Vox Media Blog

Erin Lee Carr Joins The Verge

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:17:48 -0400

Erin Lee Carr Joins The Verge

SB Nation Hires David Roth

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:26:05 -0400

SB Nation Hires David Roth

The Verge Takes Home 5 Webby Awards Vox Media was excited to...

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:37:00 -0400

The Verge Takes Home 5 Webby Awards

Vox Media was excited to attend The 2013 Webby Awards dinner last night to accept five awards on The Verge’s behalf. Verge editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky’s five-word acceptance speech summed up how we feel company-wide: “Teamwork, ladies and gentlemen, teamwork.” Catch that moment here.

The Verge won the People’s Choice award in every category it was nominated for: best writing (editorial), best podcast for The Vergecast, best visual design (function), best consumer electronics writing, and best news app. Check out the full list of winners here.

Vox Media Preps for E3

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:03:37 -0400

We’re gearing up for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (aka E3) here at Vox, and we’re excited to announce that our coverage will be presented by Ford.

The Verge and Polygon teams are planning live analysis, commentary, interviews, demos, breaking news, and more, all covered from the floor of the convention.

The teams will be broadcasting up to 3+ hours of live video coverage each day, which means Vox will have everything you need to know for what is being called the most important E3 in years.

Introducing Google+ integration into Chorus, SB Nation, Polygon, and The Verge

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:13:00 -0400

Introducing Google+ integration into Chorus, SB Nation, Polygon, and The Verge:

Vox Media is excited to announce that we have worked closely with Google to integrate Google+ into Chorus and across all of our properties…

The Verge introduces Verge Video

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:21:00 -0400

The Verge has launched a new home for all of its spectacular video. Verge editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky introduces the hub, called Verge Video, and explains what readers can expect:

The site is a vast collection of all of our video content, including original shows, feature stories (what we like to think of as mini-documentaries), and lots of other exclusive video. That means you’ll be able to find all the Vergecast, Top Shelf, On The Verge, breaking news, event, and feature video content you can handle, conveniently arranged into smart channels that make it easy to see more of what you love. We also put a focus on the viewing experience, designing pages that get out of your way when you just want to watch.

As Topolsky notes, the video hub features responsive design, which means “Verge Video adapts to whatever platform you’re viewing it on — be it desktop, tablet, or phone — giving you a great experience in any situation.”

Verge Product Manager Dave Epstein says, “We produce a lot of great video, but with all of the articles, features and reviews produced daily on The Verge, video can get a little lost in the mix. This new destination — organized by channel to make it easier to find related videos — highlights the viewing experience. We’re really excited about it.”

Joshua Topolsky, Marty Moe Named "People to Watch in Silicon Alley"

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:59:00 -0400

Joshua Topolsky, Marty Moe Named "People to Watch in Silicon Alley":

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130508/TECHNOLOGY/130509888

The Verge hires Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:35:00 -0400

We’re excited to welcome a new member to the Vox Media family!

Nathan Olivarez-Giles joins The Verge as a reporter. He was previously a reporter at Wired, where he was on the Google beat, reviewing all the latest Android phones and tablets, venturing into the Grand Canyon for the maiden voyage of Google’s Street View Trekker backpack, and documenting Samsung’s frustration over Apple’s defense of the rectangle as a design ethos. Before Wired, Nathan was the lead writer of the Los Angeles Times technology blog and its chief gadget critic. The Huffington Post once described Nathan as the greatest Latino tech writer of all time, and while Nathan doesn’t totally agree, he appreciates the sentiment. He can be found on Twitter @nateog.

Welcome Nathan!

Introducing Vox Creative Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff introduced...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:03:43 -0400

Introducing Vox Creative

Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff introduced Vox Creative, a new wing of the company dedicated to in-house advertising and creative services, at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York City on Monday.

Speaking with TechCrunch co-editor Eric Eldon, Bankoff cited Vox’s success with its editorial brands — 60 million unique visitors a month — and its interest in bringing the Vox tools and capabilities to advertisers with brand stories.

As a media and technology company, Vox Media is giving the web the voice it deserves. Award-winning design, broadcast-quality video, deep community, rich data, and world-renowned journalism all delivered by Vox’s proprietary publishing technology Chorus enables Vox to tell thousands of stories to millions of people every day. The introduction of Vox Creative opens those same capabilities to the brand and advertising world.

Creative Director Chad Mumm, who will oversee the department with Chief Product Officer Trei Brundrett, said, “With Vox Creative, we aim to apply the same incredible capabilities for our clients as we do to our own media brands The Verge, Polygon, and SB Nation. Brands are always looking for innovative ways to tell their stories to audiences and Vox Creative gives us an opportunity to lend our expertise and technology to these stories.”

TechCrunch’s full coverage of the announcement and video of Bankoff’s fireside chat are available here.

For more information on Vox Creative, e-mail Joe Purzycki, VP Advertising, at jpurzycki@voxmedia.com.

Press contact: callie@voxmedia.com.

Vox Media’s The Verge Launches Science Section, Announces Katie...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:15:00 -0400

Vox Media’s The Verge Launches Science Section, Announces Katie Drummond as Editor

New York, New York — April 17, 2013 — Technology and culture publication The Verge launched a new section today called “Verge Science,” focused on exploring the biggest ideas, the boldest research, and the most astonishing discoveries in all of science, from medicine and space exploration to physics and the environment.  

Katie Drummond will be joining The Verge as the editor of Verge Science. Drummond previously worked as a reporter for Danger Room at Wired covering military research, and also as a reporter for The Daily and AOL News, where she covered breaking science and health news and contributed regular features and investigative stories. She has also written for The New Republic, New York Magazine, Popular Science, The Fix and other publications. Drummond will coordinate science coverage from The Verge’s own staff of reporters, as well as contributions from veteran science writers including Carl Zimmer, Brandon Keim, Ed Yong, and Victoria Schlesinger.

“Since our launch, we’ve been constantly developing and expanding the voice of The Verge, and it’s always been clear that a focus on science would be a big part of what we do,” Verge Editor-in-Chief Joshua Topolsky said. “Katie is the perfect person to shine a light on this topic because she’s brilliant at distilling big, complex ideas into deeply satisfying stories.”

Nilay Patel, The Verge’s managing editor, said, “The Verge is all about finding sharp new angles into important stories, and our science coverage will be no different — a mix of passionate critical thinking, enthusiasm, and fun that connects with a growing audience.”

The hiring of Drummond and the launch of the section also coincides with the introduction of a new Science forum, offering The Verge’s growing community a place to discuss the biggest stories of the day with Verge writers and each other. Readers can also follow Verge Science’s coverage at the dedicated Twitter handle @vergescience or on Flipboard, where The Verge is launching a new magazine dedicated to the most important science news, reports, and features.

“We’ll deliver rigorous, thoughtful, authoritative reporting on what’s new, what’s coming next, and why it actually matters — and we’ll make room for both certifiable science geeks and casual readers to find out what inspires them,” Drummond said.

The section debuts today with an investigation into the potential risks of federal research designed to prevent a pandemic, and a Q&A with best-selling science journalist Mary Roach. Drummond introduces readers to the section in a welcome post and an original video.

Contact:
Callie Schweitzer
Director of Marketing/Communications
callie@voxmedia.com
917-342-2785

About Vox Media

SB Nation, its sports brand, boasts over 30mm users per month across 300 individually branded, fan-centric sports communities, each covering a specific professional or college team, league or sport. In November 2011, Vox Media launched The Verge, which has quickly established itself as a category leader and the fastest growing site that covers technology. In October, Vox launched Polygon, a site dedicated to news and community for fans of gaming, anchored by an all-star roster of writers. All Vox Media sites are built on Chorus, its world-class proprietary publishing platform.

The company enjoys support from leading investors including Accel Partners, Comcast Interactive Capital, Khosla Ventures and Allen & Company.

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Vox Media Nominated For 6 Webby Awards

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:45:49 -0400

Vox Media is excited to have been nominated for a total of six Webby Awards across technology and culture site The Verge and gaming site Polygon.

The Verge has been nominated for best writing (editorial), best podcast for The Vergecast, best visual design (function), best consumer electronics writing, and best news app. Polygon has been nominated for best games-related writing.

“It’s an honor to see such enormous recognition of the talent at Vox Media,” CEO Jim Bankoff said. “We’re thrilled to be nominated.”

Vox Media Around NYC in April

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:01:00 -0400

Several members of the Vox team are speaking at events in New York City this month, and we’d love to see you there with us!

April 9: Vox’s director of marketing and communications Callie Schweitzer is on a panel called “How Social Media Saved Sports.” 6 p.m. Free to attend. RSVP here.

April 11: The Verge’s managing editor Nilay Patel is moderating a panel on “The Role & Policy Implications of Public Wi-Fi in NYC.” 6:30 p.m. Free to attend. RSVP here.

April 16: Vox’s VP of Advertising Joe Purzycki and Vox’s COO Marty Moe are speaking on panels at MediaMashup’s “Monetizing the Converged Media Landscape” conference. 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. respectively. Register to attend here.

April 17: Vox’s CEO Jim Bankoff is speaking at PaidContent Live on “The Rise of the Digital New Media Entity.” 8:30 a.m. Register to attend here.

April 22-25: The Verge’s editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky is moderating a series of panels at the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Future of Film Live” series. Free to attend. Register online on April 10 here.

April 24: The Verge’s managing editor Nilay Patel is moderating a panel at the Lost Remote conference on “Monetizing Social TV: The Roadmap to Real-Time Revenue.” 12 p.m. Register to attend here.

Hope to see you there!

The Verge Partners With Tribeca Film Festival

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:05:00 -0400

Vox Media is excited to announce that The Verge is partnering with the world renowned Tribeca Film Festival for its “Future of Film Live” series in New York City from April 22-25. Joshua Topolsky, editor-in-chief of The Verge, will moderate a series of panels with filmmakers and industry leaders on “the evolution of the industry from creation to distribution,” covering “themes including digital filmmaking, non-linear storytelling, film funding, theatrical innovations, actors as directors, and more.”

Individuals including A.O. Scott, David Denby, Nate Mitchell, Dan Connors, Christina Voros and Todd Wagner will discuss and debate the topics at the forefront of their industries, moderated by Joshua Topolsky, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge.

The talks are free and open to the public, and guests can register to attend online beginning April 10. Video highlights from the talks will be released daily.

The Vox Family Gets Bigger!

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:20:11 -0400

It’s April, and we have 13 new members of the Vox family onboard! Welcome to:

Ryan Manning, director/editor, NYC studio
Adam Scigliano, producer, NYC studio
Lindsey Ferrier, production coordinator, NYC studio
Andrew Melnizek, account manager, sales team in SF
Casey Newton, senior reporter, The Verge in SF
Leah Sigler, assistant to the managing editor, The Verge in NYC
Sam Sheffer, social media manager, The Verge in NYC
Chris Welch, reporter, The Verge in NYC
Josh Kopstein, reporter, The Verge in NYC
Megan Farokmanesh, reporter, Polygon in SF
Alexa Ray Correia, reporter, Polygon in NYC
Dave Tach, senior reporter, Polygon in Ohio
Samit Sarkar, reporter, Polygon in NYC

Introducing Rob Neyer and Grant Brisbee's Baseball Nation

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:09:00 -0400

It’s opening day in the baseball world, and SB Nation has two of the finest baseball writers on the web, Rob Neyer and Grant Brisbee, bringing you all you need to know. In March we spun Neyer and Brisbee’s work out from SBNation.com to feature their talent on their own site called Baseball Nation.

As far as opening day wisdom goes, Brisbee offers, “Welcome to baseball — a game that prides itself on making you look stupid every single year. I can’t wait to see all the different ways I was horribly wrong.”

Neyer adds, “I’m not sure why anybody should care what happens next, since we already know the Houston Astros are going to win a division title in their first American League season. But we’ll just keep watching anyway, since there’s nothing else good on TV for the next five months.”

Here’s everything you need to read today:

The curse of a great opening day
Is this a Golden Age of center fielders?
Will new, harder bats bring unforeseen consequences?
When One Game Says it All
It’s a great day for stupid predictions
Baseball Nation’s divisional roundtables
The SB Nation MLB Opening Day Playlist

Casey Newton joins The Verge

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:03:19 -0400

We’re excited to have Casey Newton joining the Vox family this week.

Casey Newton joins The Verge as a senior reporter. He was previously a senior writer at CNET, where he recently broke the news that Twitter is working on a standalone music app. Before CNET, Newton wrote about technology for the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the tallest reporter covering Silicon Valley and can be found on Twitter @CaseyNewton.

Here’s Newton on his move to The Verge:

Since the day it launched, less than 18 months ago, The Verge has been open in my Web browser more or less constantly. First I marveled at its bold, beautiful design; then I noted the speed and frequency with which it breaks news; then I dug into its world-class features. Whether writing about Aaron Swartz or animated GIFs, Google Glass or Samsung’s sexism, The Verge somehow always delivers the take I want to read — one that is timely, thoughtful, and delivered with style.

Welcome Casey!

3 Vox Media People Named To TIME's Top 140 Best Twitter Feeds in the World

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:45:16 -0400

Every year TIME magazine puts out a list of the 140 best Twitter feeds in the world, selecting big names in areas like politics, business and finance, culture, celebrities and more.

Vox Media had 3 of its top people named to the 2013 list: Joshua Topolsky, editor in chief of The Verge, for technology; Spencer Hall, editorial director of SB Nation, for sports; and Callie Schweitzer, director of marketing and communications, for informers.

CEO Jim Bankoff said, “TIME’s recognition of three of Vox’s web native talent is proof that Vox has become the preeminent home for the new breed of influencers: people who think and create for the web. Vox team members from SB Nation, The Verge and Polygon and throughout our company are building large social followings on Twitter and elsewhere. I’m proud that TIME has recognized what their followers already know. Congratulations to Josh, Spencer, Callie and the whole team at Vox Media.”

Follow them here: @joshuatopolsky, @edsbs, @cschweitz.

Vox Media Wins Publisher of the Year

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:43:00 -0400

March 13, 2013, NEW YORK — Vox Media, publisher of sports site SB Nation, tech/culture site The Verge and gaming site Polygon, was proud to accept the award for Digiday Publisher of the Year Tuesday night. Vox had a record year of audience and revenue growth in 2012.

Digiday’s judges deemed Vox “the most innovative publisher this year, crediting CEO Jim Bankoff for the publisher’s smart use of native advertising and overall methodical expertise in using SB Nation as a starting-off point for The Verge and Polygon, growing the business in a smart way.”

“It’s an incredibly exciting time for publishers, brand advertisers, but most of all, for consumers,” Bankoff said. “Vox Media believes strongly that the web is a medium for the highest quality design, technology, journalism and storytelling. This award further validates that when done right, web editorial products and digital brand advertising can be engaging, substantive, beautiful and effective.”

In 2012, Vox Media doubled its audience, added a new vertical, produced 8,000 original videos, opened a creative services branch of the company for advertisers and added 100 new employees. The company also made substantial investments in its Chorus media platform which powers its digital newsrooms, publishing, social and advertising products. According to Comscore, Vox indexes #1 across key audience composition and affluence measures in the sports, tech news and gaming categories for the hard to reach male 18-34 and 25-54 demographics.

“We are incredibly proud of the progress that our amazing team has made, but we realize we are only just beginning. This recognition and being nominated among other top digital publishers like The Atlantic Media Group and Buzzfeed reinforces our belief that as a talent and technology driven media company, Vox Media is leading the way.”

####

Contact:

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Marketing

callie@voxmedia.com

ABOUT VOX MEDIA

Vox Media is one of the fastest growing online publishers, focused on the sports, personal technology and gaming categories. Vox is solving the problem of developing high-value digital journalism, storytelling and brand advertising at scale. Its audiences are among the most engaged and affluent on the web.

SB Nation, its sports brand, boasts over 30mm users per month across 300 individually branded, fan-centric sports communities, each covering a specific professional or college team, league or sport. In November 2011, Vox Media launched The Verge, which has quickly established itself as a category leader and the fastest growing site that covers technology. In October, Vox launched Polygon, a site dedicated to news and community for fans of gaming, anchored by an all-star roster of writers. All Vox Media sites are built upon Chorus, its world-class proprietary publishing platform.

SB Nation named world's best designed news site

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:04:21 -0400

The Society for News Design named Vox Media’s sports site SB Nation the world’s best designed news site of 2012.

In their explanation, the judging team wrote:

SB Nation pushes the boundaries of a news website. It is beautiful and visually compelling without gimmicks. Its design is intentional and clean. It is uniquely “sporty-elegant.” … The site is responsive in the most ambitious sense of the word. Complex, compelling, and innovative storytelling techniques make excel on a range of screen sizes. It shows some of the best thinking we have seen in the mobile space…Overall SB Nation feels like a generational leap for a sports site, and a worthy beacon of forward-thinking design for news sites in general.

Read the rest and watch the judges discuss their choice here.

SB Nation Acquires Outsports, Worldwide Leader in Gay Sports Journalism

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:02:35 -0500

SB Nation is proud to announce that Outsports, the worldwide leader in gay sports journalism, has joined the SB Nation network.

Outsports was founded in 1999 by Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler, two well known journalists who have established themselves as leading experts on gay sports issues and been featured in countless news stories from Sports Illustrated and the New York Times to ESPN, HBO RealSports and CNN.

As the most-read gay-sports publication in the world, Outsports has broken numerous national stories including the coming out of former professional athletes John Amaechi and Wade Davis, the coming out of the first Div. 1 transgender athlete, Kye Allums, the NFL’s prohibition of the word “gay” on their custom jerseys, Jeremy Shockey’s anti-gay comments and many others.

What was once a hobby, created to fill a gap in media coverage of gay athletes, has become a centerpiece of the LGBT sports movement.

“I think Outsports created the ‘beat’ of covering the issue of gays in sports and gave the rest of the media an entry point in reporting on a subject that had been taboo,” Buzinski said. “Joining Vox Media’s SB Nation is a chance to be with a media company on the cutting edge and growing and will allow us to expand our reach and mainstream even further the issue of gays in sports.”

Zeigler echoed his sentiments, “I’m most looking forward to the synergy between our two companies. We bring quality content to a new SB Nation readership that can have a big impact on how people look at gay athletes and fans. On the flip side, SB Nation brings their own quality sports content to our readership who are diehard sports fans. Opening new eyes to new ideas - It’s a powerful partnership.”

Kevin Lockland, VP of SB Nation’s editorial operations, said, “We are thrilled to have Outsports joining the SB Nation network. Cyd and Jim have already created the leading destination for coverage of LGBT sports issues and the leading community for LGBT Sports. Enabling Cyd and Jim to publish on Vox Media’s next generation publishing technology platform Chorus and empower the Outsports audience with our outstanding community features will take the site to another level.”

When thinking back on his favorite stories since the site’s founding, Buzinski said, “The best story is not one specific one, but rather the personal coming out stories told by dozens of athletes over the years. Each gave a name and a face to what had been an abstract issue. Many of these caused other athletes to stand up and tell their stories and made others feel less alone and isolated. Getting an email from a young athlete saying that Outsports changed his life by giving him hope is impossible to measure.”

####

Contact:

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Marketing

callie@voxmedia.com

About Vox Media

Vox Media is one of the fastest growing online publishers, focused on the sports, personal technology and gaming categories, reaching a combined audience of more than 35 million users per month. SB Nation, its sports brand, boasts 300 individually branded, fan-centric sports communities, each covering a specific professional or college team, league or sport. In November 2011, Vox Media launched The Verge, which has quickly established itself as a category leader and the fastest growing site that covers technology. In October 2012, Vox launched Polygon, a site dedicated to news and community for fans of gaming, anchored by an all-star roster of writers. All Vox Media sites are built on its world-class proprietary publishing platform, Chorus.