Progressive News Outlet ThinkProgress Shuts Down Amid Financial Struggles
ThinkProgress, the flagship outlet launched by liberal think tank Center for American Progress, is ceasing operations on Friday due to the publication’s inability to find a new publisher.
Founded in 2005, the online news site, which was editorially independent of CAP, was put up for sale in July amid financial struggles but could not secure a new publisher.
In a memo issued to ThinkProgress staff that was published by the Daily Beast, CAP Action Fund’s executive director Navin Nayak wrote, “Given that we could find no new publisher, we have no other real option but to fold the ThinkProgress website back into CAP’s broader online presence with a focus on analysis of policy, politics, and news events through the lens of existing CAP and CAP Action staff experts.”
“Conversations on how to do so are just beginning, but we will seek to reinvent it as a different platform for progressive change,” he added.
Nayak also released a statement to Mediaite noting that the site’s closure, which resulted in ThinkProgress’ 12 remaining journalists losing their jobs, was caused by “challenging trends in digital news media that have undermined so many iconic outlets.” Internal revenue and expense figures reported by the Daily Beast show ThinkProgress was $3 million in the red for 2019 — a number exacerbated by a $350,000 dive in ad revenue.
“It has become unsustainable for CAP Action, as a non-profit, to continue supplementing the growing shortfall in ThinkProgress revenue,” Nayak continued. “Despite conversations with more than 20 potential new publishers, including several extended dialogues, those broad trends proved insurmountable in finding ThinkProgress a new home.”
The CAP Action Fund executive went on to state that the think tank plans to “reinvent [ThinkProgress] as a different platform for progressive change.” CAP plans on keeping the site’s URL up and will transition it “back into CAP’s broader online presence.”
Prior to ThinkProgress’ financial decline taking hold, the site employed a staff of 40. The outlet largely published political analysis stories in a progressive voice or broke news on issues like climate change, racial justice, income inequality, and other subjects important to left-leaning voters.
