Hersey students lead libertarian news start-up
Two Hersey High School students are at the head of a new libertarian news service to compete in what they see as a polarized media landscape.
Ryan Manthy, 15, and Maxwell Hessling, 16, both Arlington Heights residents, serve as the president and the chief financial officer, respectively, of 71 Republic, LLC.
The website primarily covers topics related to the Libertarian Party (the company name refers to the year of the party's formation, 1971) and publishes editorial content advocating libertarian causes.
The publication, which refers to itself as part of a new "counter culture," is intended to combat what Hessling and Manthy see as an exclusion of libertarianism from mainstream news media.
71 Republic grew out of Manthy and co-creator and CEO Mathew Geiger's attempts to build a libertarian presence in the media. Geiger, a 16-year-old living in rural North Carolina, decided along with Manthy to use the former's connections to the Libertarian Party as the focal point of a new publication focused on libertarian politics. Hessling joined as CFO in May; the site launched in early June.
Manthy said his vision is to be a high quality news source that provides up-to-date libertarian news that other sites can't provide.
At present, 71 Republic has 20 contributors in three countries, who include a Libertarian Party representative in the Maryland legislature and numerous high school students, including another Arlington Heights teen.
The contributors, who Hessling and Manthy describe as journalists, are required to provide a 1,000-word editorial on why capitalism works and take part in an hourlong interview where their political views are discussed. Despite this, the duo said their intent is to remain nonpartisan.
The site currently receives around 3,000 views a week and has amassed an audience on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. It has also partnered with The Scoop, a libertarian digital news startup meant to compete with other digital news platforms like Now This.
Manthy and Hessling hope to see their startup acquired by a media conglomerate like Viacom, with the ultimate goal of cultivating an "alternative market" for the news media. They do, however, admit these are lofty goals.
• The writer, Joshua Ivine, is a Hersey High School senior planning to pursue a career in journalism.