The Information (website)

The Information, legally the Lessin Media Company, is an American technology industry-focused business publication headquartered in San Francisco. Founded in 2013 by journalist Jessica Lessin,[2] the publication publishes content behind a paywall that allows subscribers access to the site and access to global networking events.[2][3] Lessin has stated that she aims to "build the next Wall Street Journal over the next 50 years" with the publication.[4]

Lessin Media Company
IndustryDigital media
FoundedDecember 2013 (December 2013)
FounderJessica Lessin
HeadquartersSan Francisco
Number of employees
38[1]
Websitewww.theinformation.com

History and operations
Jessica Lessin founded The Information in December 2013

Jessica Lessin, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal, founded The Information as a subscription-based news website marketed to technology-sector executives in December 2013.[5][6][7] She hired reporter Eric Newcomer as its first employee in 2014.[8] Lessin later formed an advisory board which included venture capitalist John Doerr, Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, and ProPublica executive chairman Paul Steiger.[9]

Lessin has stated that she wants The Information to eventually reach the point where it is spending more than either The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times, and stated "Our ambition isn't to build a subscription business — our goal is to build the most impactful news organization for the next century".[10]

In February 2020, the company announced a partnership with Bloomberg Media, enabling customers to purchase a year-long joint bundle.[11] The Financial Times reported in November 2021 that the publication has 225,000 "users", a figure that includes subscribers and individuals who have signed up for newsletters.[12] As of 2022, the publication has 45,000 paid subscribers.[4]

In 2023, the publication launched a new subscription service for charts, proprietary data and, reader surveys. The service will be geared towards C-suite professionals.[13]

Networking

Basic subscriptions for The Information provide readers access to both the publication as well as worldwide networking events.[2][3] In October 2016, it was announced that a student edition and Investor level would be added to the subscription levels. An Investor subscription includes private monthly conference calls and in-person briefings with the reporting team.[14][15]

In July 2022, it was reported that Lessin intends for The Information to launch a social networking service for subscribers, stating that platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn have grown too large to be able to curate strong connections.[12]

Asia bureau

In addition to its San Francisco headquarters, the company operates an Asia bureau headed by Shai Oster in Hong Kong.[16] The company held an international networking event 2016 in Beijing, where annual subscribers met with leaders from Asian companies such as electronics company Xiaomi, venture capital firm Shunwei Capital, and investment management firm Hillhouse Capital Group.[2][17]

Content and impact

The publication focuses on in-depth, data-driven analysis and exclusive investigative stories. Forbes reported that stories reported in The Information led to the site contributing to over $97 billion worth of brokered industry deals since its founding.[3]

In April 2017, The Information announced the launch of Briefing, a new feature to the site consisting of a list of daily headlines with commentary on articles from other news sources.[18][19] In December 2019, the company launched 'The Tech Top 10', a basic, consumer-focused offering.[20] In 2021, the company launched The Electric, its first standalone subscription publication, which focuses on electric vehicle news.[12] Lessin has indicated that The Information plans to expand its coverage into financial news, and that one third of the publication's reader base work in financial services.[4]

Notable exclusives

In 2022, The Information published an exclusive report detailing the issues faced by Apple during the development of the Apple electric car project. The report revealed that senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi is skeptical of the project's viability, and that one of the vehicles came close to hitting a pedestrian without human intervention.[21]

Reception

Vanity Fair included The Information on its 2014 New Establishment list.[5]

References
  1. "About Us". The Information. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  2. Marr, Merissa (November 30, 2016). "Inside (The) Information". Columbia Journalism Review.
  3. Berg, Madeline (December 5, 2016). "For Your Information: Subscriber-Only News Site The Information Capitalizes On Exclusives And Exclusivity". Forbes.
  4. Perlberg, Steven. "The Information's Jessica Lessin wants to build 'the next Wall Street Journal' over the next 50 years. Here's how she grew the tech site to about 45,000 paid subscribers". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  5. Pompeo, Joe (October 24, 2016). "The Morning Media Profile: Jessica Lessin's rise from reporter to entrepreneur". Politico.
  6. Isaac, Mike (December 4, 2013). "Ex-WSJ Reporter's New Subscription Tech Site, The Information, Launches". All Things D.
  7. Edge, Abigail (March 19, 2014). "Why The Information chose to follow a paywall model". Journalism.co.uk.
  8. Haribhakti, Sar (2022-07-26). "A chat with Eric Newcomer, the indie scoop machine". Scatter Brain. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  9. Ingram, Mathew (August 5, 2016). "The Founder of The Information on What Media Companies Are Doing Wrong". Fortune.
  10. Roush, Chris (2019-04-18). "The Information's Lessin: We want to spend as much as WSJ, NYTimes on journalism". Talking Biz News. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  11. Barber, Kayleigh (19 February 2020). "The Information is testing a subscription bundle with Bloomberg Media". Digiday.
  12. Fischer, Sara (2022-07-12). "Exclusive: The Information launching social network for subscribers". Axios. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  13. Fischer, Sara (2023-02-22). "The Information launches new subscription product for data and charts". Axios. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  14. Owen, Laura Hazard (October 26, 2016). "The Information's Jessica Lessin on how she's scaling an already-expensive subscription product". Nieman Lab.
  15. Mullin, Benjamin (October 26, 2016). "The Information's Jessica Lessin on building her business, putting subscribers first and the future of media". Poynter.
  16. "The Information Forms Asia Bureau; Hires Shai Oster as Bureau Chief". www.businesswire.com. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  17. Owen, Laura Hazard (February 2, 2016). "The Information is offering members a perk: an exclusive trip to "meet the right people" in China". Nieman Lab.
  18. Owen, Laura Hazard (April 25, 2017). "The Information's new Briefing is a continuous update of opinionated takes on other people's articles". Nieman Lab.
  19. Millin, Benjamin (April 25, 2017). "With Briefing, The Information muscles in on news aggregators like Techmeme". Poynter.
  20. Lee, Edmund (7 February 2020). "Maybe Information Actually Doesn't Want to Be Free". New York Times.
  21. Welch, Chris (2022-07-11). "Apple Car project reportedly still running into roadblocks — and nearly a jogger". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
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