The Intercept is announcing the appointment of Ben Muessig to the role of editor-in-chief, effective immediately. Muessig, who has been serving in the role in an interim capacity, will lead the organization’s editorial operations and set the strategic vision for coverage. Muessig joined The Intercept in April 2024; prior to that, he served as the assistant managing editor for storytelling at the Los Angeles Times.
“It is a privilege to work with the incredible journalists who make The Intercept such a critical check on power and those who hold it,” Muessig said. “The world needs aggressive and incisive investigative reporting now more than ever.”
As interim editor-in-chief, Muessig has overseen exceptional stories, including the first in-depth examination of AIPAC’s extensive influence over congressional races; the impossibility of accessing adequate medical care in Gaza, such as one patient’s quest to get critically needed HIV medication; a deep dive on the dark money that conservative megadonor Leonard Leo is pouring into law schools; and a scoop about changes to Meta’s content moderation rules that will allow hate speech to proliferate on its platforms. Fearless coverage like this has helped The Intercept achieve unprecedented fundraising success in 2024, setting new records in membership growth while also significantly expanding its base of major donors.
“In an era when powerful institutions seek to constrain public discourse, The Intercept’s mission has never been more vital,” said Annie Chabel, CEO of The Intercept. “Ben will lead the newsroom in producing journalism that challenges power and galvanizes support from our readers so that we can strengthen our organization’s foundation for the long term.”
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
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