The New York Times is combining the tech site Wirecutter — which it acquired a year ago — with its sister publication, the Sweethome, under the Wirecutter name, redesigning the website and planning for the Wirecutter and Times’s journalists to work together more often.
Gerry Smith of Bloomberg News writes, “The Wirecutter’s success would be an encouraging sign for the Times and the industry because it’s getting harder to support a newsroom from ads. While the Times’ online advertising is growing, it has largely failed to offset steep declines in print. Several publishers including BuzzFeed and Hearst Corp. are also testing the Wirecutter’s strategy, known as affiliate marketing, as a growing share of digital advertising flows to Google and Facebook.
“Cooperation between the Times and the Wirecutter is providing benefits to readers as well as the company, executives said.
“Last month, for instance, the Times wrote a story based on the Wirecutter’s reporting on the limitations of DNA testing kits. Alongside the article, the Times embedded a link to the review site’s recommendations for the best DNA ancestry testing kits.
“‘We’re helping readers navigate a really complicated thing and you don’t really know who to trust,’ said Karron Skog, an editor who coordinates coverage between the newsroom and the review site. The Times embeds links to Wirecutter posts ‘where it’s relevant,’ Skog said.”
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