Report: Progressive leaders urged to purchase media outlets to increase influence on Americans.

A recent report released by idealogues is urging progressive leaders in the United States to take action against the perceived dominance of conservative media in the country. The report suggests buying or collaborating with media outlets and influence channels as a strategy to counter this influence.

The June 2023 report (pdf) highlights the decline of left-wing outlets like BuzzFeed News and the bankruptcy of Vice Media as indicators of “a time of extreme transition in the world of news and media.” According to an Economist/YouGov survey cited in the report, liberal or progressive media reaches the “lowest share of Americans and reaches less than half of the number of consumers reached by conservative media.” The report calls for increased investments in for-profit media companies and social media influencers by liberal supporters.

One of the authors of the report is Arkadi Gerney, a longtime Democratic operative. Co-authors include Sarah Knight, a former director at the George Soros-backed Open Society Foundation, and Tim Hogan, a presidential campaign communications director for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in 2020.

Titled “Analysis of the Changing U.S. News Media Landscape and Strategies Toward Delivering Civic Value,” the 85-page report was prepared for a gathering of progressive leaders in Washington, D.C., in May, according to media outlet Semafor.

“The increased concentration of media among wealthy and conservative owners—and particular local media—presents significant risks that political information will become both more scarce and more skewed toward right-wing perspectives,” the report stated.

In an interview with Semafor, Arkadi Gerney expressed his hope that the paper will be utilized by center and left-leaning investors to counter the influence of conservative media.

Although the report portrays American media as being dominated by conservative forces, a July 2021 study published at ResearchGate found that journalists in the West, including those from the United States, are predominantly biased toward leftist ideologies.

“Compared to the general population of voters, journalists prefer parties that have more left-wing positions overall, and that are associated with certain ideologies, namely environmentalism, feminism, social liberalism, socialism, and support for the European Union,” the study revealed.

The report suggests that “progressive” supporters collaborate with online creators and individual journalists who are engaging larger shares of the American public with news, explainer content, opinion, and personal narratives. It also recommends investing in profitable local TV networks to expand the reach of progressive ideologies.

“We believe that many of the best opportunities for cause-motivated investors lie in diverting a share of the investment that’s going into exclusively cause-funded nonprofits toward sponsored content and into direct investment in hybrid and for-profit enterprises with large audiences,” the report advises.

“Likewise, rather than continuing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads, we believe that there is more long-term value for nonprofit investors… in diverting a share of that investment into sponsoring topical reporting in a for-profit, or simply in buying some of the stations on which they are now advertising.”

Sinclair Group, Leftist Bias in Media