Today on a Substack Live with Common Power Executive Director Charles Douglas, we revealed some news we wanted you to hear before anyone else: I’m joining Common Power as its Chief Media & Technology Officer.
If you don’t know Common Power, it’s a voter turnout organization that mobilizes volunteers nationwide. Over the past four years, its volunteers have reached more than 2 million voters, not by lecturing them, but by knocking doors and actually listening. They work to persuade people and shape elections.
Common Power also runs a civic education-to-action pipeline, including its Action Academy, where I’ve lectured college students on media literacy for years. I built the app its volunteers use to organize, and in 2024, I led a team of door-knockers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I’ve seen this work from every side, and now I’ll be helping to lead the organization’s media and technology strategy.
Here’s what isn’t changing: Ahmed Baba News as an independent publication isn’t going anywhere. You’ll still get the newsletter, my analysis, my cable news appearances, and my lives with Don Lemon, James Matthewson, and my other media friends. If anything, you’ll see more of me, not less, as I ramp up some really cool pro-democracy media projects with Common Power. More details on that soon.
After more than a decade of covering authoritarianism, I want to be more directly involved in beating it. Early next week, I’ll share the full story in a video: why this move, why now, and why this organization. For now, thank you for backing my pro-democracy work thus far, and I look forward to doing so much more. Let’s get to work!
