While the country’s two major political parties showcase their candidates and platforms to the nation via the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, a new news organization recently introduced itself to folks with an inaugural virtual summit.
Commemorating this year’s suffrage centennial, The 19th Represents—presented by Goldman Sachs and Intuit and held from Aug. 10-14—featured a lineup of virtual events including conversations with prominent women in politics, journalism, and the arts such as Stacey Abrams, Melinda Gates, Hillary Clinton, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and even Meghan Markle, who interviewed The 19th's co-founder and CEO Emily Ramshaw.
The 19th—a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that launched on Aug. 3—aims to cover women who have been historically underrepresented, including women of color. (The organization is named for the amendment that granted some women the right to vote in the U.S.; the amendment was ratified in August 1920.) Based in Austin, Texas, the organization was co-founded by Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora, both former Texas Tribune staffers.
“Our goal for The 19th Represents was to celebrate the centennial—and that includes showcasing that suffrage is unfinished business—as well as to introduce The 19th to a national readership, highlight our mission, and showcase our differentiated coverage,” explained Johanna Derlega, the organization’s chief revenue officer.
As is the case with most in-person events, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way groups are commemorating the centennial, leading up to Women’s Equality Day on Wednesday.
“We had originally planned an in-person event but in the spring we realized we'd need to pivot to a virtual event,” Derlega said. “In some ways, it was more advantageous for us to host it virtually because, as a national news organization, a digital event would allow us to attract speakers and audiences from across the country more easily. Since geography and travel were no longer barriers to participation, we decided to approach the most newsworthy keynotes, artists, and panelists and we're proud of the extraordinary lineup we hosted.”
In addition to making the summit accessible to everyone by going digital, it was also offered free of charge, which Derlega added was “the only way we can achieve our mission ... to empower underrepresented women so they can be equal participants in our democracy."
Along with the notable keynotes, the weeklong summit included performances by The Go-Go’s; Meryl Streep and Zoe Saldaña who read excerpts from historic speeches by American suffragists; and the New York Philharmonic. Panel discussions included conversations on race and gender, conservatism, and “electability.”
Derlega explained that the event’s programming, which was recorded via Zoom and distributed on Crowdcast, was an “extension of our editorial mission, which is to cover women, particularly those underserved by and underrepresented in American media such as women of color, women living off the coasts, and women of limited means.”
The 19th is currently planning additional virtual programming for later this year and 2021 around key editorial themes such as child care, the pandemic, the “pandemic within a pandemic” (which examines the dual challenges of institutional racism and coronavirus), next-generation GOP women, electability, and women leaders.
