Elite Daily is an American online news platform founded by David Arabov, Jonathon Francis, and Gerard Adams.[1] The site describes its target audience as millennials. In addition to general news and trending topics, the site offers feature stories and listicles covering politics, social justice, sex and dating, women's issues, and sports. Its slogan is "The Voice of Generation Y".[2]
 | |
Type of site | News and features |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | February 2012 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Employees | 100 |
| Parent | Bustle Digital Group |
| URL | elitedaily |
| Launched | February 1, 2012 |
| Current status | Active |
History
edit
Elite Daily was launched independently in February 2012. It was purchased by DMG Media in January 2015 for an estimated $50 million.[3]
In December 2014, Elite Daily ranked as the seventh most shared site on Facebook and the fourteenth most popular US online news entity.[4][5] In 2015, it was listed as one of the most prolific Facebook content publishers.[6]
In 2014, Elite Daily's documentary team won a New York Emmy Award in Politics/Government for their short documentary Meet the 14-Year-Old Who Helped Legalize Medical Marijuana In NY.[7]
On April 17, 2017, Elite Daily was purchased from DMG by Bustle Digital Group.[8][9]
Controversies and criticism
editPseudonymous publishing
editIn July 2013, it was discovered that many of Elite Daily's writers were using fake names and profile photos that were actually of unrelated models.[10] In a September 2013 interview with TechCrunch, founder David Arabov revealed that he publishes all of his articles under the pseudonym "Preston Waters".[1] At least five other in-house writers were also publishing with pseudonyms. Elite Daily's staff was described in the TechCrunch article as having the belief that "there is no responsibility in telling the truth when it comes to [a writer's] byline or bio, as long as the articles themselves are accurate."[1]
Identity theft
editIn July 2015, Gawker writer Kate Knibbs discovered that her name was appearing in the byline of Elite Daily articles she had not written.[11] When questioned about Elite Daily's failure to authenticate the identity of the writer claiming to be Knibbs, the communications director of another DMG publication (the Daily Mail) Sean Walsh suggested systemic risks of the publication's system and responded, "This is the nature of a platform that accepts contributors."[11] The matter was settled and Knibbs said once Elite Daily confirmed the veracity of her claims they acted in a "courteous" manner.[11]
Sexism
editFeminist blog Jezebel has criticized Elite Daily's content as "misogynistic screeds". In a September 2013 article, Jezebel criticized an Elite Daily article which stated that "a woman's value depreciates over time", compared aging women to stale bread, and suggested that this was justification "compelling men to cheat".[12] Jezebel has remained critical of Elite Daily, publishing articles condemning the site and its content as recently as September 2015.[13]
In February 2014, The Daily Banter published an article calling Elite Daily "everything that is wrong with online journalism".[14] While singling out the site's alleged sexism (with listicles such as "21 Signs She's Expired" – #15 of which was "3 fingers fit"), it also criticized the site's "sweatshop" labor model of publishing content primarily by contributors whose only compensation is exposure.[14]
In a 2015 Gawker story, writer Max Read credited Elite Daily for shifting "away from aggressively dumb misogyny" but noted that the site remained "imbecilic", "dull", and "utterly charmless and completely unredeemable".[15]
Copyright infringement
editIn March 2015, photojournalist Peter Menzel sued Elite Daily for using thirty of his photos without his consent. Menzel claimed that Elite Daily not only removed a copyright notice from one of the images but also stated that the photos were "courtesy of Peter Menzel" without actually obtaining his permission.[16]
Notable people
edit- Entertainer Joe Santagato worked as a producer and editor for the company.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b c Crook, Jordan (September 5, 2013). "Elite Daily, Content Farm Or Groundbreaking Site For Upwardly Mobile Youngsters? You Decide". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "The Voice Of Generation-Y™ | Elite Daily". Elite Daily. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "How Elite Daily's 20-something founders sold their startup to Daily Mail for ~ $50 Million in cash". Business Insider. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "The Biggest Facebook Publishers of December 2014 | The Whip". The Whip. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "Digital: Top 50 Online News Entities (2015)*". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "The Biggest Facebook Publishers Of January 2015 | The Whip". The Whip. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Meet the 14-Year-Old Who Helped Legalize Medical Marijuana In NY". YouTube. July 7, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Elite Daily lost a ton of money, but Bustle just bought it from the Daily Mail anyway". Nieman Lab. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ^ "Bustle acquires Elite Daily from Daily Mail and rebrands as Bustle Digital Group". Business Insider. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ^ "Rich Kids Of The Internet: Inside The Astounding Troll-Hole That Is Elite Daily". The Awl. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Elite Daily promises changes after writer identity theft". www.capitalnewyork.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "The Elite Daily's Misogynistic Screeds Are Probably the Worst Things You'll Read All Day". Jezebel. March 20, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "Elite Daily, Where Being Fat Is Morally Wrong and All Women Want Anal". Jezebel. September 20, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ a b "Elite Daily is Everything That's Wrong With Internet Journalism and Generation-Y - The Daily Banter". The Daily Banter. February 14, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Daily Mail Purchases Elite Daily to Form Voltron of ####". TKTK. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Photographer Peter Menzel is Suing EliteDaily.com for Copyright Infringement". American Photo. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ Carter, Brooke (August 23, 2018). "Joe Santagato Net Worth 2018". Gazette Review. Retrieved April 17, 2020.