In digital media, it’s often impossible to draw a line between content and platform—how the info is delivered is as much a part of an online reader’s experience as the info itself. For the New Voices, New Viewpoints panel at PubTechConnect, we’re gathering four amazing content creators whose contributions to new platforms are helping to change both how and what people consume online.
Axios, co-founded in 2016 by three veterans from Politico, is all about rethinking the ways news is presented online. “Deliver the cleanest, smartest, most efficient and trust-worthy experience for readers and advertisers alike” is how the site summarizes its mission. If you’ve been following the roiling Trump white house in the last year, you’ve probably seen an Axios headline or three. As a Media Reporter, Sara Fisher, who will appear at PubTech Connect, came to Axios after working at the Washington Post as a digital producer; she worked at the New York Times before that. She’s done everything in media from reporting to advertising, and she knows the landscape. She’ll discuss how she uses the Axios platform to spread the news that matters to the media world.
Sara Goodman is Editorial Director of Wednesday Books, an unusual imprint started by St. Martin’s Press last year, which publishes books with coming-of-age themes for YA readers and adults. Goodman has edited books by YouTubers as well as the bestselling author Rainbow Rowell, and she’ll talk about, among other things, how the right theme can unite readers across generations.
Following the success of the hit show GIRLS, Lena Dumham and show runner Jennifer Konner started Lenny, a feminist newsletter and web site. They tapped journalist, novelist and editor Jessica Grose to edit it. On the site, you can find articles about a surprising range of topics, from clothes to conquering suicide, with a healthy helping of literature. It’s an unusual model: newsletter first, then web site, reaching out to its audience instead of waiting for them to come.
Callie Schweitzer helped start Thrive Global, the new health and well-being company founded by Arianna Huffington “to accelerating the culture shift that allows people to reclaim their lives and move from merely surviving to thriving.” Schweitzer is Chief Content Officer. Previously, she held various high-level roles at TIME Inc., where she started Motto, TIME’s platform for millennial women. She has also worked at Vox Media and written for a host of major outlets, including the New York Times and Huffington Post. Content is one of the company’s three pillars for achieving its goal, and Schweitzer will explain how she’s doing it.
All four of these presenters are actively creating the content and platforms of the future. Quartz reporter and executive producer of TedxNewYork Thu-Huong Ha will moderate a lively conversation about where media is heading.
