rawstory.com
RawStory.com is a popular American political news site that mixes fast progressive coverage with original investigations and strong opinion.
What is RawStory.com?
Raw Story covers United States politics, public power, civil rights, national news, and major world events.
The site often focuses on stories that its editors believe larger news companies ignore or underplay.
Its front page changes quickly because the newsroom follows live speeches, court cases, elections, scandals, and social media reactions.
Raw Story also publishes longer work about political money, government ethics, white nationalism, public safety, and threats to democracy.
This mix makes the site part news outlet, part political watchdog, and part rapid news guide.
Who created Raw Story?
John K. Byrne founded Raw Story in 2004 after finishing college.
He wanted to build a progressive answer to the Drudge Report, which had become a major source of links and news for conservative readers.
Michael Rogers joined the project during its first year and later became a co-owner.
The site is owned by Raw Story Media, Inc., while Byrne serves as its chairman and chief executive.
Raw Story Media also expanded its reach by buying AlterNet and The New Civil Rights Movement in 2018, with the company announcing that the combined sites could produce more than 70 million monthly page views at that time, according to the acquisition announcement.
What kind of stories does Raw Story publish?
Raw Story publishes breaking reports, short news updates, opinion columns, interviews, and deep investigations.
Many short articles start with reporting from another publication, a television interview, a public document, or a politician’s online post.
The writers then explain the key point, add reactions, and connect it to a wider political fight.
This format helps readers follow a busy news day without checking many different sources.
The deeper investigations are more valuable because they rely on public records, financial documents, interviews, and original reporting.
One strong example is “Lawmakers, Law Breakers,” which found that 37 members of Congress had failed to report personal stock trades correctly during one year.
The project won the small-division government category in the SABEW Best in Business Awards, and the judges praised its work on financial conflicts and weak enforcement.
Does Raw Story have a political bias?
Yes, Raw Story has a clear progressive and left-leaning point of view.
This position appears in its choice of stories, sharp headlines, opinion writers, and close attention to Republican leaders and the political right.
AllSides rates Raw Story “Left” after an independent review of its online coverage.
Ad Fontes Media rates it “Strong Left” and gives it a reliability score of 33.30 out of 64.
That Ad Fontes score places the site in a middle area that can include generally reliable reporting, analysis, opinion, and content with uneven quality.
The wide range matters because one careful Raw Story investigation may be much stronger than a short article built around angry online comments.
Readers should judge each story by its evidence instead of treating the whole website as fully reliable or fully unreliable.
Why do Raw Story headlines sound so dramatic?
Raw Story competes in a crowded online news market where headlines must earn attention in seconds.
Its headlines often use emotional words, short quotations, conflict, mockery, warnings, and unfinished details that encourage a click.
This approach can make an ordinary political update sound larger or more certain than the facts support.
It also helps explain why outside ratings may place some individual Raw Story articles below the site’s stronger investigative work.
A careful reader should open the article, identify the first source, and check whether the headline matches what that source truly said.
For major claims, readers should compare the story with a public record or a report from Reuters, the Associated Press, or another outlet with a different political view.
How does Raw Story make money?
Raw Story uses a mixed business model built around advertising, paid access, partnerships, and reader support.
The free site brings in a large audience, while premium subscriptions offer unlimited access and other benefits.
The company has also offered shared subscription access across Raw Story, AlterNet, and partner sites, as described in its subscription platform announcement.
Its mobile app says Raw Story reaches more than six million readers each month and offers premium access through an in-app subscription, according to the Apple App Store listing.
This model lowers the company’s dependence on any single source of income.
That choice became important after Facebook changed its feed and reduced publisher traffic, which hurt Raw Story and other online news companies.
Is RawStory.com worth reading?
Raw Story is useful for readers who want fast progressive political news, stories about right-wing movements, and investigations into government misconduct.
Its strongest work can uncover real facts that later receive attention from larger news organizations.
Its weaker work can rely too much on loaded wording, secondhand reporting, or reactions from social media.
The best way to use Raw Story is as one part of a wider news mix rather than as the only source.
Read its original investigations closely, treat opinion as opinion, and verify dramatic breaking stories before sharing them.
That approach keeps Raw Story’s speed and focus while reducing the risk created by its strong political frame and attention-driven headlines.