Online Journalism News

Paidcontent.org publisher gets funding

Posted: 26/06/06 By: Oliver Luft

Email this story | Comments

ContentNext Media, owner of new media news websites PaidContent and MocoNews, has won expansion funding.

The company has received first round investment, of an undisclosed sum, from Greycroft Partners.

Alan Patricof, a founder of Apax Partners and managing director of Greycroft, has previously financed Apple, AOL, and NTL, when those companies were in their infancy.

Backing from Greycroft could prove to be validation of blog-style news sites as a primary source of revenue.

Writing on PaidContent founder Rafat Ali said:

"Our opportunity is to take some money, organise and solidify, choose the right partners, and expand/accelerate what we're doing.

"In the end, keep our heads down and keep doing what we do best: write, report, bring the industry together to discuss and help them do business… in other words, keeping it real."

As well as hiring more backroom staff, ContentNext plans to recruit a New York-based reporter, redesign all its sites and later in the year launch a UK wing.

Alan Patricof told PaidContent: "I think this is a unique opportunity for Greycroft because PaidContent.org and MocoNews.net truly are the publications you need to read before you start your day if you are involved in, or care about, any aspect of new media.

"I've been an avid reader of the sites for some time and watched the company expand into areas such as job search and wireless applications despite having limited capital at its disposal.

"I look at blogs as the hyper-interactive magazines of the future, only with far greater ability to create communities and expand into new areas."

Got a story? Email our news team: Laura Oliver; Judith Townend or telephone +44 (0)1273 384290. You can also follow us on Twitter: @journalismnews / @LauraOliver / @JTownend.