First Look Media

First Look Media is an American nonprofit media organization founded by Pierre Omidyar in October 2013 as a venue for "original, independent journalism".[1][2] The project was started as a collaboration with Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and Laura Poitras with a promised $250 million in funding from Omidyar.[2][3][4] The organization has announced plans to support multiple publications, the first of which is The Intercept, which launched in February 2014. A second publication was announced in February 2014 that would focus on financial and political corruption, headed by Matt Taibbi. Although the name of the publication has not been publicly announced, the name Racket has been reportedly chosen.[5] The publication was to be launched autumn 2014[6][7] but in October, it was reported that Taibbi was on leave after "disagreements with higher-ups".[8] On October 28, Omidyar stated in a press release that Taibbi had left First Look.[9]

For the home video company formerly known as "First Look Media", see First Look Studios.

First Look Media
TypeNonprofit organization
IndustryMass media
FoundedOctober 2013 (2013-10)
FoundersPierre Omidyar
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
United States
Key people
Michael Bloom (CEO)
ProductsInvestigative journalism, new media
Subsidiaries
Websitefirstlook.media

History

In December 2014, First Look Media announced the launch of Reported.ly, a social media news service led by Andy Carvin.[10] However, in August 2016, Reported.ly said FLM has "chosen to part ways with us," and was planning to shut down.[11]

In January 2015, Betsy Reed joined as the editor in chief of The Intercept, replacing John Cook.[12] Shortly thereafter, she hired Charlotte Greensit as managing editor in April 2015.[13]

In February 2016 First Look Media announced they would be partnering with Matt Bors to relaunch The Nib.[14]

In 2017, First Look Media launched the photo and video website Topic.com.[15] Topic Studios was also launched as part of this.[16] They have helped produce Roman J. Israel, Esq.,[17] Risk,[18] Spotlight and Leave No Trace.[19][20]

In May 2017, First Look Media relaunched the Press Freedom Defense Fund[21] to fund first amendment court cases.[22]

In June 2019, First Look Media decided to stop funding The Nib and laid off its staff as of the end of July 2019.[23]

On October 29, 2020, Glenn Greenwald announced his resignation from The Intercept and First Look Media, citing editorial censorship of his story concerning the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory and allegations concerning Joe Biden's conduct with regard to China, and also citing attempted interference with his contractual right to publish rejected stories elsewhere.[24] Greenwald published his resignation letter and rebuttal on Substack.[25][26] Betsy Reed, The Intercept's editor-in-chief, disputed Greenwald's accusations and claims of censorship, and accused him of presenting dubious claims by the Trump campaign as journalism.[24][27][28]

On November 30, 2020, Laura Poitras was fired by First Look Media, allegedly in relation to the Reality Winner controversy.[29][30] More recently, the Topic Studios unit of First Look Media inked a first look deal with Loveless.[31]

On January 9, 2023, The Intercept announced that it would restructure as an independent non-profit organization, with financial help from First Look.[32]

Criticism

In February 2015, senior investigative reporter Ken Silverstein, who had been hired in December 2013, announced his resignation. Writing in Politico, Silverstein described First Look as "a slowly unfolding disaster, not because of editorial meddling from the top, but because of what I came to believe was epic managerial incompetence. …For all of the bean counting and expense account-approving that Omidyar's organizational structure imposed on us, they were shockingly disinterested in the actual journalism. …Top management was so aloof that it was hard to figure out who was in charge."[33]

Podcasts

First Look Media began partnering to produce podcasts in 2016.[34] Shows include:

References
  1. "About - First Look Media". FirstLook.media. First Look Media. 2018. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  2. Jay Rosen (December 19, 2013). "A First Look at NewCo's structure". Pressthink.org. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  3. "The extraordinary promise of the new Greenwald-Omidyar venture (Updated)". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  4. "Here's Who's Backing Glenn Greenwald's New Website". Reuters via HuffPo. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  5. Barr, Jeremy (August 20, 2014). "Matt Taibbi's First Look Media project looks like it's called 'Racket'". capitalnewyork.com. Politico. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  6. Somaiya, Ravi (February 19, 2014). "Start-Up Site Hires Critic of Wall St". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  7. Taibbi, Matt (August 12, 2014). "Matt Taibbi Expands Team for Upcoming Digital Magazine" (Press release). First Look Media. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  8. Somaiya, Ravi, "Matt Taibbi Is on Leave Only Months After Joining First Look Media" Archived 2018-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  9. Omidyar, Pierre (October 28, 2014). "Important Announcement" (Press release). First Look Media. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  10. Andy Carvin. "Welcome to Reported.ly". Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  11. "Andy Carvin Talks About First Look Media Shutting Down Reported.ly". Fortune. August 8, 2016. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  12. Gold, Hadas. "The Intercept hires Betsy Reed as editor". POLITICO. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  13. "The Intercept Names Charlotte Greensit Managing Editor". Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  14. "Matt Bors Brings The Nib to First Look Media - First Look Media". First Look Media. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  15. "First Look Media Launches Topic.com as Visual Storytelling Destination (Exclusive) | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  16. "First Look Media Officially Brands Its Entertainment Studio 'Topic'". www.businesswire.com. March 15, 2017. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  17. "Roman J. Israel, Esq. Photos and Toronto Premiere Info". ComingSoon.net. August 31, 2017. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  18. Petski, Denise (August 17, 2017). "First Look Media's Topic Unveils Scripted TV Development Slate: Projects From Alex Garcia Lopez, Channing Tatum, More". Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  19. McNary, Dave (June 28, 2018). "Topic Studios Backs Sundance Comedy-Drama 'The Climb'". Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  20. "Topic Studios". Topic. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  21. "The Press Freedom Defense Fund". First Look Media. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  22. "Press freedom group to deploy $1M Bezos gift, its largest ever, on local level". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  23. "From the editor: the future of The Nib". us15.campaign-archive.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  24. Tani, Maxwell; Baragona, Justin (October 29, 2020). "Glenn Greenwald Resigns From The Intercept, Claims He Was Censored". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  25. Greenwald, Glenn (October 29, 2020). "My Resignation From The Intercept". greenwald.substack.com.
  26. Greenwald, Glenn. "Emails With Intercept Editors Showing Censorship of My Joe Biden Article". greenwald.substack.com.
  27. Robertson, Katie (October 29, 2020). "Glenn Greenwald Leaves The Intercept, Claiming He Was Censored". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  28. Tani, Maxwell (October 31, 2020). "Intercept Staffers Roll Their Eyes Over Glenn Greenwald's Censorship Claim". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  29. "Laura Poitras says she's been fired by First Look Media over Reality Winner controversy. Now she's questioning the watchdog's integrity". The Washington Post.
  30. "Praxis Films". www.praxisfilms.org. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  31. Jackson, Angelique (February 23, 2021). "Topic Studios Sets First-Look Deal With Loveless (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  32. Bralow, David (January 9, 2023). "The Intercept Announces Restructuring as Independent Nonprofit Organization". The Intercept. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  33. Silverstein, Ken, "Where Journalism Goes to Die: Glenn Greenwald, Pierre Omidyar, Adnan Syed and my battles with First Look Media" Archived 2015-02-28 at the Wayback Machine, Politico, February 27, 2015. Retrieved 2015-2-27.
  34. Wang, Shan (June 29, 2016). "First Look Media is building a new platform that aims to include everything from films to podcasts". NiemanLab. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  35. Kedas, Jeannie; Michaels, Morgan; Friedman, Taylor; Wethington, Kari (February 15, 2014). "First Look Media Announces Missing Richard Simmons". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway Company. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  36. "Podcasts". The Intercept. March 13, 2018.
  37. "Podcaster Dan Taberski on 'Running from COPS' | The Business". KCRW. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
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