The Knowing rebuilds media for an underserved audience
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Geneva S. Thomas launches The Knowing. Credit: Latorree Howard for illustrated cover; Dalvin Adams for headshot
Veteran media executive Geneva S. Thomas is launching The Knowing (TK), serving Black millennials and Gen Z.
Why it matters: Media's fragmentation around personalities and platforms is making loyal audiences more valuable.
The big picture: Thomas says she sees a gap in creator media. Black audiences have gained prominent independent voices across podcasts and video, but fewer destinations for written, reported journalism.
- "The revival of reading is so consequential to not only our ability to have literacy, but media literacy in particular," Thomas says.
- The Knowing aims to bring together the authority of legacy magazines with the direct relationships powering creator media. Thomas says she sees TK as part of a lineage of magazines like Honey, Ms., Ebony and Jet.
Zoom in: Thomas has spent nearly two decades leading digital transformation in legacy media, including serving as general manager of People and Entertainment Weekly Digital and working at Essence, Condé Nast and Paramount.
- Her path to entrepreneurship began after she left People for a new media role. The company rescinded her offer one week before her start date following months of recruitment. Thomas retained a lawyer and received a settlement, she says, adding she is under an NDA.
- The unexpected break made her confront her burnout and reconsider her career, she says. That experience also informs TK's inaugural cover story, "Take Me to the Water," which focuses on Black women pushed out of corporate America and what they build next.
How it works: The Knowing's flagship product is a weekly "inbox magazine," featuring news and analysis alongside coverage of culture and beauty. The first issue arrives Aug. 29, with new editions delivered Saturdays at 7am ET.
- Subscriptions cost $10 monthly or $85 annually. Free subscribers will have limited access to weekly issues, excluding cover and feature stories.
- Thomas is running day-to-day operations and editing the publication, with freelance contributors supporting features and cover stories.
- TK's advisory board includes investor and former BET Media Group CMO Kimberly Paige, author and former editor-in-chief of Ebony, Teen People and Honey Amy DuBois Barnett and Joan Morgan, author and director of New York University's Center of Black Visual Culture.
Between the lines: The newsletter is built on Ghost, a platform Thomas says she chose to maintain control over the brand, user experience and audience data.
- Consumer revenue will anchor a diversified business model spanning subscriptions, commerce, advertising, licensing and live experiences.
Follow the money: TK has raised a seed round from private investors, with Thomas personally providing a significant portion. She says the company has enough runway for about a year of operations.
- The company is targeting a $10 million Series A. Thomas says investor-readiness work is underway, with TK planning to enter the market in the first quarter of 2027.
- "I think principally because the demand is there," Thomas says of choosing to raise funding. "We are seeing a lot of capital movement in creator media. Both institutional and private capital understands that this is an audience that is underserved."
What's next: Thomas is recruiting a head of revenue and plans to add heads of news and beauty as founding partners.
- Thomas says she'll evaluate the success of TK's first year by whether it builds a habitual readership, raises institutional capital and turns its audience into a community beyond the inbox.
