Scalawag

What Scalawag does

Scalawag is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Black-led digital journalism publication founded in 2014 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina (mailing address PO Box 129, Durham, NC 27702). The publication produces articles, essays, poetry, and multimedia content focused on the American South, with editorial verticals covering Race & Place, Politics & The People, Arts & Soul, and Media, Culture & Meaning, all framed through an explicitly abolitionist editorial lens. Its content is hosted on scalawagmagazine.org, powered by the Newspack digital publishing platform, and distributed free of charge through the website, a weekly Friday email newsletter, and social channels including Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. A secondary newsletter, Pop Justice, extends the product surface into cultural criticism through an abolitionist lens.

The organization's revenue model is diversified across individual donations, foundation grants, merchandise sales (via a Fourthwall storefront), and newsletter memberships, with no paid content tiers. It operates with an 11–50 person team under formal executive leadership including an Executive Director of Editorial (the first Editor-in-Chief, appointed May 2023), an Executive Director of Development, and an Executive Director of Creative (the first Creative Director, appointed June 2023). Scalawag is editorially independent, governed by a Board of Directors, and is a co-founder of the Movement Media Alliance, indicating an ecosystem-oriented strategy. A 2026 on-site disclosure that the organization has "lost critical funding" because of its solidarity stance is a material signal of funding concentration risk that frames the current operating environment.

Name

Scalawag

Legal name

SCALAWAG

Website

https://scalawagmagazine.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Scalawag is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Black-led digital journalism publication covering the American South through an abolitionist lens, distributing free content via its website, weekly newsletter, and social channels, and funded by individual donations, foundation grants, and merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Journalism & Nonprofit Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Article & Blog Publishing Platforms (MPAJAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB), News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Nonprofit journalism
• Digital magazine
• Southern politics
• Movement media
• Cultural criticism

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Grassroots donor support from individuals who contribute to the nonprofit publication's general operations
2. Foundation Grants: Support from foundations that provide substantial gifts to the publication
3. Merchandise Sales: Scalawag operates an online merchandise shop (scalawag-magazine-shop.fourthwall.com) selling branded items to supporters
4. Newsletter Membership: Readers can sign up for weekly newsletter with option to become supporting members

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Scalawag is a Southern, Black-led, digital-first journalism and storytelling organization that publishes articles, essays, poetry, and multimedia content focused on social justice, abolition, race, and Southern politics. The publication distributes content through its website at scalawagmagazine.org and via two newsletters (a weekly Friday roundup and the Pop Justice newsletter), and operates a branded merchandise store funded by individual donations, foundation grants, and merchandise sales.

Product overview

Scalawag is a single-product digital publication offering Southern, Black-led journalism and storytelling focused on social justice, abolition, and marginalized communities in the South. The core offering is the Scalawag Magazine digital publication, which publishes articles, essays, poetry, and multimedia content. The publication distributes content through its website and maintains reader engagement via two newsletters: the Weekly Newsletter (a roundup of Southern stories delivered every Friday) and the Pop Justice Newsletter (exploring popular culture through an abolitionist lens). The organization also operates a merchandise shop selling branded products through Fourthwall.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Most widely-shared piece of 2022: 'Left to hold my grief alone' on platonic love

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Movement Media Alliance (MMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Da'Shaun Harrison, houses projects including Media Against Apartheid & Displacement (MAAD), Communities Beyond Elections (CBE), and other collaborative media efforts. Strategic alliance for movement media coordination.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Marshall Project: Nonprofit, digitally native journalism outlet covering criminal justice from a reform-oriented perspective. Comparable to Scalawag as a movement-aligned, donor-funded investigative publication operating outside traditional media structures with similar grant-dependent revenue model.
• Prism Reports: Nonprofit newsroom led by and for people impacted by injustice, focused on structural inequality. Directly comparable to Scalawag in mission (movement journalism on racial and social justice), funding model (donor-supported), and audience (activists, organizers, progressives).
• The Appeal: Nonprofit, donor-funded journalism outlet covering criminal legal system, policing, and policy. Comparable to Scalawag in abolitionist/reform orientation, online-first publishing model, and reliance on individual donations and foundation grants.
• Type Investigations (formerly The Investigative Fund): Nonprofit investigative journalism outlet supporting reporters on systemic inequality stories. Comparable in being a donor-supported nonprofit newsroom producing long-form, mission-driven investigative content.
• The 19th News: Nonprofit, digitally native newsroom with a specific identity- and movement-aligned lens (women, LGBTQ+, intersectional). Comparable to Scalawag as a 501(c)(3) newsroom built around an underserved audience and funded by philanthropy.
• Truthout: Nonprofit, independent news organization publishing progressive analysis on politics, environment, and social justice. Comparable to Scalawag in mission, donor-supported nonprofit structure, online-first publishing, and movement-aligned content.
• Wear Your Voice Magazine: Independent Black and queer feminist digital magazine with movement-aligned editorial lens. Directly comparable to Scalawag in mission, audience, and nonprofit-style funding model; also shares prior employment connections with Scalawag leadership.
• Black Youth Project: Activist-oriented digital platform covering issues affecting young Black people, anchored at the University of Chicago. Comparable in movement journalism orientation, online-first delivery, and shared history with Scalawag through former staff overlap.

Broad incumbents

• ProPublica: The largest U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom. Comparable in nonprofit, donor-funded model covering systemic injustice, though at vastly greater scale and broader topical scope than Scalawag's Southern abolitionist focus.
• The Root: Black-culture and politics digital publication with strong editorial brand and broader audience scale. Comparable to Scalawag in centering Black perspectives and politics coverage; differs in being commercially operated and far larger in reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scalawagmag
• Facebookfacebook.com/scalawagmag
• Instagraminstagram.com/scalawagmagazine
• TikToktiktok.com/@scalawagmag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scalawag