Some bad news from the participatory journalism start-up NowPublic, based in Vancouver.
I’ve heard that the site had laid off most of its staff – 8 out of its team of 11 – and could likely be shutting down. (See update below: NowPublic denies it is closed)
NowPublic was bought by Examiner.com last September. At the time, the plan was for Examiner.com and NowPublic to operate independently, retaining their unique offerings and brands.
This is all I know for now, and I am at the International Journalism Symposium at UT Austin.
UPDATE:
In a Twitter message, NowPublic’s community manager Amy Judd described what had happened as “a terrible day, beyond sad.”
2nd UPDATE:
Former VP Publishing, Content & Partner Acquisitions at NowPublic, Joy Gugeler, said in an e-mail:
Needless to say I am hugely disappointed that NowPublic’s potential and expansion will not be pursued in the manner its recruited staff had envisioned 6 months ago following the purchase. Improvements to editorial quality, design, layout, professionalism and writer compensation had been developed with talented colleagues and contributors with the full expectation that they would be realized. I wish the remaining skeleton staff and members the best as they reconcile with the new landscape and trust that talent will go where entrepreneurship and innovation can fulfill their promise.
3rd UPDATE:
In a Facebook status update, NowPublic’s co-founder Mike Tippett, said: “Reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated.”
On Twitter, NowPublic’s co-founder Len Brody said:
NowPublic is NOT closed. Did some layoffs due to the sale, but the company is moving forward.
So it now looks like NowPublic will continue to exist in some form, though with a greatly reduced dedicated staff, which raises questions about what it will be like in the future.
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