Quartz was launched in 2012 as a free business news publication. At the time, the news outlet was innovative, with its mobile-first strategy and its specificity targeting high-earning and highly educated readers. Advertising was its bread and butter. Seven years later, the publication can no longer live off commercials and is strengthening the relationship with […]
Google News changes its algorithm, and with it, the media industry
In early September, Google announced it had changed its news algorithm to highlight original reporting on the web. When Richard Gringas, vice president for Google News, published the change on a blog post, a wave of reactions surged for and against the measure. In online news, it’s hard to break a story and easy to […]
Advertisers are coming to your favorite messaging app, WhatsApp
Most of our dear social media services belong to one single company, Facebook. Facebook owns its “blue” platform, Facebook, the picture app it bought for $1 billion in 2012, Instagram, and its more recent $19 billion acquisition: WhatsApp, bought in 2014. However, these social media services differ in one fundamental thing—while Instagram and Facebook present […]
Quibi, the new streaming platform for mobile devices
That smartphone usage is growing is a fact; that we want to stream 10-minute episodes anytime anywhere is a hypothesis. Quibi, a Hollywood-based streaming company, wants to prove the hypothesis is true. With high-quality content and a hefty budget, Quibi aims to produce 10-minute episodes of film and shows for smartphones. The idea sounds very […]
The short life of the New York Times en Español
When two weeks ago, The New York Times closed its Spanish operation, journalists and readers alike tweeted their outrage. The New York Times en Español did not prove financially successful, said the paper, hence it had to be closed. With a small newsroom in Mexico City entering a market full of established Spanish-speaking papers, the […]
What Facebook’s latest attempt to court the media means
Just after Apple revealed its grand plan to ‘save’ the media with its News+ offering, Facebook returns to the fold. This week, The Wall Street Journal reported the tech company is in conversations with publishers to relaunch yet another Facebook News Tab. The Menlo Park-based company will pay publishers as much as $3 million to […]
2019, the year when Big Tech may shrink
2019 is likely to be an uphill year for Silicon Valley. This week, lawmakers held hearings on Capitol Hill questioning whether Big Tech should continue being big. It seems that Washington DC is ready to uphold stringer antitrust laws to limit the market power of the Four (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.) Antitrust has surprisingly, […]
Luminary dreams of becoming the Netflix of podcasting
On a slow morning in the New York subway, you can read through the handful of billboards that decorate the wagon. This past month, we could only see the podcast startup Luminary’s advertising, covering New York City’s subways. With its bright yellow banners and its enticing slogan (“Original podcasts with original ideas for original people,”) […]
