This is one in a series of op-eds celebrating The Hill's 30th anniversary.

“I work at The Hill now.”

“The what?”

“It’s a newspaper covering Congress.”

“Never heard of it.”

When I started working at The Hill in the early 2000s, I had this conversation (or a variation thereof) dozens of times.

Back then, The Hill was a tiny niche publication trying to compete with a long-established, larger and better-known competitor. Outside of Washington, nobody had heard of it.

And even inside Washington, people would often confuse us with a similarly named, community-based newspaper.

“Oh, you mean the Hill Rag?”

“No, it’s not that. We are covering Congress.”

“Oh, like Roll Call?”

“Yes, kinda like Roll Call.”

Of course, and I say this with no small amount of pride and satisfaction, The Hill is nothing like Roll Call anymore.

I do believe........

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