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Outlet profile

RedState (Opinion)

U.S. right (pro-Trump conservative)

Owned bySalem Media Group, through its subsidiary Townhall Media (operated by SVP Jonathan Garthwaite)
FundingOnline advertising and reader subscriptions; Salem Media Group is a publicly traded conservative media conglomerate
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

RedState was founded on July 11, 2004, by conservative bloggers Joshua Treviño, Ben Domenech, and Mike Krempasky, initially operating as a 527 political organization and group blog. Erick Erickson joined early and rose to editor-in-chief, making the site one of the more prominent voices in the conservative blogosphere during the 2000s and early 2010s. In 2007, the site was sold to Eagle Publishing; Eagle Publishing was then acquired by Salem Media Group in 2014, placing RedState inside Salem's Townhall Media network alongside outlets such as Townhall, Hot Air, Bearing Arms, and Twitchy. Erickson departed in late 2015 to focus on his radio show. A major turning point came in April 2018, when Townhall Media conducted what multiple former contributors and outside reporters described as a 'mass firing' of writers who had been critical of Donald Trump, with accounts saying those 'insufficiently supportive of Trump' were the primary targets. Subsequent reporting by CNN revealed that Salem executives had pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively. After the 2018 purge, RedState's editorial voice shifted firmly toward strong support for Trump and the broader MAGA movement, a posture it has maintained into Trump's second term. Salem Media Group, a publicly traded company, donates almost exclusively to Republican and right-leaning political committees. RedState is considered a right-wing opinion outlet by media-rating organizations including AllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check.

Sources

  1. RedState – Wikipedia
  2. 'Mass firing' at conservative site RedState – CNN Money
  3. Conservative Site RedState Boots Anti-Trump Staffers – The Wrap
  4. The RedState Firings and the Decline of Viewpoint Diversity on the Right – Quillette
  5. RedState – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  6. RedState – AllSides Media Bias Rating
  7. RedState.com – SourceWatch
  8. Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively – CNN Money

Profile compiled 2026-07-07; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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