Jessica Lessin
Tech news site The Information, founded by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin in 2013, plans to double its editorial staff, reports Jason Abbruzzese of Mashable.
Abbruzzese writes, “Four years in, Lessin is vindicated. The Information has more than 10,000 subscribers (though Lessin declined to provide an updated number) and is expanding. The publication is set to double its editorial staff beyond its current 15 and reach into new industries, including energy and banking, where emerging tech is starting to create serious disruption.
“Hiring in media is also not the norm. Journalists are still being laid off at a regular clip — just this week Complex and ABC cut staff, and there are rumors Time Inc. is next.
“‘We think it’s a little bit of a contrarian bet right now in this news climate, but we like to zig while others zag,’ Lessin said.
“As such, the company is rolling out an accelerator program for subscription-based media startups and announcing its first participants — including a local journalism operation in Detroit, a Chinese tech and business strategy website, and an Italian mobile news startup — on Friday. They’ll receive $25,000 and a spot in the company’s accelerator bootcamp, which provides mentorship and help getting subscribers. In return, The Information will get a cut of the revenue.”
Read more here.
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