Left-wing think tank Center for American Progress is putting its news source ThinkProgress up for sale, citing financial strains.
"Unfortunately, like so many other news outlets that have relied on advertising to fund its work, ThinkProgress has seen a significant drop in revenue in recent years, along with other financial strains. In addition, events over the last few years have underscored the divergent missions of American Progress and ThinkProgress," Navin Nayak, executive director of the CAP Action Fund, told the Daily Beast.
"For all of these reasons, we announced to the ThinkProgress staff today that we are searching for a new publisher for the news site," Nayak continued. "This is a tough decision since ThinkProgress has been a part of CAP Action almost since its founding. While ThinkProgress' financial challenges are unsustainable for an organization like CAP Action, we are hopeful that there are publishers who would be better able to support ThinkProgress' mission and better positioned to maximize the significant value ThinkProgress has built up."
ThinkProgress was launched in 2005 to provide a left-wing voice during President George W. Bush's administration. It describes itself as "editorially independent" from CAP. It has never been profitable, and according to the Daily Beast, revenue have dropped in recent years and fewer advertisers have been attracted to the site.
To cover costs, the site has been cutting payroll and staff, with under 35 of the site's high of 40 employees remaining. It is still unclear if CAP will shutter the site if it finds no buyer. Nayak told the Daily Beast CAP will only consider buyers who are ideologically aligned with ThinkProgress.
"We will only entertain serious proposals from publishers and organizations who are genuinely interested in investing in ThinkProgress and supporting its mission," Nayak said. "Our ideal outcome is for ThinkProgress to continue the important work done by its journalists under the auspices of a new entity."