NEW YORK and SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The News Project (TNP) today launched the first comprehensive news-publishing platform dedicated to the needs of small and medium-sized newsrooms — and introduced an entirely new site for CalMatters, the widely respected independent news organization that covers California politics and policy.
TNP was founded to counter the growing journalistic sustainability crisis for newsrooms nationwide. TNP, which serves the historically challenged field of small and medium-sized publishers that seek sustainable reader-revenue models and accessible end-to-end publishing operations support, targets the growing roster of independent, issue-based, local and entrepreneurial news and information businesses in the media ecosystem. CalMatters is a four-year-old award-winning nonprofit news organization that covers California news at the state level.
“Our goal is to free journalists to do what they became journalists in order to do – report and publish,” said The News Project Founder and CEO Merrill Brown. “At this moment of growing crisis in journalism, with some localities and vital topics left uncovered by news organizations, we understand the challenges that face small and mid-size news companies. We’re bullish on new news ecosystems being created around the world. Efficient digital publications can produce great journalism supported and sustained by a community of engaged readers. TNP is here to help make that happen and accelerate the growth of new newsrooms and those like CalMatters that are making a difference.”
At a time when many small, regional or special-interest newsrooms require the same tools and resources enjoyed by larger newsrooms, TNP’s “news business in a box” provides a unified, cost-effective technical solution along with advisory services provided by TNP’s journalists, technologists, designers and news business professionals. The full suite of products features the enterprise WordPress VIP platform, the engagement driving capabilities of Piano, the content platform technology of 10up, the design, user-experience expertise of Charming Robot, and services from The Associated Press.
The launch news follows the announcement earlier this year of WordPress VIP’s investment in the company. Since then the two have worked to deepen their strategic partnership.
“News organizations are an integral part of the WordPress VIP growth story,” said WordPress VIP CEO Nick Gernert. “We made this investment because we see TNP playing a critical role in the future of journalism and a free press. We're excited to be a part of the first of many launches.”
TNP provides:
- Revenue and member management for subscriptions, sponsorships, metered content, payments and programmatic advertising
- Audience development tools for social media, Apple News, Google News
- Email campaigns and push notifications capabilities
- Enterprise-class managed hosting for scale, security and performance
- Comprehensive site design and usability support including mobile-optimized layouts
- A dashboard featuring customized analytics and business metrics
- World-class news and features to supplement original content
“As we approach the fourth anniversary of CalMatters, we’re thrilled to be able to improve our audience’s experience while enabling our journalists to work smarter and faster, ultimately strengthening our overall platform and future as a vital news entity in the region,” said CalMatters CEO Neil Chase. "We’re taking our site to the next level in site design, visual identity, authoring tools, audience strategy and customer-data management thanks to the unified, affordable approach that TNP offers to all of those substantial, sometimes daunting challenges.”
TNP’s investors include WordPress VIP, Getty Images co-founder Jonathan Klein, former USA TODAY president and publisher and TheStreet Chairman Larry Kramer, veteran tech investor Mark Walsh, former BusinessWeek editor-in-chief and CUNY Graduate School of Journalism founding Dean Steve Shepard, eMarketer co-founder and CEO Terry Chabrowe and former eMarketer publisher Crystal Gurin, and former NBC News Executive Vice President Bill Wheatley.
Elements of this story appeared in TechCrunch and AdExchanger.
About The News Project
TNP, a technology-focused team of journalists, technologists, designers and news-business professionals, provides the platform, resources and expertise required to launch, scale, and sustain news and information ventures. To learn more, visit https://thenewsproject.net.
About CalMatters
CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. Environmental regulation, education, health care, criminal justice, economic inequality – the debates on these issues and others have a profound impact on the lives of 38 million Californians and beyond.
Our team of experienced journalists, with the time and resources to dig deep, is committed to meaningfully informing Californians about the players, politics, and interests that shape the issues that affect their lives. To ensure we reach many Californians, we work with more than 180 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences. To learn more, visit https://calmatters.org.
PRESS CONTACT
Bill Brazell
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