Tortoise Media
British news website From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tortoise Media is a British news website co-founded in 2018 by former BBC News director and The Times editor James Harding and former US ambassador to the United Kingdom Matthew Barzun.[1][2][3] Tortoise produces podcasts and holds live discussion events called "ThinkIns" and "Discussion Lates" in the London area.[4] It is part of the slow journalism movement.[5]
Tortoise Media's wordmark | |
 | |
Type of site | News website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder(s) | James Harding, Matthew Barzun, Katie Vanneck-Smith[1] |
| Editor | James Harding |
| URL | www |
History
Summarize
Perspective
Tortoise Media was announced on Kickstarter in 2018, where it raised more than £500,000. Permanent invitations to ThinkIns and Discussion Lates were part of higher-tier Kickstarter reward packages. It also received private investment.[1] Its website went live in April 2019.[6]
Writing for The Guardian in 2018, Emily Bell said that Tortoise drew from ideas tried by The Guardian, Axios, Vox and Quartz. She said there was a trend of increased involvement of private wealth in the journalism industry, comparing Tortoise and its wealthy, well-connected founders and backers to Mark Benioff's purchase of Time and Jeff Bezos's purchase of the Washington Post. She also said that Tortoise's financial strength allowed it to attract high-profile journalists.[1] The company received the Innovation of the Year award from the British Journalism Awards in 2019.[7]
In September 2024 it was reported that Tortoise had approached the Guardian Media Group—proprietor of The Guardian and The Observer—with an offer to purchase The Observer for an undisclosed price.[8] Guardian and Observer journalists voted to strike on 4 and 5 December 2024 in protest over a sale that they said would betray the commitment of the Scott Trust—owner of the Guardian Media Group—to the Observer.[9]
As the strike was taking place, the Scott Trust agreed in principle to go through with the sale.[10]
Personnel
Business
- Emily Benn, former chief of staff
- Alexandra Mousavizadeh, former partner[1]
- Ceri Thomas, editor and partner
- Saul Klein, investor, son of venture capitalist Robin Klein[1]
Journalists
- Giles Whittell, deputy editor
- Matthew d'Ancona, former editor
- Peter Hoskin, former editor
- Paul Caruana Galizia, journalist, son of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia[11]
- Merope Mills, former reporter, and proponent of Martha's Rule[1]
Contributors
References
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