Dow Jones launches NewsPicks with Japanese company

Dow Jones & Co. chief executive officer William Lewis sent out the following announcement on Monday:

Dear Colleague,

Central to the Dow Jones mission is guiding people to high-quality content created not only by our own newsrooms, but also journalism produced by other respected sources.

That is why I am delighted to announce the launch of NewsPicks – a joint venture between Dow Jones and Japanese company Uzabase. NewsPicks is an app that allows smart people to share what they are reading with other smart people. In short, digitally driven, clever curation to help readers consume and comment on the very best content around.

The NewsPicks mobile platform empowers members to follow “ProPickers” – such as high-profile journalists, business people, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, authors and government leaders. To find out just a few of the names already on board, read the NewsPicks press release here.

These named ProPickers will share their favored news and analysis with NewsPicks members, sparking healthy and informed debate around some of the most important issues of the day. A debate removed from the noise, acidic anonymity and, sadly, the downright deception of large swathes of the Internet.

I am determined that Dow Jones will lead in the battle for high-quality content and civilized debate to rise above fake news and the shrieking that reverberates in social media echo chambers.

NewsPicks follows hard on the heels of our joint venture with Curation Corporation to provide Factiva-powered, curated news briefings on risks, trends and opportunities to corporate customers.

Our ability to create and curate the world’s best content truly sets Dow Jones apart as a media company that empowers both consumers and corporations with access to high-quality information and influencers.

NewsPicks is a brilliant addition to the Dow Jones portfolio. It came about in just four months thanks to the hard work and collaboration of teams led by the new venture’s CEO, Ken Breen, and Yusuke Umeda, CEO of Uzabase. Special thanks are due to Shinsuke Oyama, Satoru Okawa, Rory O’Connor, Ernie Sander, Peter Green, Joseph Rosenfeld and Brad Rolston, as well as our Technology, Net Growth and Marketing teams.

I would also like to commend the many Dow Jones journalists who have already become NewsPicks users. Please join them by downloading the app in the Apple App Store and trying it out.

For my Question of the Week: How else can Dow Jones lead in the field of curated content?

Best,
William Lewis