Judd Legum
{{short description|American journalist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Judd Legum
| image = Judd Legum at South by Southwest 2018 (40199155125).jpg
| caption = Legum at South by Southwest 2018
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|12|8}}
| birth_place = Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
| party = Democratic{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Judd_Legum|title=Judd Legum|website=Ballotpedia}}
| alma_mater = Pomona College (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
}}
Judd Legum (born December 8, 1978) is an American journalist, lawyer, and political staffer. He is the founder and former editor of the progressive website ThinkProgress, and author of the political newsletter Popular Information.
Early life
Judd Legum was born in Annapolis, Maryland.{{Cite web|url=http://politi.co/2BWsjYn|title=BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Judd Legum, editor-in-chief of ThinkProgress|last=Lippman|first=Daniel|website=POLITICO|date=December 8, 2017 |language=en|access-date=December 10, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.marathi.tv/political-analyst/judd-legum/|title=Judd Legum Bio, Wiki, Married, Wife, Interview, Trump, ThinkProgress|date=March 14, 2017|website=Marathi.TV|language=en-US|access-date=December 10, 2019}} Legum earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy analysis from Pomona College and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2003.{{cite news|url=http://observer.com/2016/09/jobs-report-thinkprogress-eic-judd-legum-is-both-parent-and-progressive/|title=How ThinkProgress 'Progressive in Chief' Judd Legum Spends His Day|last1=Bonazzo|first1=John|date=September 16, 2016|work=New York Observer|accessdate=October 17, 2016}} After graduating from law school, Legum became a member of the Maryland State Bar Association.{{Cite web|url=https://techcamp.america.gov/bios/judd-legum/|title=Judd Legum|website=TechCamp|language=en-US|access-date=December 10, 2019}}
Career
Legum founded ThinkProgress in 2005,{{cite news|last1=Kludt|first1=Tom|title=Medium lands biggest website yet|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/07/20/media/medium-think-progress/|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=CNN Money|date=July 20, 2016}} running it for two years before leaving in 2007 to join Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign as research director.{{cite news|last1=Haberman|first1=Maggie|title=Hillary Clinton Begins Process of Vetting -- Herself|url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/20/hillary-clinton-begins-process-of-vetting-herself/|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=February 20, 2015}} Following the 2008 campaign, he practiced law in Maryland before returning to ThinkProgress in 2011, and became the site's editor-in-chief in May 2012.{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Sam|title=Nancy Pelosi Taps New Online Director|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/nancy-pelosi-online-director-faiz-shakir-_n_1500180.html|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=The Huffington Post|date=May 8, 2012}} Under his supervision, the site grew up to a 40-person newsroom that earned 10 million unique visitors a month.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/judd-legum-popular-information-politics-newsletter-for-everyone/|title=Judd Legum Wants to Fix News With a Newsletter|last=Dreyfuss|first=Emily|date=July 12, 2018|magazine=Wired|access-date=July 13, 2018|language=en-US}}
In 2010, Legum unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Judd_Legum|title=Judd Legum|website=Ballotpedia|language=en|access-date=December 10, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/6/717087/-|title=Judd Legum Running for Maryland Delegate|website=Daily Kos|access-date=December 10, 2019}}
Legum has drawn notice for reporting and commentary on a range of political topics, including the 2016 presidential campaign,{{cite news|last1=Willingham|first1=Emily|title=Finally, Someone Found A Beneficiary Of Trump Charity, And It's An Antivaccine Organization|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2016/10/01/finally-someone-found-a-beneficiary-of-trump-charity-and-its-an-antivaccine-organization/|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=Forbes|date=October 1, 2016}} campaign finance,{{cite magazine|last1=Landy|first1=Benjamin|title=Why Did Trump Pay $35,000 to This Mysterious "Mad Men" LLC?|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/donald-trump-fec-filing-mysterious-details|accessdate=October 17, 2016|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=June 21, 2016}} the legacy of Martin Luther King in contemporary politics,{{cite news|last1=Blake|first1=John|title=Debunking the biggest myths about MLK|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/15/us/mlk-myths/|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=CNN|date=January 18, 2016}} and the media's role in politics.{{cite news|last1=Lima|first1=Cristiano|title=Liberals lash out at Lauer, NBC|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/matt-lauer-clinton-trump-forum-227866|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=Politico|date=September 7, 2016}}
In 2018, Legum announced he was leaving ThinkProgress to develop an independent newsletter, to be published through Substack. Legum joined Matt Taibbi and Daniel Lavery as early participants in the company's publishing model. Legum's newsletter, called Popular Information, was Substack's first politically focused publication. It launched July 23, 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://popular.info/p/1-ignore-the-polls|title=Ignore the polls|last=Legum|first=Judd|date=July 23, 2018|website=Popular Information|access-date=October 30, 2018}}
''Popular Information''
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = Popular Information
| logo =
| logo_size =
| logo_border =
| logo_alt =
| image =
| image_size =
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| type = Four times a week{{cite magazine |last1=Dreyfuss |first1=Emily |title=Judd Legum Wants to Fix News With a Newsletter |url=https://www.wired.com/story/judd-legum-popular-information-politics-newsletter-for-everyone/ |magazine=Wired |date=12 July 2018}}
| format = Online
| circulation = 138,000 subscribers (January 2021){{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Gerry |title=Corporations' Political Reckoning Began With a Newsletter |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/corporate-america-s-political-reckoning-began-with-a-newsletter |website=Bloomberg News |date=14 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606221522/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/corporate-america-s-political-reckoning-began-with-a-newsletter|archive-date=June 6, 2021|url-status=live}}
| political = Progressive{{Cite web|url=https://popular.info/about|title=About Popular Information|first=Judd|last=Legum|author-link=Judd Legum|website=Popular Information}}
| school =
| owner = Popular Information LLC
| founder = Judd Legum
| website = {{URL|popular.info}}
| headquarters = Washington, D.C.
| italic title = no
}}
Popular Information is an American online newsletter launched in 2018 by Legum. {{As of|January 2021}} it had 138,000 subscribers with around 5%–10% paid subscriptions. The name of the newsletter comes from a letter James Madison wrote in 1822.{{cite magazine |last1=Dreyfuss |first1=Emily |title=Judd Legum Wants to Fix News With a Newsletter |url=https://www.wired.com/story/judd-legum-popular-information-politics-newsletter-for-everyone/ |magazine=Wired |date=12 July 2018}}
{{blockquote|"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." — James Madison, 1822{{Cite book|title=The Founders' Constitution, Volume 1, Major themes|chapter=James Madison to W. T. Barry, 4 Aug. 1822|first=Philip B|last=Kurland|author-link=Philip B. Kurland|date=1987|publisher=University of Chicago Press|oclc=13358566|isbn=9780865973039|quote=A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.|url=https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch18s35.html}}}}
Legum authors the newsletter which is delivered through Substack, a company which provides services to support subscription newsletters. He says his newsletter is about politics and power, though he has covered many topics including corporate donations to politicians and Facebook's struggles with its advertising guidelines. He seeks out stories he thinks media outlets won't be covering and does a deep analysis, focusing on national issues. Legum's business model is to attract paying subscribers through delivering in-depth reporting while eschewing ad dollars, and the newsletter contains no advertising. In 2020, Popular Information was expanded by hiring a full-time research assistant.
In 2020 the Online News Association gave Popular Information an award for excellence in journalism, saying the newsletter had reported extensively on online misinformation, particularly focusing on Facebook, and that its reports on several nationwide companies created positive changes in working conditions for their employees. Its investigative reporting exposed a pro-Trump network of Facebook pages operating out of Ukraine, which were promptly shut down by Facebook, and the newsletter's reports have been cited in numerous national and local news outlets. According to Online News Association, "Popular Information demonstrates that newsletters can do far more than summarize the news. They can be a powerful vehicle to create change."{{cite web |author1=Online News Association |author1-link=Online News Association |title=Popular Information |url=https://awards.journalists.org/entries/popular-information/ |website=Online Journalism Awards |date=2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
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- {{C-SPAN|9264847}}
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Category:American male journalists
Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Category:American political journalists
Category:American Internet company founders