The Incline

The Incline is an online newspaper focused on the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region. Launched in 2016, the news outlet curates syndicated content[2] and produces original stories aimed towards millennials.[3] Instead of ads, The Incline's revenue comes from events. The best known of which is their "Who's next" event series.[4] In March 2019, The Incline was acquired by WhereBy.Us.[1]

The Incline
The Incline logo
Screenshot of The Incline (May 2019)
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
News
Available inEnglish
FoundedSeptember 13, 2016 (2016-09-13)
HeadquartersPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Area servedPittsburgh
OwnerWhereBy.Us[1]
Key peopleColin Williams (Local director)
IndustryInternet, media
URLtheincline.com
AdvertisingNone
RegistrationNone
Current statusActive

History

Spirited Media founded Philadelphia's web-only local news site Billy Penn in 2014. Billy Penn functions as a mixture of links to news articles produced by other outlets with its own original reporting mixed in.[5] Rather than direct ad sales, Billy Penn found success with an event-based business model. Spirited Media looked for new cities to deploy it in.[6] In 2016, Pittsburgh was identified as the second city after major investments came from Gannett.[7] The Incline deviated from Billy Penn, by selling ads upon its introduction in order to gain exposure and awareness.[2]

The Incline was launched in September 2016. The news outlet was named after the Duquesne Incline.[8] Because of the presence of Silicon Valley companies working with Carnegie Mellon University and the absence of a tech business website in Pittsburgh, the Incline focused more on technology news compared to its Philadelphia counterpart.[9] The Incline was also experimented on curation of news based on the moods of their readers.[2]

Awards and recognition

The Incline won the award for the “Biggest blockbuster story” at the Hearken's 2018 Champions of Curiosity Awards.[10] The Incline obtained recognition in multiple categories from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania at the 54th Golden Quill Awards.[11] The Incline won an award from the 30th Anniversary Vann Media Awards for their coverage of business news.[12]

References
  1. Owen, Laura (March 19, 2019). "Pittsburgh local news site The Incline finds a new home at WhereBy.Us". Nieman Lab. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  2. Grubisich, Tom (October 21, 2016). "With Launch of The Incline in Pittsburgh, Sprited Media's Brady Says 'We Want to Be a Connector'". Street Fight Magazine. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  3. Mullin, Benjamin (November 10, 2017). "Spirited Media Fights Collapse of Local News". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  4. Krewson, Chris (January 26, 2018). "Inside a local media company's pivot to reader revenue". Digital Context Next. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  5. Rieder, Rem (October 19, 2016). "Rieder: Developing models for digital local news". USA Today. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  6. Stelter, Brian (May 9, 2016). "Billy Penn taking its formula to Pittsburgh with help from Gannett investment". CNN Business. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  7. Mullin, Benjamin (May 9, 2016). "Next stop for Billy Penn founder: Pittsburgh". poynter. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  8. Blumenthal, Jeff (Sep 14, 2016). "Billy Penn launches sister website in new market". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  9. Lichterman, Joseph (September 13, 2016). "The Incline, Billy Penn's new sister site, launches in Pittsburgh". Nieman Lab. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  10. "The winners of Hearken's 2018 Champions of Curiosity Awards". Hearken. Dec 11, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  11. "Press Club of Western PA Announces 2018 Golden Quill Winners" (Press release). Pittsburgh: The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  12. "Pittsburgh Federation Announces Winners in 30th Anniversary Vann Media Awards Contest" (PDF). Pittsburgh Black Media Federation (Press release). May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
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