Jan 7, 2020

Scoop: Emerson Collective initial launch partner for new NowThis division

NowThis, the millennial social video media outlet that's part of Group Nine Media, will announce Tuesday the launch of NowThis Impact, a new editorial division that covers social issues and is underwritten by non-profits and philanthropic organizations, including launch partner Emerson Collective.

Why it matters: Underwriting editorial content is becoming a bigger trend as more philanthropy and non-profit money floods into journalism.

Details: Emerson Collective is a social change organization founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.

NowThis is looking to announce additional underwriters in coming months.
It will work with issue experts to form content partnerships around certain issues that contain specific calls to action.
The new product aims to meet the content appetites of NowThis' audience of progressive and civically-minded millennials.

Be smart: It's not the first time Group Nine has dabbled in "call-to-action" media/journalism. Its animal franchise, The Dodo, has in the past directed its audience to adoption resources.

Go deeper: Struggling media companies pivot to non-profits

Disclosure: Emerson Collective is an investor in Axios.

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Sara Fischer

A true digital media publishing breakthrough

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Digital publishing is doing something it hasn't done en masse since the dawn of the Internet: make money.

Why it matters: Business Insider, Vox Media, The Information, Axios and Politico all turned profits in 2019, in several cases for the first time ever, sources tell Axios. Others, like The Athletic, BuzzFeed and Vice, say they are expecting to do so this year.

Go deeperJan 21, 2020 - Economy & Business

Sara Fischer

Exclusive: The Athletic raises $50 million

Adam Hansmann (left) and Alex Mather (right), co-founders of The Athletic. Photo: Steph Gray, courtesy of The Athletic

The Athletic, a subscription-based digital sports media company, has raised $50 million in a Series D funding round, executives tell Axios.

With this investment, the company has raised a total of $139.5 million since its launch in 2016 and is valued at roughly $500 million after the new raise, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Go deeperJan 21, 2020

Kyle Daly

Twitter sets high bar for taking down deepfakes

Photo illustration: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Twitter on Tuesday announced a new policy aimed at discouraging the spread of deepfakes and other manipulated media, but the service will only ban content that threatens people's safety, rights or privacy.

Why it matters: Tech platforms are under pressure to stanch the flow of political misinformation, including faked videos and imagery. Twitter's approach, which covers a wide range of material but sets narrow criteria for deletion, is unlikely to satisfy critics or politicians like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi — who have both slammed platforms for allowing manipulated videos of them to spread.

Go deeperFeb 4, 2020 - Technology