The ''Independent Journal Review'' (IJR) is a

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

American news and opinion website based in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. 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 The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lowe ...

, 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 The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1961, consisting of U.S. state and territorial Republican governors. The Republican Governors Association is dedicated to one primary objective: e ...

, 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 June 2015, they 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 the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

. Johnson had previously worked at BuzzFeed, being fired after plagiarizing content from other websites. In March 2015, the site was named "Best New Publisher of the Year" by Digiday.

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 lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee on ...

destroying his cell phone and

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" 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 served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

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

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

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 would be nominated by president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

for the Supreme Court, 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 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 office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American engineer and energy executive who served as the 69th U.S. secretary of state from February 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, under President Donald Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administ ...

'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

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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 () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

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. The site broadened its mission to help organize communities around a set of facts and a variety of perspectives. In November 2017, IJR was one of a handful of media publications, including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', '' Mic'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', 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