Quartz's new app is banking on big names like Richard Branson to help create a 'constructive and civil' alternative to Facebook and Twitter
Quartz
The Newspicks app has been relaunched as a new app for Quartz.
- After being acquired by Uzabase for between $75 million to $110 million in July, Quartz has relaunched the Newspicks app as a standalone app.
- The digital publisher has picked 50 "Quartz Pros" like Beth Comstock and Roger McNamee to weigh in on the news.
- Quartz execs want the app to be an alternative to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- Quartz also launched a membership model for $14.99 per month and $99 for a year.
"Where the future gets its news."
That was the phrase splashed across posters and signage at an event Quartz held this week at New York's McIntosh House. The event celebrated the first two big projects to come out of the digital publisher's acquisition by Japanese media company Uzabase in July: A new app and a paid membership program.
Both launches represent the direction Quartz is headed: from an advertising-supported business to a subscription-based model and "community" journalism.
"Our vision of Quartz is a place that includes smart journalism, elevated conversation, engagement, and connection around the most macro themes of news and developments," said Kevin Delaney, Quartz's editor-in-chief and co-CEO.
Leaders are going to guide the news
Quartz's paid membership model costs $14.99 per month and $99 for a year and includes access to exclusive stories, events, and conference calls with reporters.
On the free side of Quartz's content, Uzabase's news curation app Newspicks has been relaunched as a standalone app for Quartz. Deloitte and Prudential Financial are the app's launch sponsors and are running sponsored ad units that fit between newsfeed posts.
Similar to the "Quartz Daily Brief" email newsletter, journalists curate news in the app from a range of publishers like Bloomberg, Fast Company, and The New York Times. One of the main ways Quartz wants to differentiate its app from the thousands of other news apps is with its "Quartz Pros," who are 50 thought leaders and business execs picked by Quartz to add commentary around news. Each month, Quartz plans to expand the group to include more Pros.
The initial Quartz Pros include:
- Beth Comstock, author and former vice chair of GE
- Roger McNamee, investor and author
- Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code
- Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte
- Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media
- Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of World Bank
- Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group
- Maryam Banikarim, former CMO of Hyatt
"These are people who you would want to sit next to at a dinner and hear them talk about what's going on that day because they bring context, experience, and are active in these areas," Delaney said. "This platform is anchored in the news and there is journalistic, curatorial involvement."
One of the stories populating the app on Thursday was the New York Times' bombshell report on the inner workings of Facebook. McNamee, who was one of Facebook's earliest advisors and has since become critical of the company, wrote a comment on the post that read, "FB's culture is toxic, but changing management will accomplish little unless they replace the business model and business practices."
Quartz
Quartz wants to be an alternative to Facebook
Delaney pointed to McNamee's comment as an example of the type of conversations that Quartz hopes ignite on its app.
Unlike social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, the platform is curated by Quartz journalists who surface stories and moderate chatter. People can only comment once on an article and they can edit their response, for example. Users also cannot reply to others or thread comments together. Instead, they can "like" comments.
"It's not echo chambers and old angry arguments that people are throwing back and forth at each other," he said. "It's high-quality, high-level insight about what's going on - we've engineered this from the very beginning to be a place that is constructive and civil."
In terms of criteria of its experts, Quartz is looking for diversity of people across geographies, industries, and perspectives, said Ian Myers, Quartz's general manager of platform. Pros are not paid and agree to "regularly weigh in on the news" a few times a week, Quartz said.
"You'd be surprised what an effect this has on not only the quality of the commentary but the quality of the community," he said. "We're building a platform for users to engage in a thoughtful and meaningful way."
