October 2, 2025
Allison’s acquisition marks the publication’s return to Black possession after greater than a decade.
Ashley Allison, a CNN commentator and Democratic strategist, has acquired the digital media outlet The Root. Allison’s acquisition marks the publication’s return to Black possession after greater than a decade.
Allison, via her firm Watering Gap Media, bought The Root and plans to shift the platform towards extra immersive and video-based experiences. In outlining her imaginative and prescient for the outlet’s future, Allison stated she is going to put money into new video content material, construct partnerships with topic consultants, and launch in-person occasions to deepen viewers engagement.
On Oct. 2, The Root launched an announcement asserting the brand new possession and future imaginative and prescient. Allison, a former staffer for President Obama, wish to create a trusted area for high quality Black journalism.
“It’s time to face in braveness, to be unapologetic about who we’re as Black folks, the position we’ve got performed on this nation, and the position we’ll proceed to play. The Root isn’t going to shrink back from the laborious tales, the laborious questions, and the laborious solutions,” stated Allison. “We might be a spot that tells the reality, helps make sense of the second, and guides folks to assets that assist them make the very best choices attainable.”
The Root was based in 2008 by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Donald Graham as a platform targeted on Black tradition, politics, and social commentary. Over time, it handed via possession to Univision after which to G/O Media. G/O Media managed The Root alongside digital properties like The Onion and Kotaku. The Root turned the final remaining G/O Media website as its father or mother firm bought off different holdings. Gates spoke to The Root concerning the platform’s latest proprietor and expressed deep pleasure and pleasure on the change of fingers.
“I’m so very pleased with Ashley Allison for main The Root into its subsequent thrilling chapter, and for returning The Root to its roots,” stated Professor Gates. “When Donald and I launched The Root, my imaginative and prescient was to create a platform to showcase the complete complexity of Black life with depth, intelligence, and, most significantly, unapologetic honesty. A platform the place our historical past, our tradition, and our politics weren’t solely centered however elevated.”
Allison is making an attempt not solely to stay as much as Gate’s imaginative and prescient but in addition to increase that imaginative and prescient into certainly one of her personal making.
RELATED CONTENT: Henry Louis Gates Jr. Presents Pope Leo XIV With Household Tree Tracing His Black Ancestry
