Network of news sites must register as a political committee due to Democratic links, complaint alleges
A new complaint filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission alleges that a national network of local media websites must register as a political committee because of its ties to a Democratic-aligned group.
Courier Newsroom, which includes seven news sites concentrated in presidential swing states,is backed by ACRONYM, a politically active nonprofit run by Democratic strategist Tara McGowan.
Federal election laws and regulations do not apply to media outlets unless they are "owned or controlled by" a political party, committee or candidate and are acting as a media outlet rather than a political one.
But the complaint, filed by Americans for Public Trust, a watchdog group affiliated with former Nevada attorney general Adam Laxalt, a Republican, alleges that Courier Newsroom is not eligible for that exemption and that the media group failed to register as a political group and report its donors and expenses as is required of political groups under federal law.
The complaint points to a June 2019 ACRONYM internal memo, in which McGowan wrote that the group was launching a "for-profit digital media company building out online news properties in seven 2020 battleground states" of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona.
In the memo, McGowan warned that Democrats are "losing the media war" online to the Republican Party and to President Donald Trump's campaign, and laid out her plan for Courier Newsroom to counter that GOP advantage.
"Building this media content network - majority owned by ACRONYM - will: Enable Democrats to compete with Republican echo chambers online; Build nimble communications infrastructure for Dems in critical states; Reach voters with strategic narratives + information year-round; Make cyclical investments in paid advertising more cost-efficient + effective over time," according to the memo, which is included in the legal complaint.
"Through digital storytelling framed to both elevate Democratic candidates and issues important to core audiences, ACRONYM News Corp will finally compete with Republican news properties and narratives where they are already reaching voters online," the memo reads.
On its website, Courier Newsroom describes itself as "a progressive media company." On its website, it states: "We believe that by investing in the work of local journalists across the country we can positively impact civic participation and build a healthier democracy from the ground up."
A staff of reporters and editors work for Courier Newsroom and its affiliated websites, both through aggregating news coverage and through writing original stories, ranging from concerns over the politicization of the Postal Service to the impact of Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The local websites under the Courier Newsroom umbrella include the Copper Courier (Arizona), The Keystone (Pennsylvania), Cardinal & Pine (North Carolina) and The 'Gander (Michigan).
Rithesh Menon, the chief operating officer for Courier Newsroom, said in a statement that while the newsroom is left-leaning, it is neither partisan nor political.
"Courier Newsroom is a for-profit media corporation that is filling the void left by shuttering local news," Menon said in the statement. "We are a progressive newsroom but we are neither a partisan nor political organization, nor are we controlled by any candidate, political party, or political organization."
… "The key issue that we are looking to highlight is that they are an unregistered political committee," Sutherland said. "It's been well documented since their inception that they were never set out to function as a newsroom. Tara McGowan herself said that they decided to counter the Trump and RNC digital spending, not to disseminate news."
However, the FEC currently does not have enough commissioners to take a formal vote on the complaint. The independent agency, responsible for enforcing election laws, is facing a mounting backlog of complaints relating to campaign activity.
https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Network-of-news-sites-must-register-as-a-15539836.php