Friends, sending along a wonderful new interview with an old friend, Tara McGowan, CEO of COURIER Newsroom, and one of the most important pro-democracy media entrepreneurs in America today. The recording and transcript are above.
How do I even describe our conversation today?
Wide-ranging. Comprehensive. Thought-provoking. Optimistic, but not at all content with where we are now.
Highlights from the conversation for me: 1) Tara’s compelling explanation for why she started COURIER six years ago and why it is growing and prospering now 2) the critical importance of pro-democracy forces building our own media, and not as Joe Trippi describes it, accepting that we should only be renters on platforms and channels often owned by Republicans 3) the need for us to listen better, and understand/reach/engage “passive news consumers” 4) while the generational wheel needs to keep turning in our movement it must turn faster for those who run and design our media and communications strategies 5) the importance of story telling, trust, authenticity and narrative to effective modern communications.
For more background see Tara’s article celebrating COURIER’s first six years and her latest political memo, Authenticity is everything. You can also find more about Tara below.
During the course of the discussion I cite this article from the New Yorker’s Nathan Heller on “the ambience of information” and this chart on Trump’s declining standing with voters critical to his 2024 election:
And enjoy this screenshot of the conversation I hosted with Tara, Ben Meiselas, Joe Trippi and David Rothkopf in January of 2023, two months before I founded Hopium. How far the pro-democracy media ecosystem has come since then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I always learn from listening to Tara, and I promise you will too. Get to this terrific interview, the latest of our “what’s next” discussions, when you can and keep working hard everyone - Simon
Tara McGowan Bio
Tara is the founder and publisher of COURIER, a fast-growing left-leaning news network building a more informed, engaged, and representative democracy by reaching tens of millions of Americans where they are online with factual, values-driven news that inspires civic participation.
A former journalist and political strategist, Tara has seen firsthand how America’s growing information chasm has contributed to increased polarization and the rising threat of authoritarianism. Recognizing the need for a new model of media that exists explicitly to protect and strengthen our fragile democracy, Tara founded COURIER in 2019. This project is a network of state newsrooms whose on-the-ground reporters and correspondents deliver factual and empowering pro-democracy news directly to the social newsfeeds and inboxes of communities who have been left behind by traditional media. COURIER is one of the fastest-growing news networks in the country, with over 7.5 million online subscribers, including over 2 million TikTok followers, and an average weekly reach of 100 million views.
Earlier in her career, Tara led some of the largest digital advertising and marketing programs supporting progressive causes and candidates in U.S. politics, including at ACRONYM, Priorities USA, NextGen Climate, and as a digital strategist on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She studied journalism and political science at NYU and began her career reporting and producing long-form journalism for both 60 Minutes and PBS Frontline.
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