In late 2020, a news start-up began pitching investors on a bold vision: By creating content native to social media for Gen Z audiences — and later acquiring brands like The Daily Mail — the company would begin to create “the Amazon of News” within five years.
“We must create a movement,” read a pitch deck for the company viewed by The New York Times.
“A movement hungry for the facts and thirsty for the truth.”That company, which eventually became known as The News Movement, was co-founded by Will Lewis, a media executive who was named chief executive of The Washington Post last year.
In early June, Mr. Lewis announced a new division in the newsroom that would focus in part on “social media journalism” to help turn around its ailing finances.
The announcement, made alongside the news that the paper’s executive editor was leaving, ultimately led to internal strife and questions about Mr. Lewis’s leadership and ethics.
Persons:
“, ”, Will Lewis, Lewis
Organizations:
Daily Mail, The New York Times, News, The Washington Post