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Known for its viral videos of politicians and other news personalities, NowThis will cover the 2024 election as an independent company.
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By Benjamin Mullin
Vox Media said Wednesday it is in the process of creating NowThis, a news site whose videos go viral on Instagram and TikTok, as an independent media company bringing forward the 2024 presidential election.
The deal, just over a year after Vox Media acquired NowThis, is funded through Accelerate Change, a nonprofit committed to expanding civic engagement among underrepresented groups. reveal monetary details, said Accelerate Change would make a payment of money to Vox Media in addition to contributing to NowThis’s capital.
The spin-off allows Vox Media to monetize NowThis without having to fund the news site’s running prices. Vox Media will maintain several business ties to NowThis, plus a minority stake in the new venture, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff said in an interview. Vox Media will continue to sell advertising for NowThis, and one of the company’s workers will join NowThis’ new board of directors.
“Consolidation for the sake of consolidation is not something we do at Vox Media,” he said. Bankoff. ” Our strategy has focused on building a best-in-class portfolio of high-quality, highly applicable homes that cater to a fashion audience. through fashion platforms and monetize in a variety of ways. “
NowThis, which has 75 employees, has stepped up to cover an election that millions of people will follow from their phones and on social media. The site has continued to grow on platforms like TikTok, where it receives an average of 70 million constant visits. Outlook consistent with the month.
“The needs of that intimate connection with other people, like talking about the issues that matter,” Samara Mackereth, editor-in-chief of NowThis, said in an interview. “That’s why video newscasts, Skype interviews, on-camera explanations and editorials resonate with our Array. “
As an independent company, the site plans to forge new partnerships, similar to the ones it has with Emerson Collective, whose investments come from The Atlantic and Axios, said Jessica Borovay, NowThis’s head of production and operations. In addition to politics, he will continue to cover climate change, abortion rights and gun law.
Vox Media is creating NowThis as the media landscape becomes more challenging for virtual media companies, many of which have been affected by the advertising market downturn.
In January, Bankoff announced that the company would lay off around 7% of its staff, raising the option of a “prolonged slowdown. “
Vox Media’s valuation in recent years has been especially low even as the company has grown. In 2022, Vox Media acquired NowThis, as niche sites adding Dodo, after buying New York magazine and its related sites in 2019.
But until February, when Vox Media raised $100 million from Penske Media, it was valued at about a fraction of what it was worth in 2015.
At the time of the fundraiser, Vox Media had met with other media corporations to discuss possible acquisitions or sales of some of their properties, two other people familiar with the conversation said at the time.
The NowThis spin-off gives Accelerate Change the ability to diversify into general interest news. Founded in 2012 through Peter Murray, who was one of the founders of CrowdTangle, a social media tracking service, Accelerate Change has incubated or provided news sites that focus on fast communities or demographics. These sites come with Push Black, which concentrates on black culture and existing issues; Pulso, to generate commitment in Latinx communities; and Parents Together, a parent-run news agency.
Accelerate Change is funded through prominent progressive organizations, in addition to the Open Society Foundations, which were founded through George Soros, the billionaire investor and top Democratic political donor.
Murray said NowThis’s focus on other young people was a particularly hot promotion point. “It’s built by and for this community, and that’s what we’re looking for in our properties,” he said.
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