Outlet profile

TheGrio

U.S. center-left

Owned byAllen Media Group, the privately held media company controlled by entertainment mogul Byron Allen

FundingAdvertising revenue and corporate backing from Allen Media Group, a privately held company; no subscription paywall

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

theGrio launched in June 2009 as a digital news venture aimed at African American audiences, founded by the team behind the documentary 'Meeting David Wilson.' NBC News acquired full ownership in 2010 and folded it into MSNBC's digital operations by 2013. In 2014 it was sold back to its original founders, and in 2016 Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios (later renamed Allen Media Group) bought the outlet outright. Allen expanded the brand into television, launching theGrio TV as an over-the-air and streaming network targeting Black viewers, and in 2022 merged the bankrupt Black News Channel into theGrio TV. The site's name comes from 'griot,' the West African term for an oral historian and storyteller, reflecting its focus on Black history, culture, and current affairs. Editorially, theGrio mixes straight news reporting with opinion pieces that consistently foreground how policies and events affect Black Americans, and it has been a vocal critic of Trump-era policies on immigration, healthcare, voting rights, and press access. As a Byron Allen property, it operates within a larger for-profit media conglomerate that also owns local TV stations and other cable networks, rather than as a nonprofit or advocacy organization.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-09-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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