American media company
Thrillist
is an
online media
website covering
food
,
drink
,
travel
and
entertainment
. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in
New York City
,
United States
. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands
The Dodo
,
NowThis News
, and
Seeker
[1]
to form the digital media
holding company
Group Nine Media
,
[2]
which was acquired by
Vox Media
in 2022.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Thrillist was founded in 2004 by Ben Lerer, son of media executive
Kenneth Lerer
; and Adam Rich, his friend from college. They graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania
in 2003 and moved to New York City. Rich initially served as president, and Ben Robinson served as the Chief Creative Officer. Lerer and Rich sent the first Thrillist e-mail newsletter in 2005 to 600 friends. In early 2017, following layoffs of more than 25 employees, the Thrillist editorial, video, and distribution staffs announced plans to unionize with the
Writers Guild of America East
.
[4]
In response, Lerer refused to voluntarily recognize and held anti-union,
captive audience meetings
despite more than 85% of the editorial staff having signed
union cards
.
[5]
In July 2017, Thrillist hired entertainment industry veteran and former MTV and GoPro executive Ocean MacAdams to lead the digital brand.
[6]
In late September 2018, after more than a year at the bargaining table and a staff walkout, the Thrillist Union and management reached a collective bargaining agreement.
[7]
[8]
The deal included a guaranteed 8.5% raise for all employees in its first year, as well as a salary floor of $50,000/year. "This represents a victory not just for the editorial employees of Thrillist, but for our entire industry," the Thrillist Union's bargaining committee said of the contract. "Through collective action we've made our workplace better and helped set a standard we hope other digital media shops can follow."
[9]
In 2019, Thrillist hired Meghan Kirsch, formerly Vice Media's SVP of marketing and creative, as its chief content officer.
[10]
That same year, the media brand named Helen Hollyman, Founding Editor of Vice's Munchies, its new Editor-in-Chief.
[11]
Former business ventures
[
edit
]
In May 2010, Thrillist acquired online men's fashion retailer JackThreads.
[12]
In March 2011, TMG hired Eric Ashman as
Chief Financial Officer
from
The Huffington Post
.
[13]
In 2012, Ashman was charged with committing accounting fraud by the
SEC
while working as CFO at
The Street
and was "barred from acting as a director or officer of a public company for three years."
[14]
In February 2012, Lerer announced the creation of the Thrillist Media Group (TMG), which combined Thrillist, deal site Thrillist Rewards, and JackThreads.
[15]
In August 2012, the media group led a $13 million fundraising round, from OAK, the Pilot Group, and Lerer Ventures.
[16]
In March 2013, TMG discontinued Thrillist Rewards, citing slow growth, and also launched
The Crosby Press
, a site designed to market JackThreads products by providing content aimed at a target audience of men in their late teens to early twenties.
[17]
By May 2015,
The Crosby Press
had been closed by TMG.
[18]
In October 2013, TMG launched the tech site Supercompressor, which focused on gear and gadgets for a young male audience.
[19]
Supercompressor was discontinued as a site in September 2015.
[20]
In September 2015, TMG announced it had raised $54 million in total from European publisher
Axel Springer
,
Oak Investment Partners
and
SBNY
. As part of the transaction, Thrillist separated its businesses, with Thrillist Media group operating the media site, Thrillist, while the e-commerce company operated JackThreads.
[21]
In October 2016, TMG merged with
The Dodo
,
NowThis News
and
Seeker
to form
Group Nine Media
. The newly formed
holding company
received a $100 million strategic investment from
Discovery, Inc.
[22]
In February 2017, JackThreads laid off most of its staff in preparation to "cease operations as an independent company." A number of customers subsequently experienced problems with returns, canceled orders, and items that never shipped.
[23]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Alpert, Lukas I. (October 13, 2016).
"Discovery Invests in Digital-Media Outlets"
.
The Wall Street Journal
.
ISSN
0099-9660
.
Archived
from the original on August 31, 2017
. Retrieved
March 14,
2017
.
- ^
Alpert, Lukas I.
"Discovery invests in digital-media outlets"
.
MarketWatch
.
Archived
from the original on March 16, 2017
. Retrieved
March 16,
2017
.
- ^
"Vox Media Completes Acquisition of Group Nine"
. February 22, 2022
. Retrieved
April 13,
2022
.
- ^
Marans, Daniel (February 15, 2017).
"Thrillist Staff Announces Plan To Unionize"
.
The Huffington Post
.
Archived
from the original on March 9, 2017
. Retrieved
February 20,
2017
.
- ^
Nolan, Hamilton.
"The Dismal Thrillist Anti-Union Campaign"
.
The Concourse
.
Archived
from the original on March 15, 2017
. Retrieved
March 14,
2017
.
- ^
McAdams, Ocean (July 12, 2017).
"Thrillist Taps GoPro, Current TV Veteran Ocean MacAdams as President (Exclusive)"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Archived
from the original on April 5, 2018
. Retrieved
April 27,
2018
.
- ^
"Thrillist staff refuses to work as union contract negotiations sputter"
.
Fast Company
. August 13, 2018.
Archived
from the original on October 19, 2018
. Retrieved
October 18,
2018
.
- ^
"Thrillist Staff Ratify Contract With Writers Guild East"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Archived
from the original on October 18, 2018
. Retrieved
October 18,
2018
.
- ^
"Thrillist Union on Twitter"
.
Twitter
.
Archived
from the original on July 15, 2020
. Retrieved
October 18,
2018
.
- ^
Spangler, Todd (July 8, 2019).
"Thrillist Hires Meghan Kirsch, Former Vice and A&E Exec, as Chief Content Officer (EXCLUSIVE)"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
November 3,
2021
.
- ^
Spangler, Todd (October 16, 2019).
"Thrillist Taps Helen Hollyman, Founding Editor of Vice's Munchies, for Top Editorial Post (EXCLUSIVE)"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
November 3,
2021
.
- ^
McMahan, Ty (May 13, 2010).
"Is Thrillist The Future of Media? ? Speakeasy ? WSJ"
.
The Wall Street Journal
.
Archived
from the original on October 27, 2011
. Retrieved
October 20,
2011
.
- ^
Ante, Spencer E. (March 31, 2011).
"Chief Financial Officer of the Huffington Post to Leave"
.
The Wall Street Journal
.
Archived
from the original on March 17, 2017
. Retrieved
March 16,
2017
.
- ^
Savitz, Eric.
"SEC Charges TheStreet, 3 Execs With Accounting Fraud"
.
Forbes
.
Archived
from the original on March 16, 2017
. Retrieved
March 16,
2017
.
- ^
Del Ray, Jason (February 7, 2012).
"Thrillist Hires New Head of Sales, Forms Thrillist Media Group"
.
AdAge
.
Archived
from the original on November 7, 2013
. Retrieved
February 13,
2012
.
- ^
Kafka, Peter.
"Dude, Here's Your Series A: Ben Lerer's Thrillist Raises $13 Million"
.
AllThingssD
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2012
. Retrieved
August 24,
2012
.
- ^
Del Rey, Jason (March 6, 2013).
"Thrillist Media Launches 'The Crosby Press' to Finally Solve Content + Commerce Puzzle"
.
Advertising Age
.
Archived
from the original on April 8, 2016
. Retrieved
March 26,
2016
.
- ^
Foster, Tom (May 29, 2015).
"How Ben Lerer Succeeded Where So Many Others Failed"
.
Inc
.
Archived
from the original on April 14, 2016
. Retrieved
March 26,
2016
.
- ^
Shields, Mike.
"Thrillist Is Launching a Tech Publication"
.
Adweek
. Adweek.
Archived
from the original on October 7, 2013
. Retrieved
October 6,
2013
.
- ^
"Supercompressor (@supercompressor)"
. Twitter.
Archived
from the original on December 1, 2015
. Retrieved
March 14,
2017
.
- ^
"Axel Springer buys minority stake in Thrillist"
.
USA TODAY
.
Archived
from the original on March 16, 2017
. Retrieved
March 16,
2017
.
- ^
Alpert, Lukas I.
"Discovery invests in digital-media outlets"
.
MarketWatch
.
Archived
from the original on March 16, 2017
. Retrieved
March 16,
2017
.
- ^
"Startup JackThreads Lays Off Most Staff and Puts Itself Up for Sale"
.
Fortune
.
Archived
from the original on March 15, 2017
. Retrieved
March 14,
2017
.
External links
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edit
]
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Leadership
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Explained
franchise
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