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The world needs a different kind of newsroom. Not chasing breaking news, but revealing what’s driving it. Built to cover stories not as they happen, but when they’re ready. Where everyone has a seat at the table. We’re here to build journalism that lasts. A business model that’s responsible and sustainable.
14% employee growth in 12 months
Tortoise Media was founded in 2017, unveiling its innovative slow news-based platform. It chimed with a UK audience eager for a deeper understanding of a news agenda dominated by the fall-out from Brexit and the exploits of the US President Donald Trump. The platform's creation is a response to the overwhelm of information resulting from newsrooms chasing stories and missing the bigger picture, and the widening divide between the powerful and the powerless in the media.
Traditional newsrooms can miss important stories because they run too fast. Tortoise 'slow news' approach encompasses taking the time to investigate unreported stories, trying to make sense of what’s driving the news and listening out for different points of view, rather than jumping to 'breaking news' stories.
Tortoise has grown its paid membership to around 50k members since its full launch in 2019. Membership prices range from £50 to £450, with free deals for students. The company intends to grow its paid individual and professional membership, including a renewed focus on events to help build up that membership base and reach a wider audience. It will also put more focus on its audio journalism, as the audience for its podcasts reached almost 3 million monthly downloads in December 2021.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Feb 2022
$12.4m
EARLY VC
James Harding
(Editor)Previous Editor of The Times for five years. Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC for another five years.
Matthew Barzun
(Chariman)Previous Ambassador to the UK and Sweden and Author of 'The Power of Giving Away Power'.