Recount Media announced the sale of the core editorial assets of The Recount — the pioneering short-form video news outlet known for its coverage of American politics on Twitter, TikTok, and other social platforms — to The News Movement (TNM), a social-first news start-up.
The acquisition was completed on January 31 in an all-equity transaction. Under the deal’s terms, The Recount will maintain operations as a distinct brand within TNM, and its newsroom staff, including Editor-in-Chief Slade Sohmer, has joined TNM and will now lead its U.S. political coverage heading into the 2024 election.
The Recount, conceived in 2019 by media veterans John Battelle and John Heilemann and principally backed by venture capitalist Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, has established itself as a trusted source of video-based news about politics and power across an array of social platforms — garnering more than 1 billion views during and after the 2020 election cycle.
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“The Recount and The News Movement share a common mission: to stanch the flood of misinformation and disinformation in social media with video journalism that’s native to those platforms but doesn’t waste your time, insult your intelligence, or bury you in bullshit,” said Heilemann, Recount Media co-founder and former executive editor of The Recount. “So it feels as if we’re passing the baton to TNM for the next stretch of a very important relay race.”
“The News Movement’s approach — focused on engaging Gen Z consumers on the social platforms where they live — makes a ton of sense,” added Recount Media co-founder and outgoing CEO John Battelle. “The foundation we laid at The Recount will be a cornerstone of TNM’s strategy, and we’re confident the newsroom we built will thrive under its new owners.”
Founded in 2021 and led by former Dow Jones CEO William Lewis and former BBC editorial director Kamal Ahmed, TNM launched in the U.S. late last year.
“The Recount accomplished an enormous amount in the face of the headwinds of a once-a-century global pandemic,” said Lewis. “With 2024 just around the corner, we’re thrilled to add its stellar editorial staff to ours at TNM, putting us in a perfect position to become the go-to outlet providing Gen Z audiences with coverage of American politics that’s engaging, innovative, smart, and savvy, but also thoroughly fact-based and credible.”
SOURCE: PR Newswire
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