As I wrote in early 2021, the CC Team unites and builds upon previous Staff efforts to develop and promote Community writing. 

It’s an invitation-only writer development program. Community writers work with an editor—typically me—to craft their stories, and they get paid to do it. We all work together in a dedicated Slack channel. It’s collaborative, challenging, compensated work for writers who already bring so much to the Community.

[In 2020,] we published over 320 stories together!

Oh, bless my heart: 320 sure seemed like a lot when I was the only one editing CC Team stories. But we quickly realized this program needed more than one editor if we really wanted to seize the day. So last summer, we added Senior Editor Emily Epstein White to the team. Remarkably, our growing team more than doubled its output in our second year: We published 789 stories together in 2021. I also teamed up with other members of our Content Division to put on our first Community Content workshop.

Additionally, Chitown Kev joined the CC Team last summer—an addition many of you were rooting for! 

The CC Team isn’t for everyone, of course; people have come and gone over the last two years, and people have also turned down my invitation to join the team. I think that reality made it that much more meaningful to me when, in December, we offered renewal offers to every 2021 member of the CC Team—and every single writer—Aldous J Pennyfarthing, Besame, Chitown Kev, Darrell Lucus, Dartagnan, Denise Oliver Velez, Doctor RJ, Ian Reifowitz, SemDem, and SquireForYou—accepted and is back in 2022.

Additionally, we’ve already added one new writer to the 2022 team so far. Let’s meet him!

Charles Jay

Community Contributor since 2022, joined Daily Kos in 2018

Charles admits he might be “among the longest lurkers on Daily Kos”; he’s long read the site “almost every day, starting with the 2004 presidential campaign,” though he didn’t finally sign up until after his retirement. Charles’ particular position in the world of journalism forced him to stifle his deeply held progressive beliefs, even on his own social media accounts. Since retiring, he’s determined to make up for lost time, and has cranked out over 300 stories in his nearly four years here, which include breaking news reporting, historical analysis of current events, and deep dives into the world of music. Unsurprisingly, I first met Charles in the comments of one of Denise’s iconic Black Music Sunday posts, and he’s continuously reached out for editorial feedback and to share stories with me over the last year-plus.

Be sure to check out Charles’ first CC story. It’s a unique piece that contrasts his personal experience during the 1968 Chicago police riots (and that of the Chicago Seven) against the Jan. 6 insurrection and the journeys of those who participated.

This year—Daily Kos’ 20th—we hope to provide even more support to Community writers and continue to grow the CC Team. Also new in 2022? We’re piloting the Daily Kos Emerging Fellows Program, which is designed to introduce and integrate new voices to the Daily Kos Community, and help amplify and develop passionate progressive writers who are new(er) to writing.

I can’t wait to introduce the Emerging Fellows to you next month, and hope you’ll welcome them with open arms, patience, and interest—just as you all welcomed me back in 2017.

Happy writing, dear Community, and thanks so much for being here.