Craigslist Founder Gives $1 Million to Mother Jones to Fight ‘Misinformation’
“This is an investment in the toughest–and most rewarding–kind of journalism, the deep investigative work,” says Mother Jones chief Monika Bauerlein
Jon Levine | August 28, 2018 @ 6:41 AM
Last Updated: August 28, 2018 @ 6:47 AM
Liberal news outlet Mother Jones received a $1 million donation from Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, it announced on Monday.
“We’re honored by this gift from Craig,” said Mother Jones CEO Monika Bauerlein in a statement. “This is an investment in the toughest–and most rewarding–kind of journalism, the deep investigative work that is now under attack from all sides. With our growing community of supporters, we can build a newsroom that continues this work for a long time to come.”
Newmark — whose eponymous website has often been criticized by journalists for undermining the advertiser-based business model of local news — has often used his wealth to donate to media organizations and nonprofits through his foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
In June, Newmark gave a $20 million donation to the City University of New York school of journalism — which now bears his name.
“Craig Newmark’s extraordinary generosity ensures that our still-young school will have the resources and flexibility it needs to remain at the forefront of journalism education,” said Sarah Bartlett, dean of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism said in a statement at the time.
With the journalism business model on tenuous ground, media companies have been increasingly turning to billionaires as their salvation. The Washington Post went through a minor renaissance following its acquisition by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos in 2013 and the Los Angeles Times is as well after it was bought by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong earlier this year.
Additionally, Laurene Powell Jobs — widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs — acquired a majority stake in The Atlantic in 2017.
Mike Cernovich, a Timeline: From Choking Advice to Pizzagate to Firings (Photos)
Maybe you'd never heard of right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich before last week, when he helped get James Gunn fired from the next "Guardians of the Galaxy" film by highlighting Gunn's old Twitter jokes about rape and pedophilia. But Cernovich himself has a long history online, filled with both successes and statements he has since distanced himself from -- for reasons that will be obvious.
Advice on Choking Women
Before gaining fame as a Trump superfan, Cernovich got his start in the men's rights and pick-up artist community. His advice column, published on his blog "Danger and Play," included suggestions on the proper way to "choke" women during sex. This entry from December 2011 has since been deleted: "Choking works because it’s a show of dominance. Women only want to have consensual sex with men they know could rape them."
Pizzagate
Cernovich first came to wide public attention over his promotion of a conspiracy theory during the 2016 election that suggested that a pedophile ring was being run out of the basement of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria. The story was bunk, and Cernovich has moved to distance himself from Pizzagate.
Will Sommer/Twitter
John Conyers
Cernovich's biggest score of all probably wasn't James Gunn, but John Conyers. A tip provided by Cernovich to BuzzFeed about accusations of sexual misconduct forced the Democrat to resign his seat in disgrace in December 2017.
Getty Images
Sam Seder
Mike Cernovich targeted the MSNBC contributor over a years-old joke about his daughter being raped. MSNBC dropped Seder in December 2017, but reinstated him after a public backlash.
MSNBC
Sopan Deb
Cernovich went after New York Times reporter Sopan Deb in March 2017 over a tweeted pun about the rapper Bow Wow. The incident earned Deb an official rebuke from the Times' then-public editor, Liz Spayd.
Josh Barro
In November 2017, Cernovich demanded an apology from Josh Barro after the Business Insider Senior Editor made fun of his lisp. Barro swiftly retreated.
Twitter
Perry Fein
In June 2018, Los Angeles Times freelancer Perry Fein slipped into Cernovich's DMs and wished harm upon him. His relationship with the newspaper was over just hours later.
Los Angeles Times Media Group
James Gunn
Last week, Cernovich helped lead an online campaign highlighting old tweets in which Gunn joked about rape about pedophilia. Gunn offered an apology, but was dropped by Disney from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise.
Getty Images
Cheri Jacobus
Before the James Gunn situation, Cernovich also led a brief and successful campaign to pressure USA Today to drop columnist Cheri Jacobus. The decision from the paper came after Jacobus' bizarre comments about convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Michael Ian Black
Cernovich has trained his fire on comedian Michael Ian Black, who has said several times on Twitter that his tweets about pedophilia were only jokes.
YouTube
Dan Harmon
Fresh off his victory in ousting Gunn from "Guardians of the Galaxy," Cernovich forced "Rick and Morty" co-creator Dan Harmon and his employers at Adult Swim to apologize over an old sketch that featured Harmon graphically simulating the rape of a baby. (The sketch used a doll, not an actual baby.)
Getty Images
1 of 12
The right-wing provocateur has become a thorn to liberals online
Maybe you'd never heard of right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich before last week, when he helped get James Gunn fired from the next "Guardians of the Galaxy" film by highlighting Gunn's old Twitter jokes about rape and pedophilia. But Cernovich himself has a long history online, filled with both successes and statements he has since distanced himself from -- for reasons that will be obvious.