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Undid revision 819817849 by Epipelagic (talk) the only thing silly is how far some people are willing to go to deny their double standard when it comes to fellow "progressives".
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{{Denial of Mass Killings}}


'''Cenk Kadir Uygur''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|ŋ|k|_|ˈ|juː|g|ər}}; {{IPA-tr|ˈdʒɛɲc ˈujɡur|lang}}; born March 21, 1970) is a [[Turkish Americans|Turkish-American]] [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] [[Political Activist|political activist]], businessman, [[columnist]], and [[political commentator]]. Uygur is the main host and creator of ''[[The Young Turks]]'' (''TYT''), an American progressive [[left-wing]] political and social commentary program. Before beginning his career as a political commentator, he worked briefly as an associate attorney in [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[New York City]]. As a young man, Uygur supported socially conservative views, criticizing abortion, affirmative action, and feminism. However, over time he transitioned away from those views;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thedailybanter.com/2014/01/10-questions-with-cenk-uygur/|title=Cenk Uygur Finally Opens Up About Keith Olbermann: "He's Clearly Got Clinical Issues"|author=Bryce Rudow|work=The Daily Banter|date=January 30, 2014 |accessdate=December 9, 2016}}</ref> he is now a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]].<ref name="Progressive">{{cite journal|last=Rampell|first=Ed|title=Cenk Uygur|journal=The Progressive|volume=76|issue=8|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-299257454/cenk-uygur|accessdate=June 30, 2013}}</ref><ref name="upi.com">{{cite news|title=Cenk Uygur bringing Young Turks to TV|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2011/09/20/Cenk-Uygur-bringing-Young-Turks-to-TV/UPI-47921316531009/|agency=United Press International|date=September 20, 2011}}</ref>
'''Cenk Kadir Uygur''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|ŋ|k|_|ˈ|juː|g|ər}}; {{IPA-tr|ˈdʒɛɲc ˈujɡur|lang}}; born March 21, 1970) is a [[Turkish Americans|Turkish-American]] [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] [[Political Activist|political activist]], businessman, [[columnist]], and [[political commentator]]. Uygur is the main host and creator of ''[[The Young Turks]]'' (''TYT''), an American progressive [[left-wing]] political and social commentary program. Before beginning his career as a political commentator, he worked briefly as an associate attorney in [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[New York City]]. As a young man, Uygur supported socially conservative views, criticizing abortion, affirmative action, and feminism. However, over time he transitioned away from those views;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thedailybanter.com/2014/01/10-questions-with-cenk-uygur/|title=Cenk Uygur Finally Opens Up About Keith Olbermann: "He's Clearly Got Clinical Issues"|author=Bryce Rudow|work=The Daily Banter|date=January 30, 2014 |accessdate=December 9, 2016}}</ref> he is now a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]].<ref name="Progressive">{{cite journal|last=Rampell|first=Ed|title=Cenk Uygur|journal=The Progressive|volume=76|issue=8|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-299257454/cenk-uygur|accessdate=June 30, 2013}}</ref><ref name="upi.com">{{cite news|title=Cenk Uygur bringing Young Turks to TV|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2011/09/20/Cenk-Uygur-bringing-Young-Turks-to-TV/UPI-47921316531009/|agency=United Press International|date=September 20, 2011}}</ref>

Revision as of 17:24, 11 January 2018

Cenk Uygur
Born
Cenk Kadir Uygur

(1970-03-21) March 21, 1970 (age 54)
Istanbul, Turkey
CitizenshipTurkey
United States
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania (B.S.)
Columbia University (J.D.)
Occupations
  • Activist
  • columnist
  • entrepreneur
  • political pundit
Known forThe Young Turks
TelevisionMSNBC (2010–2011)
Current TV (2011–2013)
Political partyRepublican (before 2000)[1]
Independent (2000–2016)
Democratic (2016–present)
MovementProgressive
SpouseWendy Lang
Children2
AwardsThe Humanist Media Award
Emperor Has No Clothes Award
Part of a series on
Denial of mass killings
Instances of denial
Scholarly controversy over mass killings
Related topics

Cenk Kadir Uygur (/ˈdʒɛŋk ˈjuːɡər/; Turkish: [ˈdʒɛɲc ˈujɡur]; born March 21, 1970) is a Turkish-American progressive political activist, businessman, columnist, and political commentator. Uygur is the main host and creator of The Young Turks (TYT), an American progressive left-wing political and social commentary program. Before beginning his career as a political commentator, he worked briefly as an associate attorney in Washington, D.C. and New York City. As a young man, Uygur supported socially conservative views, criticizing abortion, affirmative action, and feminism. However, over time he transitioned away from those views;[2] he is now a progressive.[3][4]

In addition to hosting TYT, Uygur appeared on MSNBC as a political commentator. From January to June 2011, he hosted a weeknight commentary show on the network; Uygur was replaced by Al Sharpton.[5] After leaving MSNBC, he secured another weeknight commentary show on Current TV, which aired from December 5, 2011 to August 15, 2013.[6] From 2012 to 2013, Uygur was the chief news officer at Current TV, succeeding Keith Olbermann.[7][8]

Early life, education, and career

Uygur was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and emigrated with his family when he was eight years old.[9] He spent his adolescence in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and graduated from East Brunswick High School. Uygur was raised in a secular muslim household, however later became more religious during his early college years before becoming agnostic. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in management[10] and was on the Student Activities Council representing the Turkish Students Association.[11] He then received a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School[12] and worked as an associate attorney at the law firms of Drinker Biddle & Reath in Washington, D.C. and Hayes & Liebman in New York City.[13]

Uygur first appeared as a talk show host on a weekend radio show on WWRC in Washington, D.C. and on WRKO in Boston. He later wrote for, produced, and appeared on the WAMI-TV news show The Times in Miami, then started The Young Turks on Sirius Satellite Radio.[14]

Political views

In his college and law school years, Uygur espoused politically conservative views. He wrote a column in The Daily Pennsylvanian criticizing Penn's practice of affirmative action.[10] He supported the "pro-life" position on the abortion issue, criticized feminism, and argued that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was treated unjustly during his Senate confirmation hearings,[15] however since then he has reversed these positions and is now ardently "pro-choice."[16] He also criticized organized religion as based on mythology and as a divisive force between people.[17]

Uygur with Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally.

In 1991 Uygur wrote an article on The Daily Pennsylvanian in which he expressed the opinion that the genocide of Armenians during the late stages of the Ottoman Empire did not in fact constitute genocide,[18] a view he repeated in a letter to the editor of Salon in 1999.[19] In a blog post in April 2016, he rescinded the statements. He went on to claim that he does not know enough today to comment on it.[20] As of 2017, his full acceptance of the term "genocide" was indicated in the main TYT program first on September 6 when he referred to it as the Armenian genocide[21] while discussing Myanmar's Muslim genocide, and then again in the main TYT program on November 29 while discussing the in court suicide of war criminal Slobodan Praljak, he again referred to it as the Armenian genocide twice.[22]

Uygur slowly transitioned away from the Republican Party and he said that the decision to invade Iraq was a "seminal moment" in that transition.[23] He is now a progressive.[3][4] On national security and civil liberties issues, Uygur has strongly opposed the practices begun under the Bush administration, of indefinite detention, warrantless wiretapping and extraordinary rendition, and believes that waterboarding is an illegal torture technique. Uygur has been a strong critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing Israeli government and has stated that he is an advocate for a two-state solution in the West Bank and has repeatedly criticized the Israeli government for its failure to materialize.[24] He has also repeatedly criticized former Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[25]

Uygur supported Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders for president in the 2016 election. Just before the election, Uygur announced his intention to vote for the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Young Turks

Uygur hosting The Young Turks in 2015.
Main article: The Young Turks

Uygur created the talk show The Young Turks with the goal of starting a liberal-leaning political and entertainment show.[7][26] It launched on February 14, 2002. It later became a success online, and aired on the Sirius Satellite Radio network.[27] The Young Turks claims to be the first Internet video news show and states that it is now the largest online news show in the world.[when?] Collectively it has amassed over seven billion views on YouTube, and over three million subscribers.[28] Video of the show is streamed daily on its website and is available as a podcast.[29][30]

On September 20, 2011, Current TV announced that The Young Turks would launch a weeknight TV edition of the show at 7 p.m. EST (M-F) on the network beginning sometime in the fourth quarter of 2011. According to the show's website, the show was introduced as The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur to differentiate itself from the popular web series.[31] The show on Current TV ended on August 15, 2013 with the end of all live programming on Current.#

Incident at the 2016 Republican National Convention

In July 2016, Uguyr lost his temper when confronted on air by InfoWars host Alex Jones at the 2016 Republican National Convention after Jones walked on to The Young Turks' set. TYT contributor Jimmy Dore spat in Jone's face during the incident. [32][33]

MSNBC

On October 21, 2010 MSNBC announced that Uygur had been officially hired as a contributor and substitute anchor for the network. On January 21, 2011, it was announced that Uygur would be hosting the 6 p.m. Eastern slot on MSNBC as the anchor of a new prime time edition of MSNBC Live, after the network parted ways with Keith Olbermann, resulting in a rearrangement of the time slots of MSNBC's other prime time shows. Uygur filled the time slot vacated by Ed Schultz,[34][35] from late January through June 2011, earning first among people 18–34 in the second quarter. His contract was ended when he did not accept a lower profile weekend slot.[5] An MSNBC spokesperson expressed regret at Uygur's leaving.[36]

Uygur gave his side of the story on Democracy Now!, saying that MSNBC President Phil Griffin had called him into his office in April and told him that he had been talking to people in Washington and that they did not like Uygur's tone.[37] MSNBC denied the claim, saying that "We did have numerous conversations with Cenk about his style, not substance."[38]

Wolf-PAC

Uygur speaking at the People's Climate March in Washington, D.C. in April 2017.
Main article: Wolf-PAC

In late 2011, after seeing the momentum of Occupy Wall Street, Uygur decided to launch a long term project, a political action committee named Wolf-PAC. Wolf-PAC aims to lobby state legislators to pass resolutions calling for a Convention of the States under Article V of the US Constitution. Its slogan is "A super-PAC to end all super-PACs". The aim of the convention would be to pass an amendment to the United States Constitution that would end corporate personhood and publicly finance all elections in the United States.[39]

Justice Democrats

In January 2017, three days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Uygur announced the formation of the Justice Democrats.[40][41] The group seeks to steer the Democratic Party in the progressive, social democratic direction espoused by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. They do this by running candidates in primaries against centrist and right wing democrats, often called 'corporate Democrats', such as Joe Manchin, Claire McCaskill, and Dianne Feinstein.

Resignation

Uygur resigned from his position in Justice Democrats on December 22, 2017 after the discovery of blog posts he had written in the early 2000s which were described as "disturbingly sexist and racist".[42] Uygur apologized for the posts and said he had written them when he was a conservative, stating: "If you read that today, what I wrote 18 years ago, and you’re offended by it, you’re 100 percent right. And anyone who is subjected to that material, I apologize to. And I deeply regret having written that stuff when I was a different guy."[43]

Personal life

Uygur was born and raised in a Muslim family, but is now a self-described "fervent agnostic", and has also self-described as an atheist.[44][45][46][47] In 2010, along with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Uygur accepted the "Emperor Has No Clothes Award" from the Freedom From Religion Foundation and later the Humanist Media Award from the American Humanist Association.[48][49]

He is married to Wendy Lang, a marriage and family therapist, and they have two children.[50][51]

References

  1. ^ Cenk Uygur Goes #OffTheGrid – Jesse Ventura Off The Grid – Ora TV. YouTube. April 10, 2014.
  2. ^ Bryce Rudow (January 30, 2014). "Cenk Uygur Finally Opens Up About Keith Olbermann: "He's Clearly Got Clinical Issues"". The Daily Banter. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Rampell, Ed. "Cenk Uygur". The Progressive. 76 (8). Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Cenk Uygur bringing Young Turks to TV". United Press International. September 20, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Brian Stelter (July 20, 2011). "Sharpton Appears to Win Anchor Spot on MSNBC". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Stelter, Brian (September 20, 2011). "Current TV Hires Cenk Uygur". The New York Times.
  7. ^ a b Madlena, Chavala (April 26, 2010). "Cenk Uygur on the success of The Young Turks". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  8. ^ Hammer, Andrea K. (May 25, 2010). "Hey, How'd You Draw 250 Million Viewers to Your Web Show, The Young Turks?". Retrieved May 26, 2010. On January 21, 2010, MSNBC announced he would be substitute hosting a one-hour news show for the station at 6 P.M. Eastern on weeknights Mediabistro.com
  9. ^ "Coming to America!". The Young Turks. YouTube. June 14, 2007. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  10. ^ a b Cenk Uygur (October 18, 1991). "Where are the White Christians?". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  11. ^ Drew W Zoller (April 25, 1991). "Turk, Armenian dispute raised at SAC". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  12. ^ "Cenk Uygur". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  13. ^ Siddiqi, Ayesha R. (April 9, 2010). "Interview with Huffington Post's Cenk Uygur". Diskord. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Uygur, Cenk (c. 2007). "User Profile for Cenk Uygur (cuygur)". Confabb. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  15. ^ Cenk Uygur (November 8, 1991). "For Feminists". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  16. ^ "Cenk - Stand Up For Pro-Choice Position". The Young Turks.
  17. ^ Cenk Uygur (December 5, 1991). "A Federation of Humanity". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  18. ^ Uygur, Cenk (November 20, 1991). "Historical Fact or Falsehood?". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Letters to the Editor". Salon.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "Rescinding Daily Pennsylvanian Article". TYT Network. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  21. ^ The Young Turks. (2017, September 6). Myanmar's Muslim genocide [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNzucJGfYGc. Uygur refers to the Armenian genocide at 3:05, and again at 4:09
  22. ^ The Young Turks. (2017, November 29). War criminal commits suicide in court [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk1v2Me1bKw. Uygur refers to the Armenian genocide at 3:09 and again at 4:35-5:09.
  23. ^ Bryce Rudow (January 30, 2014). "Cenk Uygur Finally Opens Up About Keith Olbermann: "He's Clearly Got Clinical Issues"". The Daily Banter. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  24. ^ Breakdown of Netanyahu's Appearance in US Congress on YouTube
  25. ^ "Conservatives Win In Canada Elections". The Young Turks. YouTube. May 3, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  26. ^ Stein, Sam (August 19, 2011). "'Professional Left' Saga Says More About Media Than Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  27. ^ Tina Dupuy, "Cenk Uygur Sets Out to Take Down Traditional Television" Fast Company (December 1, 2009). Retrieved March 9, 2011
  28. ^ TYT Network Passes 5 MILLION Subscribers (Video). YouTube. January 31, 2016.
  29. ^ "The Young Turks: Rebel Headquarters : News : Politics : Commentary". Archived from the original on March 1, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "The Young Turks: Welcome to The Young Turks Podcasting : News : Politics : Commentary". Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "Cenk Uygur at the RNC & DNC". July 5, 2016.
  32. ^ http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/07/21/alex-jones-jimmy-dore-spit-face/
  33. ^ https://www.rt.com/usa/352625-alex-jones-convention-young-turks/
  34. ^ "Keith Olbermann leaves MSNBC, speculation follows". The Washington Post. January 4, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  35. ^ "Cenk Uygur Exits MSNBC" "Hollywood Reporter" (July 20, 2011). Retrieved July 21, 2011
  36. ^ "Cenk Uygur, host of "MSNBC Live" since January, will be leaving MSNBC after declining a shift to another timeslot". Reuters. July 20, 2011.
  37. ^ "Cenk Uygur Leaves MSNBC After Being Told to 'Act Like an Insider'". Democracy Now!. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  38. ^ Mark Joyella (July 21, 2011). "MSNBC calls Cenk Uygur's Version of Departure 'Completely Baseless'". Mediaite. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  39. ^ "The Plan". Wolf PAC. Retrieved February 26, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ "Progressives launch 'Justice Democrats' to counter party's 'corporate' legislators".
  41. ^ "Cenk Uygur Launches A "New Wing" Of Democratic Party: Justice Democrats".
  42. ^ Justice Democrats [@justicedems] (December 22, 2017). "We are deeply disturbed by recent news regarding @cenkuygur & David Koller. Their language and conduct is horrifying and does not reflect our values at Justice Democrats. We would be hypocrites to not act immediately and ask for their resignation. Here is our official statement:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  43. ^ Concha, Joe (December 22, 2017). "'Young Turks' founder apologizes for 'ignorant' past blog posts about women". The Hill. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  44. ^ Uygur, Cenk (April 29, 2008). "Six Degrees of Barack Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2011. I am a fervent agnostic. I have argued vehemently against religion .... I went to school in Turkey until I was eight
  45. ^ Öz, Işıl (July 3, 2008). ""The Young Turks" is the first nationwide 'liberal talk show' in US". Turkish Journal. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  46. ^ "Cenk Uygur Finally Admits He's An Atheist".
  47. ^ "Bill Maher & Sarah Palin Agree: Arrest Clock-Wielding Muslims Just In Case". The Young Turks Youtube Channel. September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  48. ^ "Truth-tellers Hirsi Ali, Uygur are FFRF's 'Emperor' awardees". Freedom From Religion Foundation. September 21, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  49. ^ Hallowell, Billy (May 30, 2012). "Teen Atheist who Brought Down Prayer Banner & Feminist Gloria Steinem to be Honored at Atheist Conference". The Blaze. New Orleans: Theblaze.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  50. ^ "Prometheus Maximus Uygur Introduced on MSNBC" on YouTube (July 16, 2010). Retrieved November 3, 2011
  51. ^ "Congratulations to Cenk and family on the birth of their new daughter, Joy – but TYT crew still keeping it real". The Young Turks. The Young Turks. October 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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2012–2013 		Office abolished
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