The FEC Office of General Counsel has released the draft of its recommended opinion (2005-16) in response to the request of Fired Up. The draft concludes that Fired Up, which operates a website in Missouri and other states to offer "unabashedly progressive" news and commentary, qualifies for the "press exemption."  The draft states, in relevant part:

An examination of Fired Up's websites reveals that a primary function of the websites is to provide news and information to readers through Fired Up's commentary on, quotes from, summaries of, and hyperlinks to news articles appearing on other entities' websites and through Fired Up's original reporting.  Fired Up retains editorial control over the content displayed on its websites, much as newspaper or magazine editors determine which news stories, commentaries, and editorials appear in their own publications….

The Commission notes that an entity otherwise eligible for the press exception would not lose its eligibility merely because of a lack of objectivity in a news story, commentary, or editorial, even if the news story, commentary, or editorial expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for Federal office.

     The full draft may be found here.

Bob Bauer