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Tortoise Media
British news website From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tortoise Media is a British news website co-founded in 2018 by both James Harding, a former Director of BBC News and a former editor of The Times, and Matthew Barzun, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.[1][2][3] Tortoise produces podcasts and holds live discussion events called "ThinkIns" and "Discussion Lates" in the London area.[4] It is part of the slow journalism movement.[5] It purchased The Observer in December 2024[6] with the transfer taking place on 22 April 2025.[7]
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History
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Tortoise Media was announced on Kickstarter in 2018, where it raised more than £500,000. Permanent invitations to ThinkIns and Discussion Lates were part of higher-tier Kickstarter reward packages. It also received private investment.[1] Its website went live in April 2019.[8]
Writing for The Guardian in 2018, Emily Bell said that Tortoise drew from ideas tried by The Guardian, Axios, Vox and Quartz. She said there was a trend of increased involvement of private wealth in the journalism industry, comparing Tortoise and its wealthy, well-connected founders and backers to Marc Benioff's purchase of Time and Jeff Bezos's purchase of The Washington Post. She also said that Tortoise's financial strength allowed it to attract high-profile journalists.[1] The company received the Innovation of the Year award from the British Journalism Awards in 2019.[9]
In September 2024 it was reported that Tortoise had approached the Guardian Media Group—proprietor of The Guardian and The Observer—with an offer to purchase The Observer for an undisclosed price.[10] Guardian and Observer journalists voted to strike on 4 and 5 December 2024 in protest over a sale that they said would betray the commitment of the Scott Trust—owner of the Guardian Media Group—to the Observer.[11]
As the strike was taking place, the Scott Trust agreed to go through with the sale,[12] which occurred later that month.[6]
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Personnel
Business
- Emily Benn, former chief of staff
- Alexandra Mousavizadeh, former partner[1]
- Ceri Thomas, editor and partner
- Saul Klein, investor, son of venture capitalist Robin Klein[1]
Journalists
- Giles Whittell, deputy editor
- Matthew d'Ancona, former editor
- Peter Hoskin, former editor
- Paul Caruana Galizia, journalist, son of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia[13]
- Merope Mills, former reporter, and proponent of Martha's Rule[1]
Contributors
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References
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