The 19th
 | |
| Named after | Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution  |
|---|---|
| Established | January 27, 2020 (4 years ago) |
| Types | website, corporation, nonprofit organization |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Headquarters | Austin |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www |
The 19th, sometimes stylized The 19th*, is a nonprofit and independent news organization based in Austin, Texas.[1] It was founded in 2020 by CEO Emily Ramshaw and publisher Amanda Zamora, both former Texas Tribune staffers who served as editor-in-chief and chief audience officer, respectively.
History
[edit]The organization is named after the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote, reflecting its mission "to empower women—particularly those underserved by and underrepresented in American media—with the information, community, and tools they need to be equal participants in our democracy."[2] Ramshaw has said its coverage will initially be, "presidential politics, women and Congress, the women's electorate, women's health, women and the economy, and women and the states".[3] The asterisk used in the stylized name is intended to indicate the organization's view that the Nineteenth Amendment is "unfinished business" as, in practice, the passing of the amendment mainly benefited white women.[4][5]
Other executives include Johanna Derlega, chief revenue officer, formerly at The Hill and National Journal; Errin Haines, editor-at-large, and former national writer on race for the Associated Press; Julia B. Chan, editor-in-chief, previously at KQED, Mother Jones and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting;[6] Ben Werdmuller, CTO, formerly co-founder of Elgg and Known.[7][8][9]
While it was building its staff in early 2020, the news organization had a content sharing agreement with The Washington Post.[3] Starting April 22, it had planned to kick off a national tour of Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle in order to help shape its coverage, but this tour was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][10] The site launched officially on August 2, 2020.[4]
The venture started with close to $5 million in pledged support.[1] Among the funders to the site are Craig Newmark (500,000); Kathryn Murdoch ($1 million); Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors' Reproductive Health and Women's Rights Collaborative ($1 million); and various amounts from the Ford Foundation, Emerson Collective, the Knight Foundation, Abigail Disney, Arnold Ventures, and the Packard Foundation.[1] As of March 2021, newsroom leaders said the venture had raised $12 million.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Ellison, Sarah (January 27, 2020). "New media outlet covering the intersection of women and politics launches as 2020 election kicks off". The Washington Post.
- ^ The 19th. "Introducing The 19th: A Nonprofit, Nonpartisan Newsroom To Inform, Engage And Empower America's Women" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Dinges, Gary (January 27, 2020). "The 19th, Austin-based national news site for women, debuts this summer". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Chapin, Angelina (August 2, 2020). "The Newsroom Where Politics Is Not About Men". The Cut. Vox Media. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
It's named after the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote 100 years ago, but the asterisk acknowledges that in practice, this privilege extended mostly to white women (the punctuation was Haines's idea.)
- ^ "About The 19th*". The 19th. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ eramshaw (December 7, 2021). "The 19th hires Julia B. Chan as its next editor in chief". The 19th. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "Ben Werdmuller joins The 19th as our first Chief Technology Officer". The 19th. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ Owen, Laura Hazard (January 27, 2020). "The 19th, a new nonprofit news site on women and politics, wants to look at policy through a gender lens". Nieman Lab. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ Hall, Liliana (January 27, 2020). "Former Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Emily Ramshaw Announces New Media Project, the 19th". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ Murphy, Coral (August 3, 2020). "Women in media: The 19th is the newest women-based publication to focus on gender, politics". USA Today. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ "The State of The 19th is … growth and gratitude". The 19th. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
