Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The 19th: Inside the Lincoln Project's 'toxic' workplace
...
A frequent quip from Schmidt overheard by multiple people was that the Lincoln Project was his vehicle to achieve “generational wealth.”
As senior management squabbled over how to divide the pieces of the project’s financial pie, dissatisfaction was growing within the organization’s more junior ranks, which were made up of largely young and liberal staffers who said they had different standards than some of the group’s leaders, citing Schmidt and Wilson specifically. There was language used in both the Lincoln Project’s ads and within its workplace about gender and sexuality that made many of them uncomfortable, the dozens of interviews revealed.
Young men were “wizards” while young women were “girls.” Political rivals were “pussies” or “cocksuckers” or “faggots.” By the time the staff convened in Park City, the situation had become so “toxic,” according to more than a dozen accounts, that at least two co-founders, neither of whom remain at the project, had tried unsuccessfully to intervene to improve working conditions.
...
There were few women in Lincoln Project’s leadership, and those who were there were treated differently than the men, multiple people said. Horn was left out of meetings and not consulted about key decisions or public statements. At points, others within the organization had to persuade her not to quit entirely.
...
Sources familiar with internal communications said that in June, multiple members of the Lincoln Project’s senior leadership team were told in conversations and in writing about allegations that Weaver had sexually harassed young men, including some who were doing work for the organization.
By August, nearly all of the co-founders still with the project were aware and a media plan was being crafted after the group’s employees and contractors were contacted by a news outlet working on a story about it. By the time staff gathered in Park City for the build-up to the election, it was an open secret even among junior staff, sources said.
https://19thnews.org/2021/02/lincoln-project-toxic-workplace/
A frequent quip from Schmidt overheard by multiple people was that the Lincoln Project was his vehicle to achieve “generational wealth.”
As senior management squabbled over how to divide the pieces of the project’s financial pie, dissatisfaction was growing within the organization’s more junior ranks, which were made up of largely young and liberal staffers who said they had different standards than some of the group’s leaders, citing Schmidt and Wilson specifically. There was language used in both the Lincoln Project’s ads and within its workplace about gender and sexuality that made many of them uncomfortable, the dozens of interviews revealed.
Young men were “wizards” while young women were “girls.” Political rivals were “pussies” or “cocksuckers” or “faggots.” By the time the staff convened in Park City, the situation had become so “toxic,” according to more than a dozen accounts, that at least two co-founders, neither of whom remain at the project, had tried unsuccessfully to intervene to improve working conditions.
...
There were few women in Lincoln Project’s leadership, and those who were there were treated differently than the men, multiple people said. Horn was left out of meetings and not consulted about key decisions or public statements. At points, others within the organization had to persuade her not to quit entirely.
...
Sources familiar with internal communications said that in June, multiple members of the Lincoln Project’s senior leadership team were told in conversations and in writing about allegations that Weaver had sexually harassed young men, including some who were doing work for the organization.
By August, nearly all of the co-founders still with the project were aware and a media plan was being crafted after the group’s employees and contractors were contacted by a news outlet working on a story about it. By the time staff gathered in Park City for the build-up to the election, it was an open secret even among junior staff, sources said.
https://19thnews.org/2021/02/lincoln-project-toxic-workplace/
34 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Which is why although I enjoyed their ads (and have posted some here on DU), I've never given them a cent of my $$$, not even for swag.
You can work with them, but never ever trust them completely.
These are the founders of The 19th:
Emily Ramshaw is our co-founder and CEO. She was previously editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, an award-winning nonpartisan digital news startup. She serves on the board of the Pulitzer Prize.
Amanda Zamora is our co-founder and publisher. She spent nearly two decades as a digital editor, product manager and audience strategist at newsrooms including the Texas Tribune, ProPublica and The Washington Post.
Amanda Zamora is our co-founder and publisher. She spent nearly two decades as a digital editor, product manager and audience strategist at newsrooms including the Texas Tribune, ProPublica and The Washington Post.
You may recognize Errin Haines, editor-at-large at the 19th, from her appearences on MSNBC (she is in the middle).
* Kathryn Murdoch, however, is on the Board of Directors.
Some fun facts about her:
She maxed out on personal donations in the primary to Buttigieg and Inslee.
She donated a great deal of money supporting Biden (as well as the the Senate Majority PAC and the Future Forward USA PAC... in fact, all of her donations this cycle were to Democrats).
She is a huge supporter of combating climate change.
She worked for the Clinton Climate Initiative.
She has backed efforts to increase voter participation in elections.
The foundation she co-founded, Quadrivium, supports a slew of left-leaning orgs.
Lol... in 2018, she donated to Republican Women for Progress (all their donations in 2018 went to Dems).
Strange that some have issues with a diverse, left-leaning, woman-centric news org. But do go on with the Schmidtty love! 
That is a really good article, though. Thanks!
Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora, the former editor-in-chief and Chief Audience Officer at The Texas Tribune, are launching a nonprofit news site called The 19th to cover the “intersection of gender, politics and policy.”
The name of the site comes from the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, which prohibits government from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on their sex. It granted American women the right to vote, known as women’s suffrage.
The site’s logo contains an asterisk, because the amendment applied only to white women.
“The 19th Amendment remains unfinished business, a fact we acknowledge in our logo with an asterisk — a visible reminder of those who have been omitted from our democracy,” according to the organization.
The Washington Post will publish The 19th’s content until the site fully launches in August, coinciding with 100 years since the 19th Amendment was passed.
The 19th, based in Austin, Texas, says it will be a nonpartisan news organization. Content will be “free-to-consume and free-to-republish.”
“We aim 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,” reads The 19th's website.
Initial beats will include presidential politics, women and Congress, the women's electorate, women's health, women and the economy, and women and the states.
"The 19th aims to elevate the voices of women ... women of color, women living off the coasts and women of limited means," Ramshaw stated. "There are simply not enough women leading newsrooms, and as a result, not enough stories about the issues, inequities and unique challenges that most directly affect women's lives."
Revenue will come from member support, individual philanthropy, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships and live events, according to the organization.
The Texas Tribune, also a nonprofit news organization, is similarly funded.
Ramshaw serves as cofounder-CEO, Zamora as cofounder-publisher, Andrea Valdez is editor-in-chief, Errin Haines is editor-at-large, and Johanna Derlega is Chief Revenue Officer.
Nearly $5 million in funding comes from Kathryn Murdoch, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ Reproductive Health and Women’s Rights Collaborative, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, Emerson Collective, Knight Foundation, Abigail Disney, Arnold Ventures and the Packard Foundation, among others, according to Nieman Lab.
This spring, The 19th will embark on a “national listening tour,” to hear from women on the state of voting rights in their communities and explore the top issues they face at the ballot box in November.
The 19th is partnering with the League of Women Voters and The Riveter for the tour, which kicks off in Austin on April 22 and travels to Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis and Atlanta.
The 19th is currently hiring 17 staffers and aims to have a newsroom “that reflects the racial and socioeconomic diversity of American women and is devoted to covering all women with empathy.”
The organization is offering six months paid parental leave, four months paid leave to care for sick relatives and a number of remote positions.
The name of the site comes from the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, which prohibits government from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on their sex. It granted American women the right to vote, known as women’s suffrage.
The site’s logo contains an asterisk, because the amendment applied only to white women.
“The 19th Amendment remains unfinished business, a fact we acknowledge in our logo with an asterisk — a visible reminder of those who have been omitted from our democracy,” according to the organization.
The Washington Post will publish The 19th’s content until the site fully launches in August, coinciding with 100 years since the 19th Amendment was passed.
The 19th, based in Austin, Texas, says it will be a nonpartisan news organization. Content will be “free-to-consume and free-to-republish.”
“We aim 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,” reads The 19th's website.
Initial beats will include presidential politics, women and Congress, the women's electorate, women's health, women and the economy, and women and the states.
"The 19th aims to elevate the voices of women ... women of color, women living off the coasts and women of limited means," Ramshaw stated. "There are simply not enough women leading newsrooms, and as a result, not enough stories about the issues, inequities and unique challenges that most directly affect women's lives."
Revenue will come from member support, individual philanthropy, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships and live events, according to the organization.
The Texas Tribune, also a nonprofit news organization, is similarly funded.
Ramshaw serves as cofounder-CEO, Zamora as cofounder-publisher, Andrea Valdez is editor-in-chief, Errin Haines is editor-at-large, and Johanna Derlega is Chief Revenue Officer.
Nearly $5 million in funding comes from Kathryn Murdoch, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ Reproductive Health and Women’s Rights Collaborative, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, Emerson Collective, Knight Foundation, Abigail Disney, Arnold Ventures and the Packard Foundation, among others, according to Nieman Lab.
This spring, The 19th will embark on a “national listening tour,” to hear from women on the state of voting rights in their communities and explore the top issues they face at the ballot box in November.
The 19th is partnering with the League of Women Voters and The Riveter for the tour, which kicks off in Austin on April 22 and travels to Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis and Atlanta.
The 19th is currently hiring 17 staffers and aims to have a newsroom “that reflects the racial and socioeconomic diversity of American women and is devoted to covering all women with empathy.”
The organization is offering six months paid parental leave, four months paid leave to care for sick relatives and a number of remote positions.
How about it is about republicans being republicans?
Go over to The 19th and check out their bona fides. These are accomplished women.
Just so strange. 
Rightfully so, given the reporting. Nice to see DUers supporting the "tough language". 
