John K. Byrne

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John Byrne
Born (1981-03-24) March 24, 1981 (age 40)
New York City, New York, U.S.A.
OccupationPublisher, writer

John K. Byrne (born March 24, 1981) is an American publisher and writer. He is co-owner of Raw Story Media and AlterNet Media, which publish the online progressive political news sites RawStory.com and AlterNet.org respectively.[1] Prior to Raw Story, he wrote briefly for The Boston Globe and McClatchy Newspapers and has been published in The Atlantic.[2]

Early life and education[]

Byrne was raised in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts by Cathy and Jeffrey Byrne. Cathy Byrne is a circuit judge of the Massachusetts District Courts and Jeffrey Byrne is a family physician.[3][4]

Byrne attended Concord Academy and graduated from Oberlin College in 2003. At Oberlin College, he founded The Grape, which remains the college’s alternative student newspaper.[5] He was also editor of the Oberlin Review, where he wrote an exposé about steroid abuse on the football team.[6]

Career[]

During college, Byrne worked as a stringer for The Boston Globe Northwest, a discontinued suburban section of the newspaper, and for McClatchy Newspapers as an intern in Washington, DC.[7]

Byrne founded RawStory.com, which was first published on February 1, 2004.[8] The site was originally conceived as a liberal version of the Drudge Report. In the early years, Raw Story focused on reporting on anti-gay political figures who were themselves closeted gays. Byrne founded Raw Story when he was 23.[9] In 2010, Byrne stepped down as editor of Raw Story. He remains the company's CEO.[10]

Byrne and his business partner, Michael Rogers, acquired the progressive news website AlterNet from the nonprofit Independent Media Institute.[11]

Outing of political figures[]

Byrne and Rogers outed as gay numerous politicians and political staff who voted or advocated against gay rights in the mid-2000s. Among the first was former Republican Congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA).[12]

HIV prevention advocacy[]

In 2015, Byrne began advocating for the promotion of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) after a false positive HIV test.[13] His first campaign on South Beach was covered by The Miami Herald, “I AM PrEP,” in November 2015, which involved posters created for bars and clubs and brochures for health centers.[14] CBS News 4 Miami covered his PrEP advocacy in March 2017.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Raw Story (15 September 2010). "Masthead". RawStory.com. Raw Story Media. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. ^ Byrne, John (1 December 2015). "When Condoms Aren't Enough". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  3. ^ Ballotpedia. "Catherine K. Byrne". Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. ^ Chelmsford Family Practice. "Jeffrey Byrne, M.D." ChelmsfordFamily.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ^ Issuu. "The Grape". Issuu.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ^ Boeglin, Rosemary (25 April 2014). "John Byrne, OC '03, Former Editor-in-Chief of the Review, and Founder of The Grape and The Raw Story". The Oberlin Review. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. ^ Boston Globe. "Globe Northwest". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. ^ Byrne, John. "The Editors' Blog". RawStory.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2004. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  9. ^ Ireland, Doug (23 September 2004). "The Outing". LA Weekly. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  10. ^ Raw Story (15 September 2010). "Masthead". RawStory.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  11. ^ O'Reilly, Lara (10 April 2018). "CMO Today: Zuckerberg's Congress Hearing; P&G to Build Cross-Holding Company Creative Agency; Movie Theaters Go Upmarket". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Johnson, Margaret (2010-09-16). "A history of political gay-baiting". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  13. ^ Byrne, John (1 December 2015). "When Condoms Aren't Enough". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  14. ^ Rothaus, Steve (13 November 2015). "Facebook album: 'I Am PrEP' HIV prevention campaign launches in South Beach". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  15. ^ Florida Department of Health in Broward County (20 March 2017). "HIV Activist Becomes Advocate For PrEP". CBS Miami. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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