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Yorkshire Post owner National World invests $1.25 million in youth-focused, ‘social-first’ news movement as media group targets TikTok generation
- The News Movement focuses on making news for young people on social media
- National World’s titles include The Yorkshire Post and the Edinburgh Evening News
- Much of The News Movement’s output uses the style of explanatory journalism
A media startup co-founded by former BBC editorial director Kamal Ahmed has received a $1.25 million investment from newspaper publisher National World.
The News Movement, a social-first media company, will provide original news content for National World websites and its own platforms as part of the agreement.
National World also said the cash injection would help advance its new business model and attract more young people to its portfolio of titles.
Entrepreneur: The News Movement, a ‘social-first media’ company, was founded by a group of media executives, including the BBC’s ex-Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed
Most of his stables are well-known local and regional publications ranging from The Yorkshire Post to The Scotsman, the Edinburgh Evening News and Sheffield Star.
Founded less than 18 months ago, The News Movement focuses on providing news for a young audience on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Much of the output follows the style of explanatory journalism, presenting news stories in a more analytical and nuanced way than in traditional day-to-day journalism.
The company was founded by a group of media executives, including Kamal Ahmed, the BBC’s ex-Economics Editor, and William Lewis, the former chief executive of Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.
It had raised approximately $15 million from investors, family and friends before today’s announcement and employs 36 people in offices in London and New York.
David Montgomery, the chief executive of National World, said: ‘The partnership with The News Movement will provide us with the expertise and experience to reach new and younger audiences across platforms and formats they want to consume content.’
Potential deal: National World is currently in talks to acquire Reach plc, the publisher of Mirror and Express titles and the UK’s largest local news owner
Montgomery’s latest investment comes just days after admitting that his company was in talks to acquire Reach plc, the owner of the Mirror and Express titles and the UK’s largest local news owner.
The serial entrepreneur has long been a player in the media sector, having taken over the Mirror Group from Robert Maxwell after the tycoon’s death before being ousted in a boardroom in 1999.
He later founded the newspaper publisher Mecom Group, which built up huge debts to buy up many European publications, such as the Berliner Zeitung, and was on the FTSE 250 Index for a while.
However, the global financial crisis and the declining popularity of print media damaged its finances and it was eventually sold to Belgian media company De Persgroep for around £200 million.
Montgomery then formed Local World to buy Northcliffe Media, the one-time regional newspaper of Daily Mail & General Trust, MailOnline’s parent company, and Yattendon Group’s Iliffe News and Media subsidiary.
That company had more than 100 titles and dozens of websites when it was acquired in 2015 for £220 million by Trinity Mirror, Reach’s predecessor, which Montgomery is now considering acquiring.
Reach plc shares have shrunk by two-thirds in the past 12 months as the company struggled with poor ad sales, rising newsprint costs and poorer economic performance in the UK.
On Monday, they closed trading 6.7 percent higher at 112.8 pence, while National World Shares were 2.4 percent lower at 20p.