Ankler Media
{{Short description|American digital media company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ankler Media
| logo = The Ankler Logo.jpg
| type = Private
| industry = Mass media
| foundation = {{Start date and age|2017}}
| founder = {{plainlist|
- Richard Rushfield}}
| key_people = Janice Min (CEO)
| website = {{URL|https://www.theankler.com/}}
}}
Ankler Media is an American digital media company owned by the Ankler Media Group. In 2021, its Hollywood newsletter, The Ankler, was listed as one of the top three business publications on Substack and has been nominated for two Webby Awards.
History
In February 2017, Richard Rushfield founded The Ankler, a Hollywood newsletter about the entertainment industry, which he then moved to the Substack platform two years later.{{Cite magazine |date=February 22, 2023 |title=How Richard Rushfield's The Ankler Took on Hollywood |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/how-richard-rushfields-the-ankler-took-on-hollywood |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222145937/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/how-richard-rushfields-the-ankler-took-on-hollywood |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |magazine=Vanity Fair}}
In January 2022, Janice Min, former co-president of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, joined the company to form Ankler Media.{{Cite web |title=Entertainment Trade 'The Ankler' Teams With Janice Min On Expansion Plans |url=https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/369481/entertainment-trade-the-ankler-teams-with-janice.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330113235/https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/369481/entertainment-trade-the-ankler-teams-with-janice.html |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=mediapost.com}} Min joined as co-owner and CEO, with Richard Rushfield taking the role of editorial director.{{Cite web |last=Hopkins |first=Kathryn |date=February 19, 2022 |title=Five New Media Launches |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/media/five-media-launches-cnn-puck-grid-ankler-the-smiths-1235069533/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819233031/https://wwd.com/business-news/media/five-media-launches-cnn-puck-grid-ankler-the-smiths-1235069533/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022}}{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2021 |title=The Ankler, a Hit Hollywood Newsletter, Charts an Expansion |url=https://www.adweek.com/morning-media-newsfeed/the-ankler-a-hit-hollywood-newsletter-charts-an-expansion/ |website=Adweek}}{{Cite web |last=Wagmeister |first=Elizabeth |date=December 17, 2021 |title=Janice Min Loses First Hire at Ankler Newsletter to Rolling Stone (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/janice-min-the-ankler-tatiana-siegel-rolling-stone-1235134593/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808204920/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/janice-min-the-ankler-tatiana-siegel-rolling-stone-1235134593/ |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022}} In June 2022, the company raised $1.5 million at a $20 million valuation through Y Combinator.{{Cite web |last=Dickey |first=Josh |date=June 21, 2022 |title=The Ankler Raises $1.5 Million at $20 Million Valuation |url=https://www.thewrap.com/the-ankler-raises-1-5-million-at-20-million-valuation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819233031/https://www.thewrap.com/the-ankler-raises-1-5-million-at-20-million-valuation/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022}} In 2024, The Ankler signed a radio deal with NPR's LAist.{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=June 21, 2022 |title=Exclusive: The Ankler raises $1.5M seed at $20M valuation |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/06/21/the-ankler-seed-funding-valuation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814180034/https://www.axios.com/2022/06/21/the-ankler-seed-funding-valuation |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=Axios}}
In 2024, Min expanded Ankler Media's live events including the "Documentary Spotlight with Raoul Peck" at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as well as "The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction's Documentary Spotlight" which featured panelists and keynote speakers, Andrew Jarecki, James Carville, and Matt Tyrnauer, among others, in Los Angeles.{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2024 |title=Documentary Spotlight: Raoul Peck Presented by Pure Nonfiction and The Ankler |url=https://tiff.net/events/the-ankler-live-with-thom-powers-raoul-peck |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916201753/https://tiff.net/events/the-ankler-live-with-thom-powers-raoul-peck |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |publisher=TIFF}}{{Cite web |date=September 4, 2024 |title=Ankler Media expands team amid explosive growth, further expansion into live events |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/ankler-media-expands-team-amid-explosive-growth-added-expansion-into-live-events,251814 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916205547/https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/ankler-media-expands-team-amid-explosive-growth-added-expansion-into-live-events,251814 |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |newspaper=Editor & Publisher}}{{Cite web |date=June 9, 2024 |title=The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction's Documentary Spotlight (TV edition) |url=https://www.eventcreate.com/e/documentaryspotlight2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713162930/https://www.eventcreate.com/e/documentaryspotlight2024 |archive-date=July 13, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |publisher=Documentary Spotlight}}
The Ankler was nominated for a Webby Award for "Best Independent Publisher" for "Websites and Mobile Sites" in 2023 and 2024. Subscribers have included David Zaslav, Patrick Whitesell, Kathleen Kennedy, Donna Langley, and Maureen Dowd.
The New York Times stated, "A focus of Ankler Media's coverage will be the clashes between the tech executives now making big decisions in Hollywood and the ones who have been around since moviegoers waited in line to buy tickets."{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=Katie |date=December 14, 2021 |title=The Ankler, a hit Hollywood newsletter, charts an expansion. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/14/business/media/ankler-janice-min-richard-rushfield.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028162439/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/14/business/media/ankler-janice-min-richard-rushfield.html |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |access-date=August 19, 2022 |newspaper=The New York Times}}
References
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