The Correspondent (website)

The Correspondent is a news website based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It was launched in September 2013 after raising more than 1 Million Euros (about $1.3 million) in eight days time, setting a crowd funding world record in journalism.[1]

The platform was co-founded by Dutch journalist Rob Wijnberg, creative director Harald Dunnink, CTO Sebastian Kersten and publisher Ernst-Jan Pfauth.

History

Wijnberg, former editor-in-chief of Dutch newspaper NRC Next, proposed the crowdfunding idea for an ad-free new media platform on national television in March 2013.[2] Eight days later, he and his team reached their goal of 15,000 subscribers all paying 60 euros for a one-year membership .

Wijnberg worked with digital creative agency Momkai and its owners, Harald Dunnink and Sebastian Kersten, served as creative director and CTO respectively . Ernst-Jan Pfauth, who previously was the founding editor of The Next Web and head of digital at Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, joined as a publisher.

The website went live in September 2013. By February 2015 the website had over 30,000 paying subscribers .

Content

The website aims to move away from the daily news cycle by focusing on context, rather than what happened in the past 24 hours. Individual correspondents lead as “guides” — deciding the news agenda, and making their choices explicit. The Correspondent intends its authors to report on under-reported themes including energy, privacy, technology and future economic reends.[3]

International plans

In 2014, The Correspondent concluded a deal with Medium’s magazine MATTER, for the magazine to translate stories from The Correspondent that they believe are relevant for an international audience. The first article in the partnership concerned the hazards of using public Wi-Fi.[4]

In 2015, The Correspondent started translating stories from Dutch to English.

Respondens

The Correspondent runs on a bespoke editor and admin system called Respondens. In several blog posts, the founders said that they might make Respondens available for other publishers in the future.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "A Dutch crowdfunded news site has raised $1.3 million and hopes for a digital-native journalism". Nieman Lab.
  2. ↑ "Journalistiek initiatief 'De Correspondent' van Rob Wijnberg". De Wereld Draait Door. 18 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "How journalists could be more constructive – and boost audiences". the Guardian.
  4. ↑ Matter. "Here’s Why Public Wifi is a Public Health Hazard". Medium.
  5. ↑ "Looking For The Best Content Management Systems (CMS) Out There". Pfauth.com.

External links