the news site The Intercept is about to become a non-profit organization. The information was published on Monday (9.jan.2023) by the website axleswho had access to a memo sent by management to employees.
THE The Intercept was launched in 2014 by Pierre Omidyar, who is also the founder of eBay. The journalism company is in the “umbrella” of First Look Mediacreated by Omidyar 1 year earlier to finance some of his ventures.
The funder also supports projects such as the topic studios and a service streaming called topic, both for-profit. The company’s not-for-profit core, called the First Look Institute, included the The Intercept and the Press Freedom Defense Funda free media support group.
With the change, the site will become independent of its parent company. The purpose of the separation, according to the statement, is to pave the way for raising external funding and building a sustainable long-term business model.
“Under this new independent structure, we will have an entire team dedicated to developing and implementing a multi-year, multi-faceted plan that will ensure our growth and sustainability for years to come.”, said the general manager of the interceptDavid Bralow, in the note.
“Our mission and our editorial zeal for hard-hitting journalism remain unchanged”, he completed.
The statement also said the company is laying off employees. The number of dismissed professionals was not disclosed.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
In the USA, the The Intercept began accepting philanthropic donations from corporate readers and sponsors during the pandemic. At the same time, he continued to sell advertisements and subscriptions, which dropped considerably due to the health crisis. According to data obtained by axlesthere are 50,000 subscribers today, against 70,000 in 2020.
already the The Intercept Brazil is a non-profit organization funded by donations. It was separated from the North American newsroom in October last year and, since then, has asked for help not to close.
Commanded by journalists Andrew Fishman and Cecília Olliveira, the Brazilian version of the site aims to increase your subscriber base by 1,000 per month by the end of 2023.
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