Verge to move beyond tech news coverage

Justin Ellis writes for the Nieman Journalism Lab about how tech news site Verge is expanding its coverage to beyond just technology news.

Ellis writes, “Cars are another extension of the Verge editorial model. As deputy editor Chris Ziegler says, a car is ‘the biggest gadget you’ll ever own. It’s a little strange to not think of it as a gadget. It has gadget-y things inside, it has gadget-y things outside.’

“Increasingly, the story of cars is a story of technology; along with Musk’s Tesla, there’s Google’s push into self-driving cars, the ongoing development of electric cars, and the rise of car service apps like Uber and Lyft — all of that before the rumors that the world’s newest watchmaker was interested in getting behind the wheel.

“So if everything is now technology, what does the team covering the industry do now? Silicon Valley editor Newton says the daily output of his team is a focus on product news as well as more coverage of the culture of the Valley, as evidenced by Nitasha Tiku’s work on the Kleiner Perkins gender-discrimination trial.

“In trying to differentiate the site from its many competitors, Newton tells me there’s certain tech stories they just don’t follow: funding news, earnings reports, and enterprise software, for example. (Though there are exceptions to all three, of course.) As Newton explains it, he’d rather have his team use their judgment and enthusiasm to help translate stories big and small stories; technology reporting right now is a combination of incredible breakthroughs and the terrifying realities that usually come along for the ride.”

Read more here.