Top Trump Billionaire Donor Responds to Reporters’ Vote to Unionize by Shutting Down Two News Outlets Without Warning
TDAmeritrade Founder Joe Ricketts Reportedly Worth Over $2 Billion – Family Owns Chicago Cubs
115 journalists on Thursday found themselves out of work and their work scrubbed from the internet after voting to unionize. Joe Ricketts, the billionaire founder of TDAmeritrade, a major discount stock brokerage house, decided to pull the plug on DNAInfo, an award-winning local news organization that has done excellent work, and Gothamist, a set of sites devoted to urban markets including New York City (Gothamist), LAist (Los Angeles), DCist (Washington, DC), and Chicagoist (Chicago.)
Ricketts has donated at the very least one million dollars support to Donald Trump’s election efforts. He has also donated to a pro-Trump Super PAC that is not required to disclose its donors or donation amounts. Ricketts sits on the board of the Chicago Cubs – which he and his family own.
Now, when readers visit any of the sites, they are greeted with just a note from Ricketts, saying he shut down the publications because “businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure.” It is not known if he attempted to sell the company, and it appears he did not alert the reporters and editors that he was shuttering the sites and their work would no longer be accessible.Â
One DCist employee found out the site had shut down when she refreshed the homepage https://t.co/rOavIepYTg
— Andrew Beaujon (@abeaujon) November 2, 2017
“I’m hopeful that in time, someone will crack the code on a business that can support exceptional neighborhood storytelling for I believe telling those stories remains essential,” Ricketts wrote.
Christopher Robbins, the now-former city editor at Gothamist and DNAinfo, posted these tweets:
Crying in Midtown in broad daylight, the ultimate NYC experience
— Christopher Robbins (@ChristRobbins) November 2, 2017
One well-known journalist, Jamelle Bouie of Slate and CBS News, offered this commentary:
destroying the archives at gothamist and DNAinfo is evidence enough that this was pure retaliation against those journalists
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) November 2, 2017
And this now-former DNAInfo reporter shared his thoughts:
This is an act of direct retaliation for our successful union effort. I have no regrets. We did the right thing, stood tall. I am proud
— Noah Hurowitz (@NoahHurowitz) November 2, 2017
tax the fuck out of billionaires like Joe Ricketts and provide public funding for local journalism.
— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) November 2, 2017
Employees at the publications, according to The New York Times, “are getting three months of paid ‘administrative leave’ at their full salaries, plus four weeks of severance, DNAinfo said.”
Many on social media are outraged:
Joe Ricketts — who just shuttered DNAInfo and Gothamist because “businesses need to be economically successful” — is worth $2.1 billion. pic.twitter.com/gzl2YURKaL
— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) November 2, 2017
Look at this tux wearing motherfucker https://t.co/UD2CJhpYs6
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) November 2, 2017
Including @DCist.
RIP. What a mess. https://t.co/n903UdY28x
— Philip Wolgin (@pwolgin) November 2, 2017
it’s absolutely UNCONSCIONABLE to delete archives — tens of thousands of articles — without fair warning and/or a chance to find a new host.
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) November 2, 2017
Ricketts deleted the DNA/-ist archives in a bid to inhibit his former employers from getting new jobs, he’s a fucking monster
— Jason Linkins (@dceiver) November 2, 2017
Imagine being one of the reporters/writers/editors there and having to find a new job without any of your existing work to reference.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) November 2, 2017
It’s almost like billionaires with ungodly amounts of power are a bigger threat to speech and journalism than anti-racist activism. https://t.co/2SZbf6FCEe
— sean. 👻 (@SeanMcElwee) November 2, 2017
To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.
If you find NCRM valuable, would you please consider making a donation to support our independent journalism?
Â
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.