politics newsletter for the creative class. Its readership included members of Congress and their staff, current and former Biden and Obama administration officials, and leaders at top advocacy groups.
Before I launched Supercreator, I was a fashion journalist and e-commerce writer for two global magazine brands. I also used to write a cool fashion blog.
In addition to OUAH, I write a weekly column on the intersection of Capitol Hill and democracy for COURIER, a civic media company on a mission to create a more informed, engaged and representative America. I’m an active National Association of Black Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors member and a proud alum of the On Deck Writer Fellowship.
Born and raised in Dallas (go Cowboys!), I attended Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he studied journalism and wrote for The East Texan, the campus’s award-winning student newspaper. I now split my time between Washington, DC and New York City and enjoy true-crime documentaries, Beyoncé, and FaceTiming my niece and nephew.
A quick word about newsgathering
I’m a news junkie by nature and by trade who monitors the news of the day since politics touches virtually every aspect of American life. I’m also a beat reporter focused on Congress and national politics and in constant, direct contact with lawmakers, aides, White House officials, advocacy groups, academics and subject matter experts to enlighten my reporting. This communication occurs on and off the record and is fundamental to my ability to break news and keep you up to date.
I intend to quote sources by name as often as possible. But sometimes, sources ask me to keep them anonymous because they cannot publicly speak about the information they’re sharing. When this happens, I publish the best description of their role. If you see an unnamed source in my reporting, it is because I made the editorial decision that the significance of the information they were willing to share was 1) more valuable in the public domain than in my notebook and 2) not worth the risk to their professional employment or personal safety from disclosing their identity against their wishes.
I also receive information via email press lists, reader tips, polling data, academic research and Twitter. I cover weekly press conferences to ask questions I anticipate you’ll want answered and attend press calls to better understand complex policy topics.
Let’s talk
Email michael@onceuponahill.com or send me a direct message on Twitter. I’m open to story tips, reading recommendations, counterpoints to recently published arguments, views outside Washington, DC or anything else I should know. I’m also grateful when readers help me correct mistakes—something I try to do in the original article as quickly as possible. Need an extra layer of security? DM and I’ll tell you how to get in touch on an encrypted app like Signal.
