The Washington Spectator is a left-leaning independent political periodical with a circulation of 60,000, published monthly by The Public Concern Foundation. It was founded by Tristram Coffin (AKA Tris Coffin) in 1971 as Washington Watch, and became The Washington Spectator in 1974. Coffin remained editor until 1993. Generally, every issue covers a single topic—most often, one that its editors believe is not receiving sufficient coverage in the mainstream media outlets.