One of America’s most trustworthy news sources for African-American content is reclaiming its ownership for more flexibility in the world of journalism.
Since its 2009 inception, theGrio has operated underneath the NBC umbrella, making it one of the first sites to be predominately sponsored by a major media corporation. Now, as the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education reports, NBC is selling the site back to its original owner and co-founder David Wilson, but will still keep close ties to its original parent sponsor.
“I think this is something you’re going to be impressed by,” Wilson said in a phone interview without going into detail about the negotiations of the sale. Still, the new goal is to expand theGrio into a “video-centric, social media-oriented site.”
“The idea is to get video to the users first,” Wilson continued. “It’s the type of video we’re going to create that will distinguish it.” MSNBC spokeswoman Diana Rocco echoed the sentiments via email and touched on the vertical the site would have parallel to NBC’s online channels.
“MSNBC and The Grio will continue to have an editorial partnership centered on breaking news, politics, and business. Later this summer, NBCNews.com will introduce a new vertical with reporting and analysis relevant to the African-American community (the site currently features successful verticals for the Latino and Asian Pacific American communities),” she wrote.
Most of the nine person staff will remain and there was also a promise that more job openings for the site would open up in the Manhattan area. The sale is expected to happen next week.
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Photo: theGrio
