The Scoop
A group of media veterans and Democratic political operatives are launching a new profitable digital news channel in Texas.
The Barbed Wire is a new digital state news outlet that will begin broadcasting news about Texas on Monday, focusing on culture, politics and entertainment. The project was the culmination of nearly a year and a half of planning by Jeff Rotkoff, the Texas state director of the Democratic super PAC Forward Majority, and Olivia Messer, a former Texas reporter and Daily Beast alumna who was a former colleague of the Semafor reporter at the Beast.
In an interview with Semafor, Messer, the outlet’s managing editor, said she knew Rotkoff from her time covering politics in Texas and had worked with him on some media consulting work. Last year, Rotkoff approached her with the idea of starting a new publication; the two agreed there was an opportunity in the state for a free, fast-paced digital publication that was nonpartisan but wouldn’t necessarily be neutral on issues like climate change or abortion.
“We have so much great media in Texas, but there are millions of Texans who don’t subscribe to any of the available media and don’t read major newspapers,” Messer told Semafor.
“I am very excited to have such important, thoughtful content mixed with quick responses [aggregation]. There are a lot of really excellent local newspapers that are still doing great work but are not reaching the wider audience, and we are both keen to strengthen and build on them.”
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The publication will feature a mix of aggregations, essays, columns and original reporting, including some statehouse coverage and longer-form investigations. The outlet will launch a newsletter called “Wild Texas,” which is influenced by Messer’s time working on the Daily Beast’s news roundup, the Cheat Sheet. The publication is launching with several columnists, editors and reporters already on board, covering entertainment, culture, food and politics. Brian Sweany, the former editor in chief of Texas Monthly, and Jamil Smith, the opinion writer and managing editor of The Emancipator, have both been brought on as advisors.
“I truly believe that independent newsrooms that exist to serve their audiences are the future of sustainable journalism,” said Elizabeth Spiers, a New York Times columnist and Gawker veteran who is also consulting on the launch. “Texas is one of 50 states, but it’s big, it’s bold, it’s had a tremendous impact on shaping American culture. The Barbed Wire is maybe 1/50th the size of a major newsroom, but we have a team of people who have had a Texas-sized impact as journalists and progressives, and their favorite sport is boxing.”
In background information shared with Semafor, the outlet said it has a mix of private investors and nonprofits behind it, but is also looking to recruit members for support, with additional revenue from direct advertising and merchandise.
While its mission is not explicitly partisan, the publication has close ties at the top of the organization to Forward Majority. Several leaders from that Democratic advocacy group will play key roles at The Barbed Wire: Rotkoff will serve as publisher, Forward Majority’s Texas comms director Billy Begala will be managing director of product and operations, and Forward Majority CEO David Cohen will also serve as The Barbed Wire’s CEO. In a phone interview, Rotkoff told Semafor that The Barbed Wire was a passion project born out of frustration with the erosion of traditional, Texas-focused journalism, and said the outlet would be separate from his and others’ work with Forward Majority.
“The roots of this are an infinite number of conversations in bars and hotel lobbies and offices asking questions about the state of American media consumption and the question: How do we combat misinformation and disinformation?” he said. “How do we combat the shrinking audience for really good journalism?”
