The DailyKos early days are long gone. I first read kos when he was posting to his personal blog. Fast Forward all those years to early 2023 and DailyKos is announcing layoffs, and Management disputes are publicly aired on the Kos Media platform in real time. Recent setbacks do not diminish the success story that is Kos Media, LLC.
Over these 20 some odd years since its early days, the blogosphere has transformed into Progressive Media. Instead of a self-organizing group of concerned and activated individuals chiseling personal blogs with their own words; we now have Progressive Media: a few LLCs, sole proprietorships, and individuals building personal brands.
Along the way, progressives had a few wins and well earned celebrations. But old challenges persist. Climate change, racism, forced-birth, mass shootings, and misinformation have gotten worse. Hate and fear are on the rise. I feel overwhelmed. So I am wondering aloud about DailyKos and what it all means.
In early March, kos posted the DailyKos “editorial mission” (www.dailykos.com/...). DailyKos’ self-described its wheelhouse--a wheelhouse built on the pillars of democracy, elections, politics, culture wars, and media analysis.
Our wheelhouse:
Certain stories have always been central to Daily Kos’ mission and identity. It’s what we do best, it’s what our audience expects from us, and it’s what Daily Kos will preferentially dedicate its time and resources to covering:
Democracy. We amplify the fights for individual freedom and self-determination, both at home and abroad.
Elections. We give readers the information they need to effectively engage in, and influence, the electoral process.
Politics. We show, from a progressive perspective, how politics impacts policy and drives election campaigns, at the state and federal level.
Culture wars. We track conservative efforts to weaponize hate, fear, bigotry, and ignorance to pit Americans electorally against each other.
The media. We analyze the shortcomings of the traditional media and how conservatives manipulate it to influence public opinion.
Around the same time, kos also posted February’s top stories, ranked: (www.dailykos.com/...). So, how closely does the DailyKos content resemble its wheelhouse? Not well, by my count. Less than 25% of content covers Democracy; only 10% focuses on US Elections; and over half of the coverage is on the war in the Ukraine.
My take-away: The mission is poorly represented by the content distribution.
The grind of politics and the demands of capitalism take their toll. Once DailyKos was imbued with a spirit of optimism that inspired hope and fueled active participation. I hope some of the optimism, confidence and clarity that led to "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics" can be revitalized.
Maybe I’m just sentimental for the time when Howard Dean was more than a distant memory and the "50 state solution" mattered. All these years later and we still need to go outside our urban centers where we are strong and where are political operatives like to work (because it’s easier and pays better) and engage and activate the millions of people that share our values and live in red states or red counties. No election should go unchallenged.
kos, your personal story of progressive activism, community building, military service business success and your razor sharp writing carries well-deserved weight. You have a talent for sweeping away distractions, finding the buried story, and making it real and personal. You have an impact. To be clear, I am not trying to set you up as the one to revitalize the optimism, confidence and clarity that led to "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics.”
I do think the content on DailyKos needs to more about its own wheelhouse. Changing direction is hard, even when there’s a better way. Can it be done, kos?
