Media Company Employees Demand ‘Blue Lives Matter’ Website Be Shut Down

Employees of Maven Media Brands, the parent company of Sports Illustrated (as well as other digital media outlets) are demanding the company shut down “Blue Lives Matter,” a Maven media website dedicated to reporting on law enforcement and other defense issues.

Maven is a major player in the print and online publishing world and has more than 300 titles within its lexicon, including not just Sports Illustrated and Blue Lives Matter, but also Maxim, Yoga Journal, and SKI Magazine, per GeekWire.

But last Friday, the Daily Beast reports, employees of Maven banded together to pressure the company to either shut down or divest itself of “Blue Lives Matter” out of concern that the website pushes controversial ideas, particularly as “Black Lives Matter” protesters took to the streets in droves to demonstrate against police brutality, in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

“In an all-staff meeting on Friday, Maven announced that it will institute a 15-percent salary reduction across the organization as part of cost-saving measures as a result of the collapse of the digital advertising market following the spread of the coronavirus,” the Daily Beast reported. “While staffers were upset about the latest round of cuts, many raised another concern: The company’s continued affiliation with Defense Maven, a website also known as Blue Lives Matter.”

Blue Lives Matter, also known as “Defense Maven,” presents “police-related news almost exclusively from an overtly pro-cop perspective,” and is regularly cited by law enforcement officials on social media. The site covers police almost exclusively and is recently credited with reporting a number of attacks on cops that happened during last week’s protests and ensuing riots.

In a recent example, Blue Lives Matter reported that several Georgia police officers were targeted, followed home, and attacked, well before the story hit mainstream news sources.

“In a chat accompanying the virtual meeting,” Daily Beast said, “staffers called the website ’embarrassing,’ ‘a disgrace,’ and ‘horrible,’ saying many of the comments were overtly racist ‘with no monitoring,’ and noting how the site’s loose editorial restrictions allow factually incorrect information to go unchecked.”

The group said they were not asking higher-ups at Maven to have a “discussion” about the site, but rather to remove the site or be prepared to explain why Blue Lives Matter remains in operation.

On Tuesday, the site posted an open letter to readers announcing a “temporary step back” from operations.

“[W]e joined Maven because we bought into the vision that diverse voices on the issues should come together into a civilized coalition of professionals, so consumers could participate in meaningful and respectful discussions and learn from reading stories from every possible point of view. Outside forces have ruined the opportunity for our community,” the note read.

“As a result,” the letter continued, “we are taking a temporary step back on the website and are making new plans and tactics to move forward and fulfill our original vision and mission. Our plan is to return on a separate platform, but with a new name, new controls on community moderation, and a new focus on guardrails to allow for free but civil speech.”

The site said it would be hiring volunteer moderators when it returns.

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