The Next Web sheds key staff amid shift in editorial strategy to one that depends less on breaking news and more on reviews and analysis; Waywire CEO Nathan Richardson Departs As Company Shifts Focus From Content Creation To Curation

The Next Web sheds key staff amid shift in editorial priorities

BY HAMISH MCKENZIE
ON AUGUST 15, 2013

The Next Web, a leading tech blog, has fired or farewelled five of its top editorial staff in recent weeks as it shifts its editorial strategy to one that depends less on breaking news and more on reviews and analysis. In the last month, deputy managing editor Alex Wilhelm left to join TechCrunch, European editor and former TechCrunch writer Robin Wauters was laid off, and both features editor Harrison Weberand news editor Matthew Panzarino have left the company. Brad McCarty, who variously held positions as managing editor, director of business development, and head of TNW Academy, has also parted ways with the company. (Update: McCarty has since been in touch via Twitter to clarify that his departure was not related to the other personnel changes; the timing was coincidental.)The changes come as the company has decided to shift to a more contributor-led content model rather than rely heavily on stories produced by its own editorial team. Accordingly, the company is looking to hire a commissioning editor, according to a post it published on Monday.

TNW’s CEO Zee Kane declined to comment for this story, but he did forward an email statement he had previously sent to the Sam Whitmore Media Survey:

We’re making changes to our editorial focus – definitely keeping within tech and tech news – which you should notice in the coming weeks. This means making changes to some of our editorial team, albeit tough ones.

Kane also told the publication that TNW’s new editorial direction could be described by the word “evergreen.” He didn’t elaborate, but we’ve heard from sources close to the company that that means more app reviews, product-based news, and analysis.

Wauters, who had been at TNW for 18 months since leaving TechCrunch, said he believes the personnel changes must be a result of financial challenges at the company. (Prior to joining TechCrunch in 2008, Wauters had also worked at TNW when it was, in Kane’s words, essentially “a one person blog.”) He thinks he was fired because he was one of the highest-paid writers and therefore a financial burden on the company.

“I can’t think of any other reason writers would quit or would be asked to leave,” Wauters said.

Wauters, who stressed that he has no ill feelings towards TNW and that he was planning to leave anyway, also expressed reservations about the site’s new strategy. When he rejoined the company at the beginning of 2012, its goal was to be a dominant global tech news site, he said. It also had a side goal of supplanting TechCrunch at the top of the TechMeme leaderboard, something it has not been able to achieve.

“It could have been the number one tech news site in the world, if they played their cards right,” Wauters said. “But I don’t think the direction they’re going in is the right one.”

Various metrics show that TNW is, in terms of traffic and authority, in reasonably good shape – but its numbers are exhibiting a decline. It holds fourth place on the TechMeme leaderboard, which measures the performance of tech publications according to how many scoops they deliver, behind TechCrunch, The Verge, and AllThingsD.

Media analytics site Quantcast estimates its unique monthly visitors at about 870,000, down steeply from the 2.6 million monthly uniques it saw in the month before the personnel changes. Traffic to the site has generally been declining since a peak of 2.9 million uniques in January this year, according to Quantcast.

About 10 writers and editors remain on TNW’s editorial team, which is spread between North America, the UK, and Asia.

Waywire CEO Nathan Richardson Departs As Company Shifts Focus From Content Creation To Curation

RYAN LAWLER

posted yesterday

The CEO of Waywire — the startup co-founded by Newark mayor and Senate candidate Cory Booker — is stepping down, TechCrunch has learned. The resignation comes as the company is in the midst of a strategic shift from content creation to content curation, according to a source familiar with the company’s strategy.

Richardson was one of three founding members of the Waywire team, along with Booker andSarah Ross. According to our source, the company is in search of a new CEO, who is expected to be named shortly. In the meantime, Ross is handling the company’s day-to-day activities and Richardson will remain on the company’s board of directors.

The change in leadership comes as Waywire is at an inflection point in its strategic direction. The company, which originally planned to focus onoriginal content creation and discovery, is expected to bet big on content curation.

While still in beta, original content has gone on the back burner as the company seeks to tweak its product and prepare it for launch. In that way, Waywire will lean on others to highlight interesting content that emerges. So instead of being responsible for creating interesting content, users and brands will hopefully highlight content created elsewhere.

With the new direction of the company, Waywire is focused on ways in which it can provide value to users through three different types of content curation: that which is done by its own editors, that which is done through its community, and that which is done by content partners. With that new goal in mind, the company has been working to partner with big media companies — and has signed up two, who will be named later.

So where’s Richardson going? We’re not sure, but TechCrunch received a tip earlier today that he’s joining AOL, to be reunited with AOL Brand CEO Susan Lyne. The pair worked together while Lyne was CEO of New York City-based Gilt Groupe, and Richardson served a variety of roles, including GM of the Men’s section of the site, as well as president of Gilt City. (Our parent company AOL didn’t respond to our requests for comment.)

Richardson isn’t the only person to leave as a result of the transition, we’ve learned. A total of eight Waywire employees have moved on as the company has shifted gears over the last several weeks.

It’s not all bad news for Waywire: With the strategic shift in focus and a new CEO expected to be named soon, the company is also poised to announce a new round of seed funding over the coming days or weeks, we’ve learned.

That investment will come on top of $1.75 million that the company raised from investors that include First Round Capital, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Atom Factory founder Troy Carter, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and all-around celebrity Oprah Winfrey.

The news of Richardson’s departure also comes after Senate hopeful Cory Booker has advanced in the race, and as his opponents seek to use his involvement in the seed-stage startup against him. That said, Booker has said that if elected, he would step down from the board of directorsand also put his holdings in a financial trust.