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MintPress News was founded in January 2011 by Mnar A. Muhawesh, [http://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-muhawesh-women-bullied-in-the-media/179147/ a broadcast journalism graduate] of [[St. Cloud State University]] and speaker on responsible journalism, sexism and women in entrepreneurship. She began her career as an independent multimedia journalist covering Midwest and national politics while focusing on civil liberties and social justice issues where she posted her work on her blog Mint Press, which she later turned the blog into the global website it is today, according to a speech she gave at a [http://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-muhawesh-women-bullied-in-the-media/179147/ women's lean-in which she published]. Her father-in-law Odeh A. Muhawesh — an adjunct St. Thomas theology professor, and veteran Twin Cities businessman — was a key adviser.<ref> Minn Post, January 2012 [http://www.minnpost.com/david-brauer-blog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring#94-34403 Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?]</ref>
MintPress News was founded in January 2011 by Mnar A. Muhawesh, [http://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-muhawesh-women-bullied-in-the-media/179147/ a broadcast journalism graduate] of [[St. Cloud State University]] and speaker on responsible journalism, sexism and women in entrepreneurship. She began her career as an independent multimedia journalist covering Midwest and national politics while focusing on civil liberties and social justice issues where she posted her work on her blog Mint Press, which she later turned the blog into the global website it is today, according to a speech she gave at a [http://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-muhawesh-women-bullied-in-the-media/179147/ women's lean-in which she published]. Her father-in-law Odeh A. Muhawesh — an adjunct St. Thomas theology professor, and veteran Twin Cities businessman — was a key adviser.<ref> Minn Post, January 2012 [http://www.minnpost.com/david-brauer-blog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring#94-34403 Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?]</ref>


A media adviser and business strategist for MPN is Kate Hindes, a veteran journalist, "an industry leader, national author and keynote speaker on emotional integrity and authenticity in today’s online media."{{fact|date=February 2014}} In 2012, MPN said it was a for-profit “regular news organization,” with an initial three-year break-even business plan based on advertising.<ref name=Brauer/> In January 2012, MPN's angel investors were said to be unnamed "retired businesspeople" who "choose to remain anonymous," and will help fund MPN for three years, [http://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2012/03/mint-press-news.php according to Colombia Journalism Review.] Mnar Muhawesh raised "her startup capital, which is currently covering all of Mint Press’s costs" from her connections to the nonprofit world in Minneapolis, MN.{{fact|date=February 2014}} In 2013 in an email to [[BuzzFeed]], Mnar Muhawesh said she was financing Mint Press alone: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan,” Muhawesh said. “I am the sole investor of MintPress.”<ref>Rosie Gray and Jessica Testa, [[buzzfeed]], 1 October 2013 [http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-inside-story-of-one-websites-defense-of-assad The Inside Story Of One Website’s Defense Of Assad]</ref>
A media adviser and business strategist for MPN is Kate Hindes, a veteran journalist, "an industry leader, national author and keynote speaker on emotional integrity and authenticity in today’s online media."{{fact|date=February 2014}} In 2012, MPN said it was a for-profit “regular news organization,” with an initial three-year break-even business plan based on advertising.<ref name=Brauer/> In January 2012, MPN's angel investors were said to be unnamed "retired businesspeople" who "choose to remain anonymous," and will help fund MPN for three years, [http://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2012/03/mint-press-news.php according to Colombia Journalism Review.]Mint Press is incorporated as a for-profit, but does not currently employ any full-time business staff. Muhawesh’s father-in-law, Odeh Muhawesh, advises the site on business matters. She declines to name investors, saying that they choose to remain anonymous. Mnar Muhawesh says her father’s Minnesota business connections allowed her to raise her startup capital, which is currently covering all of Mint Press’s costs.<ref> cjr [http://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2012/03/mint-press-news.php]</ref> In 2013 in an email to [[BuzzFeed]], Mnar Muhawesh said she was financing Mint Press alone: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan,” Muhawesh said. “I am the sole investor of MintPress.”<ref>Rosie Gray and Jessica Testa, [[buzzfeed]], 1 October 2013 [http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-inside-story-of-one-websites-defense-of-assad The Inside Story Of One Website’s Defense Of Assad]</ref>


Her father-in-law Odeh A. Muhawesh an adjunct [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]] Middle Eastern History professor,<ref>[http://www.stthomas.edu/theology/faculty/omuhawesh.htm Muhawesh, Odeh]</ref> advised MPN on business matters in 2012.<ref name=Brauer>David Brauer, ''[[MinnPost]]'', 18 January 2012, [http://www.minnpost.com/david-brauer-blog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring#94-34403 Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?]</ref> Odeh Muhawesh has been described by Bloomberg Businessweek as, 'an accomplished executive with a strong record of growing revenue and developing competitive products for software and services companies'.<ref>[http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=372993&privcapId=890413 according to Bloomberg businessweek.]</ref> On the about MintPressNews page [http://www.mintpressnews.com/about-mint-press-news/], it states that a media advisory board will be posted soon.
Her father-in-law Odeh A. Muhawesh an adjunct [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]] Middle Eastern History professor,<ref>[http://www.stthomas.edu/theology/faculty/omuhawesh.htm Muhawesh, Odeh]</ref> advised MPN on business matters in 2012.<ref name=Brauer>David Brauer, ''[[MinnPost]]'', 18 January 2012, [http://www.minnpost.com/david-brauer-blog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring#94-34403 Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?]</ref> Odeh Muhawesh has been described by Bloomberg Businessweek as, 'an accomplished executive with a strong record of growing revenue and developing competitive products for software and services companies'.<ref>[http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=372993&privcapId=890413 according to Bloomberg businessweek.]</ref> On the about MintPressNews page [http://www.mintpressnews.com/about-mint-press-news/], it states that a media advisory board will be posted soon.

Revision as of 20:58, 13 February 2014

Mint Press News
Type of site
News website
Available inEnglish
URLmintpressnews.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2011

MintPress News (MPN) is an independent American news website which was founded in 2011 and launched February 2013,[1] with an administrative office in Minnesota.[2]

According to its website, Mint Press News is an online journalism startup providing "issue-based-original reporting, in-depth investigations and thoughtful analysis of the most pressing topics facing our nation through the lens of social justice and human" covering national (U.S.) politics and policy, civil liberties, the war on drugs, foreign affairs, energy, lifestyle, culture, technology and the environment.

Reporters, correspondents and editors are based across the United States in over eight states, and several countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. While many relatively small-scale news startups focus on local reporting, Muhawesh explained she had wider concerns. “Our media has failed us very miserably,” Muhawesh has said citing uninformed public debates around issues like Iran’s nuclear capabilities or intervention in Syria. [3]

History

MintPress News was founded in January 2011 by Mnar A. Muhawesh, a broadcast journalism graduate of St. Cloud State University and speaker on responsible journalism, sexism and women in entrepreneurship. She began her career as an independent multimedia journalist covering Midwest and national politics while focusing on civil liberties and social justice issues where she posted her work on her blog Mint Press, which she later turned the blog into the global website it is today, according to a speech she gave at a women's lean-in which she published. Her father-in-law Odeh A. Muhawesh — an adjunct St. Thomas theology professor, and veteran Twin Cities businessman — was a key adviser.[4]

A media adviser and business strategist for MPN is Kate Hindes, a veteran journalist, "an industry leader, national author and keynote speaker on emotional integrity and authenticity in today’s online media."[citation needed] In 2012, MPN said it was a for-profit “regular news organization,” with an initial three-year break-even business plan based on advertising.[5] In January 2012, MPN's angel investors were said to be unnamed "retired businesspeople" who "choose to remain anonymous," and will help fund MPN for three years, according to Colombia Journalism Review.Mint Press is incorporated as a for-profit, but does not currently employ any full-time business staff. Muhawesh’s father-in-law, Odeh Muhawesh, advises the site on business matters. She declines to name investors, saying that they choose to remain anonymous. Mnar Muhawesh says her father’s Minnesota business connections allowed her to raise her startup capital, which is currently covering all of Mint Press’s costs.[6] In 2013 in an email to BuzzFeed, Mnar Muhawesh said she was financing Mint Press alone: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan,” Muhawesh said. “I am the sole investor of MintPress.”[7]

Her father-in-law Odeh A. Muhawesh an adjunct University of St. Thomas Middle Eastern History professor,[8] advised MPN on business matters in 2012.[5] Odeh Muhawesh has been described by Bloomberg Businessweek as, 'an accomplished executive with a strong record of growing revenue and developing competitive products for software and services companies'.[9] On the about MintPressNews page [3], it states that a media advisory board will be posted soon.

Syria Reporting Controversy

On 29 August 2013, an MPN article bylined to MPN contributors Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh reported that Syrian rebels and local residents in Ghouta, Syria alleged in interviews that the Al-Nusra Front was responsible for the chemical weapons incidents in Ghouta; those interviewed claimed that weapons had been delivered to untrained fighters and "some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions."[10] Gavlak later told Brown Moses Blog that "Despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece."[11] Gavlak later clarified that she had "served as an editor of Ababneh's material in English as he normally writes in Arabic. Gavlak had been a weekly corresponent to MintPress News, writing for the online new magazine since March 2013[12] MPN editor, Mnar Muhawesh released two public statements saying that Gavlak retracted her involvement due to pressure from third parties two days after the article was published and did only "assist in the research and writing process of the article" and that MPN stands by Gavlak and the co-author Yahya Ababneh.

Odeh Muhawesh, whom Mnar once called “a key adviser”, was asked whether the fact that his ideological views were hostile to the Syrian opposition had influenced the story carried by Mint Press News. Reports on the controversy observed statements at websites formerly run by Odeh Muhawesh that are staunchly anti-Saudi, and caused speculation that the chemical weapons story might have been driven by his ideology rather than the facts. He called such theories "plausible but not factual”. He said Mnar is the sole owner of MintPress. [13]

The MPN report had been "widely circulated"[14] and cited among others by Military.com, the Voice of Russia, Press TV, Spanish newspaper ABC, ConsortiumNews.com and InfoWars.[15][16][17][18][19] Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting initially characterized the article as "honest about the limits of its knowledge", but after Gavlak's comments dissociating herself from the story wrote that "with the allegations of unprofessional behavior on the part of Mint Press News, there's little reason to take the Mint Press story seriously."[20] Asked about the Mint Press News story Åke Sellström, Chief UN weapons inspector in Syria remarked ; "They are famous for 1001 Arabian Nights Stories." [21]

References

  1. ^ cjr.org
  2. ^ Press TV
  3. ^ cjr.org according to Colombia Journalism Review.
  4. ^ Minn Post, January 2012 Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?
  5. ^ a b David Brauer, MinnPost, 18 January 2012, Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?
  6. ^ cjr [1]
  7. ^ Rosie Gray and Jessica Testa, buzzfeed, 1 October 2013 The Inside Story Of One Website’s Defense Of Assad
  8. ^ Muhawesh, Odeh
  9. ^ according to Bloomberg businessweek.
  10. ^ Mint Press News, "EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack," Aug. 29, 2013. http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/
  11. ^ Brown Moses Blog, 20 September 2013, Statement By Dale Gavlak On The Mint Press Article "Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack"
  12. ^ "Author : Dale Gavlak". Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  13. ^ Star Tribune 1 October 2013 [2]
  14. ^ Bryant Jordan, 10 September 2013, military.com, White House Mum on Rebel Chem Weapons Use
  15. ^ Voice of Russia, 30 August 2013, 'Syrian rebels take responsibility for the chemical attack admitting the weapons were provided by Saudis' - source
  16. ^ infowars.com, 30 August 2013, EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack
  17. ^ Lisa Pease, ConsortiumNews.com, 4 September 2013, The Still-Sketchy Intel on Syria
  18. ^ Press TV, 1 September 2013, Saudi Prince Bandar behind chemical attack in Syria: Report
  19. ^ ABC, 2 September 2013, Una colaboradora de AP afirma que el ataque en Damasco fue obra de los rebeldes
  20. ^ Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, "Which Syrian Chemical Attack Account Is More Credible?", 1 Sept 2013 with undated update 20 September 2013.
  21. ^ crbneworld February 2014

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MintPress_News&oldid=595353509"