When we first launched The Proponent during the first Trump administration, we made a promise: to stand firmly for truth in an era of convenient fictions. To be a voice that doesn’t merely oppose, but proposes. To be for something.
Today, as we relaunch in 2025, that mission has never felt more urgent.
Why We’re Back
The easiest posture in challenging times is cynicism. To stand back, arms folded, and declare that nothing can be done. The second easiest is blind rage—to oppose without purpose or direction.
The hardest—and the most necessary—is to advocate. To build. To propose solutions rather than simply identify problems.
This is why The Proponent exists.
Our Promise to You
In a media landscape dominated by outrage and algorithm-driven division, we’re charting a different course:
– We will investigate relentlessly, but never sensationalize
– We will challenge power, regardless of party or ideology
– We will amplify voices working toward constructive solutions
– We will prioritize depth over speed, context over clickbait
– We will never mistake neutrality for objectivity
Most importantly, we will never forget that journalism’s highest calling isn’t merely to document what’s wrong, but to illuminate paths forward.
Be For Something
The name of this publication is no accident. To be a proponent means to advocate, to stand for principles rather than personalities. It means rejecting the comfortable cynicism that says democracy’s decline is inevitable.
The threats to democratic institutions, to press freedom, and to truth itself are real. But so is our collective power to defend them.
In the coming months, you’ll find investigative reporting that goes beyond outrage to offer context and solutions. You’ll meet ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work to strengthen their communities. You’ll read essays that challenge not just your opponents’ thinking, but sometimes your own.
We don’t claim to have all the answers. But we’re committed to asking better questions.
Join us. Subscribe. Share these stories. And most importantly, find something worth being for.
Because in times that test our democratic values, merely being against isn’t enough.
*The Proponent Team*
March 10, 2025
