The Young Turks needed a new studio, so 3,672 of the online (and sometimes cable television) newscast’s supporters contributed a cumulative $402,950 to help them build one.
The popular internet news network headlined by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian and in possession of over 1.3 million YouTube subscribers and 1.2 billion YouTube views took to Indiegogo in early October 2013 to start soliciting contributions for new digs. Uygur, Kasparian, and company called a studio space at Current TV home for the better part of the last two years, but when Al Jazeera purchased Al Gore’s greatest investment ever, it was soon made clear The Young Turks and its outspoken voice wasn’t going to mesh well with the new network’s more straight-down-the-middle news coverage. So, the team needed a new place to shoot.
The Young Turks originally set out to raise $250,000, but blew by that goal with about a week to spare. Still, all the members of the news team and its behind-the-camera crew banded together for a 24-hour LIVE Turk-A-Thon Extravaganza in order to raise more funds to make the best studio possible that could “stand up to all the other mainstream networks out there.” The Thon (in addition to perks like $15,000 for naming rights to a Young Turks conference room) helped push the campaign past the $400,000 mark.
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The cash will be put straight to work in helping to find and then build The Young Turks a new, permanent home. Until then, they’ve set up shop at the YouTube Space LA and a temporary facility in the Los Angeles area to bring all of its funders and fans the independent and unfiltered daily news coverage they’ve come to expect.
