Digital media company
Puck
Formation
| August 2021
; 2 years ago
(
2021-08
)
|
---|
Type
| Digital media company
|
---|
Official language
| English
|
---|
Editor-in-chief
| Jon Kelly
|
---|
Website
| puck
.news
|
---|
Puck
is an American digital media company founded in 2021.
Puck
's coverage aims to cover the 'four centers of power' in the United States:
Silicon Valley
,
Hollywood
,
Washington
and
Wall Street
.
[1]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The name of the company is a play on the name of the character in
William Shakespeare
's play
A Midsummer Night's Dream
, as well as a reference to the
Puck Building
in
Manhattan
.
[2]
Editorial tone and style
[
edit
]
In a 2022 profile,
The New Yorker
described
Puck
's editorial tone as being "deliberately clubby," with part of the appeal for readers being that "its writers move in the same elevated spaces as the people whom they cover."
[3]
Bloomberg News
described
Puck
as a company that "treats reporters like
social media influencers
".
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Puck
was founded by Joe Purzycki, Jon Kelly, Liz Gough,
Julia Ioffe
, and Max Tcheyan. The company launched its landing page in August 2021 and debuted in whole in September 2021. In 2021, the company received $7 million in funding from
Standard Industries
and
TPG Growth
.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Purzycki stepped down as CEO of the company in May 2023.
[7]
On January 5, 2024, Sarah Personette, the former head of ad sales at Twitter, was announced as the company's CEO.
[8]
Puck
debuted a series of podcasts hosted by its writers in September 2021.
[1]
In March 2022, the outlet debuted a podcast co-created by
Bill Simmons
'
The Ringer
, which is owned by
Spotify
.
[9]
In August 2023, editor-in-chief Jon Kelly told
Axios
that the company raised over $10 million in
Series B
funding.
[10]
Puck
launched its first-ever live conference events in October 2023, holding an event with former White House Chief of Staff
Ron Klain
at the Top of the Hay in
Washington, D.C.
Events with
Netflix
's
Bela Bajaria
and
Goldman Sachs
'
David M. Solomon
are scheduled for later in 2023.
[11]
Notable stories and coverage
[
edit
]
Following
FTX
founder
Sam Bankman-Fried
's arrest, Bankman-Fried was interviewed by
Puck
during his house arrest.
[12]
[13]
Puck
has reported on Bankman-Fried's political aspirations prior to his arrest, reporting in September 2023 that he had intended to donate between $15 million to $30 million to Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
.
[14]
In August 2023,
Puck
reported on a falling out between Canadian singer
Justin Bieber
and his longtime manager
Scooter Braun
. While both parties denied rumors that Bieber was searching for new management,
Puck
stood by its report. Outlets including
Variety
and
Billboard
went on to report on tensions between Bieber and Braun.
[15]
Readership and staff
[
edit
]
As of November 2022,
Puck
had 25 staff members and 200,000 email subscribers, with 20,000 readers paying $12.99 (or $100 annually) for all-access reporting.
[16]
The New York Times
reported in 2022 the company had a valuation of approximately $70 million following its latest funding round.
[10]
[17]
Puck
journalists are given equity in the company and receive bonuses based on the number of subscribers their articles produce.
[18]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Shaw, Lucas (September 13, 2021).
"A New Media Startup Treats Reporters Like Social Media Influencers"
.
Bloomberg News
. Retrieved
May 30,
2022
.
- ^
Fischer, Sara (April 1, 2021).
"Scoop: Buzzy media startup Puck launches in beta"
.
Puck
. Retrieved
April 28,
2023
.
- ^
Malone, Clare (December 2, 2022).
"The E-Mail Newsletter for the Mogul Set"
.
The New Yorker
. Retrieved
April 28,
2023
.
- ^
Fischer, Sara (August 4, 2021).
"Buzzy media startup Puck emerges from stealth mode with big-name hires"
.
Axios
.
Archived
from the original on May 21, 2022
. Retrieved
May 21,
2022
.
- ^
Ellefson, Lindsey (August 5, 2021).
"Dylan Byers, Julia Ioffe, Pete Hamby Join Newly Named Puck News"
.
TheWrap
.
Archived
from the original on May 22, 2022
. Retrieved
May 21,
2022
.
- ^
Lee, Edmund; Hirsch, Lauren (April 14, 2021).
"Former Conde Nast Editor Plans a Vanity Fair for the Substack Era"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on May 24, 2022
. Retrieved
May 21,
2022
.
- ^
Dickey, Josh (May 8, 2023).
"Puck News Co-Founder and CEO Joe Purzycki Steps Down"
.
TheWrap
. Retrieved
October 29,
2023
.
- ^
Spangler, Todd (January 5, 2024).
"Ex-Twitter Ad Sales Chief Sarah Personette Joins News Startup Puck as CEO"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
May 3,
2024
.
- ^
Fischer, Sara (March 8, 2022).
"Puck launches new podcast with The Ringer"
.
Axios
. Retrieved
October 29,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Fischer, Sara (August 8, 2023).
"Exclusive: Media startup Puck raises more than $10M"
.
Axios
. Retrieved
September 12,
2023
.
- ^
Fischer, Sara (October 17, 2023).
"Puck launches live event conference series"
.
Axios
. Retrieved
October 29,
2023
.
- ^
Stieb, Matt (January 12, 2023).
"Sam Bankman-Fried Has a New Defense Strategy: Blogging"
.
Intelligencer
. Retrieved
October 30,
2023
.
- ^
Bonos, Lisa (March 4, 2023).
"Sam Bankman-Fried is under house arrest at Stanford. Students are obsessed"
.
Washington Post
. Retrieved
October 29,
2023
.
While awaiting his fraud trial later this year, Bankman-Fried wears an ankle bracelet to track his movements and plays with his new dog, Sandor, according to a Puck News report.
- ^
Al-Sibai, Noor (October 3, 2023).
"Sam Bankman-Fried's Dog Apparently Is Trained to Kill, But He Doesn't Know the Command"
.
Futurism
. Retrieved
October 30,
2023
.
- ^
Cohen, Danielle (August 25, 2023).
"Why Is Everyone Dumping Scooter Braun?"
.
The Cut
. Retrieved
October 29,
2023
.
- ^
Stenberg, Mark (November 2, 2022).
"Puck, Channeling Magazines Past, Nears 200,000 Subscribers"
.
Adweek
. Retrieved
April 28,
2023
.
- ^
Mullin, Benjamin; Robinson, Katie (October 20, 2022).
"Are We Past Peak Newsletter?"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
October 29,
2023
.
- ^
Perman, Stacy (August 2, 2022).
"Two new Hollywood newsletters are betting they've got the town covered"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
October 31,
2023
.
At Puck, journalists are given equity in the business and, in addition to salaries, receive bonuses based on the number of subscriptions their work produces. They also receive compensation based on IP development.
External links
[
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]