About
Written by:
The App
OptOut is the first news aggregation app for exclusively independent media. The app, which launched in early 2022, unites independent outlets and gives news consumers a refreshing, fully independent media ecosystem—100% free from corporate media narratives.
Unlike most news apps, OptOut seamlessly integrates articles, podcasts, and videos from our more than 200 participating outlets. The news is hand-curated by journalists, not determined by profit-driven algorithms.
The app was developed by volunteers with the Progressive Coders Network, a nonprofit, nonpartisan progressive community of tech and non-tech activists building open-source tools to empower the grassroots and reduce the influence of big money in politics. Many thanks to our past and current team members: Kay Ablamsky, Taylor Beck, Jared Billig, Robert Diamond, Brian Ephraim, Reza Etezal, Kyle Feeley, Sema Hernandez, Lori Paulson, Stephen Scapelliti, Chris Sculnick, Matthew Smith, Rob Watson, Noah Williams, and Rebecca Vitale.
Jake Varghese, a talented developer, activist, and skilled policy wonk who built our initial backend, passed away in late 2021. We are grateful for his hard work. We miss you, Jake.
Editorial Team
OptOut News App Curators
- Liana DeMasi, journalist, MFA Fiction candidate, and OptOut LGBTQ+ editor
- Walker Bragman, OptOut co-founder, reporter
- Alex Kotch, OptOut co-founder and executive director, investigative reporter
- Jacqueline Keeler, author and founder, Pollen Nation Magazine
- Amanda Magnani, OptOut Climate editor
- Samira Asma-Sadeque, immigration reporter, poet, and OptOut New York editor
- Michael Sainato, labor reporter
We publish free newsletters with content from outlets in the OptOut network, as well as original reporting, analysis, and podcasts.
Newsletter Editors
- Samira Asma-Sadeque, It's Not You, It's the Subway (OptOut New York)
- Walker Bragman, OptOut News
- Liana DeMasi, OptOut LGBTQ+
- Alex Kotch, OptOut News
- Amanda Magnani, OptOut Climate
In the News
Nieman Journalism Lab: Apple News too corporate for you? Try this app
TRANSFORM with Marianne Williamson: OPT-OUT IN ORDER TO OPT IN
Means Morning News: What Is OptOut?
Brick House: New App Helps You Opt Out of Corporate Media
Power and Pop Culture: Opt In to OptOut: the New Independent News App
The Rational National: A New App For Independent Media
Ring of Fire: Fighting Corporate Narratives And Uniting Progressive Voices
The Foundation
OptOut is a project of the OptOut Media Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity founded by independent journalists Alex Kotch and Walker Bragman in 2020 and based in Brooklyn, NY.
Our mission is to educate the public about current events and help sustain a diverse media ecosystem by promoting and assisting independent news outlets and, in doing so, advance democracy and social justice.
Since we don’t run ads, this project is funded entirely by individual donations and foundation grants.
Please support us with a small, tax-deductible monthly or yearly contribution.
Board of Directors
- Walker Bragman, OptOut co-founder, reporter
- Maria Bustillos, founder of Brick House and Popula
- Mark Colangelo, digital strategist
- Alex Kotch, OptOut co-founder and executive director, investigative reporter
Thanks to Lawyers for Reporters, Morrison & Foerster, and Proskauer Rose for their pro bono legal assistance.
Why sign up?
Subscribe to receive free weekly newsletters full of great content from our participating media outlets, stay up-to-date on all OptOut developments, and take part in user surveys.
Why should I become a paid supporter?
OptOut is currently transitioning from a volunteer operation into a sustainable nonprofit charity. We need money to build out a staff to curate your news experience, evaluate outlets, continue improving the app, increase our editorial content, offer free services such as communications and podcast production to independent outlets with limited resources, and lots more. We also have to pay for web hosting, other tech development fees, design, marketing, and fundraising.
We need your help to make this happen so we can deliver 100% independent media to you every minute. All contributions are tax-deductible.
Become a Member for access to exclusive content and perks here.
Support us with a donation of any amount here.
Our Supporters
Since our founding, OptOut Media Foundation has raised money only from individual donations and foundations. OptOut discloses all donors who give $500 or more in a given year. See our donors here.