The ''Independent Journal Review'' (IJR, stylized as IJR.) is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

American news and opinion website based in

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Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The publication was founded in 2012 by Alex Skatell. Skatell serves as its CEO, with Camden Stuebe as President and Shushanna Walshe, former political director at ABC News as the Editor-At-Large. The site covers general interest topics including politics, culture, entertainment, and viral news content.

History

Founding and early expansion

In 2012, Alex Skatell, a former digital director of the

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to the Senate. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reor ...

, launched the ''Independent Journal Review'', using $40,000 that Skatell had earned via a software application that he developed at college and $20,000 borrowed from his parents. He believed that there was a gap in the market for a publication that would appeal to "a more mainstream center-right audience" and began aggregating news stories on a

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page called ''Conservative Daily''. Skatell promoted the page and later launched the ''Independent Journal Review''. Skatell then teamed up with Phil Musser, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association, to launch IMGE and Media Group of America. Atkinson then hired a staff of writers and editors to contribute to and grow the journal. In 2012, Skatell hired Bert Atkinson as chief editor. By November 2014, the organization employed over 62 staff across Media Group of America. The site attracted an audience that largely lived outside Washington D.C. political circles that had broader interests than average consumers of political news. In March 2015, the site was named "Best New Publisher of the Year" by Digiday. In June 2015, IJR hired Benny Johnson as a "creative director" from

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

. Johnson had previously worked at

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, being fired after plagiarizing content from other websites.

2016 election cycle

During the 2015 campaign season, a number of ''Independent Journal Review'' political videos acquired national attention, such as

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

destroying his cell phone and

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

making "machine gun bacon." Then, ''Independent Journal Review'' partnered with

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

to host the Republican Presidential Debate on February 6, 2016. During the 2016 election, ''Independent Journal Review'' was listed in the top 10 websites engaged per news story on Facebook. In November 2016, ''Independent Journal Review'' became one of the first two digital media companies accepted into the News Media Alliance, formerly the Newspaper Association of America.

Post-2016 election

In January 2017, the website was noted for being the first major U.S. news outlet to confirm that Judge

Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court ...

would be nominated by president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

for the

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, news which failed to spread quickly due to other media outlets' distrust of the ''Review''. During

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

Rex Tillerson's diplomatic trip to Asia in March 2017, the ''Independent Journal Review'' was the only news publication invited to send a reporter to accompany the trip. Several key members of the ''Independent Journal Review's'' editorial staff, including Benny Johnson and Kyle Becker, were suspended in March 2017 over an opinion piece on former President Barack Obama's visit to Hawaii prior to a judge's ruling on the travel ban. Becker later resigned from IJR, and Johnson was fired from ''Independent Journal Review'' in October 2017. In May 2017, Haley Byrd, a congressional reporter for the ''Independent Journal Review'', said she was kicked out of the Speaker's Lobby in the U.S. Capitol because she was wearing a sleeveless dress; Byrd says she was told that she was violating the rules. In July 2017, IMGE CEO Phil Musser purchased IMGE and formally split the agency out of Media Group of America. A few months later, in September 2017, Musser was named Senior Vice President of Communications at

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

and left IMGE to a new leadership group. In mid-2017, IJR launched conservative and liberal verticals, IJR Red and IJR Blue to transparently present a variety of perspectives around conversations across the United States. In November 2017, IJR was one of a handful of media publications, including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', '' Mic'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', and others, to participate in the launch of "Trust Indicators" by The Trust Project. According to the Trust Project, 'Trust Indicators' are markings within published news articles that denote to readers the news websites' commitment to increased journalistic and ethical standards in reporting. The Trust Project is described as a consortium of top news companies working collectively to transparency standards and increase accountability in journalism, and is headed by Sally Lehrman.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://ijr.org/ American news websites American conservative websites Internet properties established in 2012