News Deeply
| Benefit corporation | |
| Industry | Journalism, technology |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Lara Setrakian |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Brands |
Syria Deeply Ebola Deeply Water Deeply Arctic Deeply Refugees Deeply |
| Website |
www |
News Deeply is an online journalism and technology company, based in New York City, specializing in single-issue news websites. Its flagship site, Syria Deeply, was by Lara Setrakian and Azeo Fables in 2012 to cover the Syrian Civil War. The company operates four other sites with similar single-issue formats: Ebola Deeply, Water Deeply, Arctic Deeply, and Refugees Deeply.
History
News Deeply started with Syria Deeply, a project stemming from the shortcomings founder Lara Setrakian perceived in news coverage of the Syrian Civil War. She had been reporting on the region for major news outlets ABC News and Bloomberg News but wanted a centralized venue that engaged in journalism only on that subject, and one which emphasized design and user experience.[1][2]
When Syria Deeply launched, the only contributors who were paid were those based in Syria whose safety was under threat.[1] As of December 3 the company has 11 employees.[3]
News Deeply is a benefit corporation based in New York City, although its reporters, editors, and other staff are scattered internationally. Its funding comes from multiple sources: live event sales, content syndication, sponsorships like that of the World Policy Institute, and it has received $2.5 million in venture capital.[4][2][3][5]
Setrakian expressed intentions to continue to pursue new "Deeply" projects, and told Fast Company some potential subjects they are researching include Pakistan, Congo, Myanmar, and human trafficking, all of which are important but underrepresented or poorly covered by mainstream news outlets.[5]
Syria Deeply
Syria Deeply is the first and most popular News Deeply site. Journalist Lara Setrakian had been covering the Syrian conflict for major news organizations and set out to create the site as a more consistent and centralized source of news on the subject.[1][6] Setrakian had grown frustrated with the way a news consumer had to try to bring together small pieces of information from multiple sources, and had the idea for a more focused resource.[1]
The site took form following a meeting with crowdsourcing and citizen journalism company Ushahidi, where she expressed "how I wished we could build a proper landing page for the Syria story that was modular, that had a Ushahidi map, that has a great Twitter box, that had some original content."[1] According to Setrakian, the design is a very important part of the overall project: "this is the age of the UX designer. News has a big data problem -- there is so much content from so many places. Organizing information has become a major challenge and an opportunity to leap ahead with innovative news design."[1] The layout of the home page forgoes traditional navigation tools and the hierarchical structure of topics and sub-topics commonly used on news websites, presenting content in a flatter style of presentation.[1][6]
As of 2012, 25% of the site's content is original text, audio, or video news, while 75% is static or automated content.[6][1] Parts of the site function as journalism communities, providing means for reporters to collaborate and share information about developments.[1]
In 2013 it won a National Press Foundation award for 2013 Excellence in Online Journalism.[7] Mashable called it "one of the go-to resources for information and context on the growing conflict".[3]
Arctic Deeply
Arctic Deeply is an English-language web portal for news about climate change launched in 2015. It was intended to be the second News Deeply site, following the success of Syria Deeply, but was preempted by Ebola Deeply after the Ebola outbreak, and Water Deeply, due to the 2012–15 North American drought.[4][8] It includes a mix of original news, static content, and aggregated stories.[4] According to managing editor Hannah Hoag, the site is less about breaking news and "more about the connections between issues that have previously been treated on their own."[4]
Its operations are based in Canada, and it has formed partnerships with the Canadian think tank the Centre for International Governance Innovation and OpenCanada, an international affairs publication.[4][8] In the past, it has also been sponsored by the New York-based World Policy Institute.[2] For distribution, it has formed partnerships with Huffington Post and the Associated Press.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mullany, Anjali (3 December 2012). "Syria Deeply Outsmarts The News, Redefines Conflict Coverage". Fast Company.
- 1 2 3 Lichterman, Joseph (20 March 2014). "What's next for the team behind Syria Deeply? Arctic Deeply". NiemanLab.
- 1 2 3 Abbruzzese, Jason (21 March 2016). "Break The News". Mashable.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wang, Shan (8 December 2015). "The News Deeply team's latest single-subject site offers on-the-ground coverage of Arctic issues". NiemanLab.
- 1 2 Hullinger, Jessica (8 December 2015). "New "Arctic Deeply" Site Will Detail The Ramifications Of Melting Sea Ice". Fast Company.
- 1 2 3 Ingram, Mathew (6 December 2012). "Syria Deeply and the ongoing unbundling of the news". GigaOM.
- ↑ "Syria Deeply 2013 Excellence in Online Journalism Award Winner". Retrieved 2014-07-10.
- 1 2 Rieder, Rem (25 November 2015). "Rieder: Immersive coverage for Arctic climate change". USA Today.