A mountain of debt at the voting rights organization of Stacey Abrams has resuIted in dozens of layoffs as the former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and election denier struggles to keep her pet project afloat. News of Abrams’ plight, first reported by the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, comes as Fair Fight, founded in the wake of her 2018 loss, faces a restructuring of its $2.5 million in debt. Finance records indicate Fair Fight has just $1.9 million in cash on hand.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, a top aide to Abrams during her second run for governor in 2021, said in an interview she will be returning to manage the cuts, which amount to between 25 and 75 percent of all staff.
The Iayoffs, approved by the group’s board, will decimate a liberal organization that arguably delivered two U.S. Senate seats for Democrats and helped President Joe Biden narrowly win Georgia in 2020. Fair Fight has raised more than $100 million since its inception.
Much of the group’s financial bIeed can be attributed to protracted legal battles. After True the Vote, a conservative voter organization, attempted in 2020 to throw out 250,000 voter registrations, Fair Fight pursued a court battle for more than three years.
Last week a federal court ruled against Fair Fight. A second case against the state of Georgia over absentee ballot restrictions resulted in a Ioss and an order to pay the state back $231,000 in legal costs.
What happened to Ann Curry after a 25-year career at NBC News?
What happened to Ann Curry?
The veteran journalist, who celebrates her 67th birthday on November 19, has remained relatively quiet since she was forced out of her job at Today in 2012 and later, NBC News in 2015.
Despite her name no longer appearing in the headlines, Curry continues to work in the field of journalism.
Curry, the eldest of five, was born in Guam to Hiroe Nagase and Robert Paul “Bob” Curry. As a child she spent several years living in Japan before her family moved to Oregon where she attended high school and would later attend and graduate from college.
She began her broadcasting career in 1978 as an intern at KTVL, then an NBC affiliate in Oregon. After succeeding as an intern she was promoted to become the station’s first female news reporter.
Two years into her career she moved to KGW in Portland where she worked as both an anchor and reporter. She later moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a reporter for a CBS affiliate for six years.
During that time she won two Emmy Awards for her work.
Career at NBC News
In 1990, Curry began her career at NBC News.
She began as an NBC News Chicago correspondent before securing a job as an anchor on the now defunct show, NBC News at Sunrise. During her five-year stint as an anchor on the morning show, she also filled in for Today‘s Matt Lauer.
In 1997 she was promoted to news anchor on Today and held the position from 1997 to 2011.
In addition to reading the news on Today, Curry was named co-anchor of Dateline NBC in 2005, and she was the main substitute on NBC Nightly News from 2005 to 2011.
Regardless of her accolades or coverage of hard news stories, in June 2012, Curry found herself out of a job.
Her departure was emotional and public, and it was never very clear the reason behind her leaving Today.
While she no longer sat next to Matt Lauer, she remained with NBC News, but only until January 2015.
Life after NBC News
Following her 25-year career with NBC News, Curry slowed down, but made no less of an impact with her reporting.
She founded a multi-platform media company, reported and produced the PBS series We’ll Meet Again, gave a TED Talk about restoring trust in journalism, and hosted TNT’s Chasing the Cure.
In 2022, Curry received the Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. The university recognized her work “on human suffering in war zones and natural disasters through her work as an American journalist, photojournalist, and reporter.”
Most recently, Curry sat down with Min Jin Lee, author of “Pachinko,” for PBS Arts Talk.
And while Curry has kept posting to a bare minimum on social media, after a year and a half absence, she returned to share a wintry photo.
“Good morning world. Keep safe and cozy. ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep…’” she wrote before disappearing again.
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