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Tortoise Media
What’s different about us is slow news. We don’t do breaking news, but what’s driving the news.
- 21-100 employees
- B2C
- Publishing
- Visualisation
- Media
- London, UK
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Company mission
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
Our take
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
Benefits
- Work from home opportunities
Company values
- We think everyone should have a seat at the table
- We’d like you to become a member of our newsroom
- We’re interested in getting the best stories – or the best angles on them
- We want to be systematic
- We’re committed to organised listening
- We’ll go out of our way to hear from other people
Funding (1 round)
Feb 2022
$12.4m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $12.4m
Leadership
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'.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Tortoise Media
- We are a new and progressive business with a diverse, motivated team; a mix of veterans and young people starting out on their careers. We are committed to equal opportunities and creating an inclusive environment for all our employees, and we welcome applicants regardless of ethnic origin, national origin, gender, race, colour, religious beliefs, disability, sexual orientation or age