Task & Purpose

Task & Purpose

Type	Defense news publication
Format	Website
Owner(s)	North Equity LLC
Founder(s)	Zachary Iscol, Brian Jones, and Lauren Katzenberg
Editor-in-chief	Marty Skovlund Jr.
Founded	2014
Headquarters	New York, NY
Website	taskandpurpose.com

Task & Purpose is an American online publication founded in 2014 which covers the United States Armed Forces and the defense industry. They serve millions of readers monthly.^[1]

History

Task & Purpose was founded in 2014 by Zachary Iscol, Brian Jones, and Lauren Katzenberg.^[2] The company grew out of the job board HirePurpose and its content originally had a focus on helping soldiers transition back to civilian life.^[3]

In 2018 managing editor Adam Weinstein resigned after CEO Zachary Iscol requested that he change the title of a ProPublica investigation into undue influence over the Department of Veterans Affairs featured on the site.^[1] Weinstein contended that Iscol strongly disagreed with both the title and the factual accuracy of the reporting done by ProPublica which Weinstein felt was undue influence on the publication's editorial independence. Weinstein also said that this was not the first time that management, specifically Iscol, had interfered in the editorial process in an effort to make the publication appealing to more conservative readers.^[4]

In October 2018, Paul Szoldra was named the editor-in-chief. Szoldra is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and the founder of the popular military satire website The DuffelBlog.^[5]

In 2019, Task & Purpose broke the story that eight of the Navy staff involved in the Eddie Gallagher trial had been awarded the Navy Achievement Medal. Following the reporting President Trump ordered the medals rescinded.^[6]

In October 2020, Task & Purpose was acquired by North Equity LLC.^[7]

In March 2021, James Clark was promoted to deputy editor of Task & Purpose. Clark had been with the publication for over six years.^[8]

In November of 2022, Marty Skovlund Jr. was named the editor-in-chief. Marty is an Army veteran and served as an Army Ranger with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He has five combat deployments. He was one of the original contributors to Task & Purpose and was the founding editor of Coffee or Die.

Significant works

A 2018 article titled "‘They didn’t have to kill him’: The death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley" by author Aaron Gell was later made into the movie "Breaking" starring John Boyega and the late Michael K. Williams.^[9][10]

Contributing authors

More than 500 contributing authors have published work in Task & Purpose. These authors have been a mix of active military, retired military, and civilian. Notable authors who have contributed work to Task & Purpose include President Barack Obama and the late Senator John McCain.^[2]

See also

• Defense News

References

1. Nover, Scott. "A Popular Military Website Is Attacked From the Right". www.theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
2. "About Task & Purpose". taskandpurpose.com. Task & Purspose. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
3. BILTON, RICARDO. "From jobs to journalism: Task & Purpose is finding a niche reporting on veterans' issues". niemanlab.org. Nieman Lab. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
4. Levine, Jon. "Military Veterans' News Site's Top Editor Quits, Says He Faced Pressure to Be 'Less Liberal'". www.thewrap.com. The Wrap. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
5. "Meet Paul Szoldra, The New Editor In Chief Of Task & Purpose". Task & Purpose. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
6. Mangan, Dan. "Trump orders Navy to rescind awards given to prosecutors of SEAL Eddie Gallagher". cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
7. "North Equity Acquires Task & Purpose to Expand its Digital Media Footprint in Military - North Equity". www.northequity.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02.
8. "We're making some exciting moves at Task & Purpose". Task & Purpose. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
9. ‘They didn’t have to kill him’: The death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley
10. Kenny, Glenn (2022-08-25). "'Breaking' Review: A Bank Holdup by an Ex-Marine, for Benefits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-25.