![]() Tortoise Media's wordmark | |
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Type of site | News website |
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Available in | English |
Founded | 2018 |
Founder(s) | James Harding, Matthew Barzun, Katie Vanneck-Smith[1] |
Editor | James Harding |
URL | www |
Tortoise Media is a British news website co-founded by former BBC News director and The Times editor James Harding and former US ambassador to the United Kingdom Matthew Barzun.[1][2][3] Tortoise also produces podcasts and holds live discussion events called "ThinkIns" and "Discussion Lates" in the London area.[4] It is part of the slow journalism movement.[5]
It was announced on Kickstarter in 2018, where it raised more than £500,000. Permanent invites to ThinkIns and Discussion Lates were part of higher-tier Kickstarter reward packages. It also received private investment.[1] Its website went live in April 2019.[6]
Writing for The Guardian in 2018, Emily Bell said that Tortoise draws from ideas tried by The Guardian, Axios, Vox and Quartz. She noted the trend of increased involvement of private wealth in the journalism industry, comparing Tortoise and its wealthy, well-connected founders and backers to Mark Benioff's purchase of Time and Jeff Bezos's purchase of the Washington Post. She also noted that Tortoise's financial strength allowed it to attract high-profile journalists.[1] The company received the Innovation of the Year award from the British Journalism Awards in 2019.[7]