Two former RedState contributors say that they quit the conservative site over what they call a shift to consistently positive coverage of President Trump.
Kimberly Ross, a former senior contributor for RedState, and Andrea Ruth, who once was a contributing editor at the outlet, said in a Bulwark article Thursday the site’s management made it clear in mid-2018 to “tread lightly when it comes to criticizing Trump.”
The two former contributors said that Salem Media Group, which owns RedState, decided there had been too much criticism of Trump in the media and dismissed several journalists and editors who were “unapologetic Trump critics.”
Requests for comment to Salem Media Group’s corporate headquarters were not immediately returned.
Later Thursday, a third RedState writer, Sarah Quinlan, also resigned from the outlet, claiming that it was “no longer a good fit” for her to work there.
“I submitted my resignation from RedState this morning,” Quinlan tweeted. “It’s hard to put into words just how much I truly loved being able to write for the RedState audience over the past year, so I’m *extremely* grateful for the opportunity to do so. However, it was simply no longer a good fit.”
I submitted my resignation from RedState this morning.
It’s hard to put into words just how much I truly loved being able to write for the RedState audience over the past year, so I’m *extremely* grateful for the opportunity to do so. However, it was simply no longer a good fit.
— Santa ??uinlan (@sarahmquinlan) January 31, 2019
In a follow-up tweet, Quilan also linked to the Bulwark piece by her former colleagues.
RedState rose to prominence during the early Obama years under Editor-in-Chief Erick Erickson. Salem acquired the site in January 2014 and Erickson, a sometimes Trump critic, departed in October 2015.
On Thursday, Ross and Ruth said that they could no longer work under RedState’s name because the previous mix of pieces — some positive, others not — shifted to mostly supportive.
“Though we continued on in the hopes the atmosphere might change, that approach is now untenable,” the piece said.
“[W]e … believe a healthy conservative media is not only beneficial but necessary,” Ross and Ruth wrote. “Unfortunately for RedState, the focus on clicks above all else, the fight over loyalty rather than ideology, and the refusal to accept any legitimate criticism of Trump is a stain on a once proud conservative publication.”
[Also read: Trump exults in 1,000 media layoffs due to ‘Fake News and bad journalism’]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Kimberly Ross is a contributor to the Washington Examiner.
