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Circa News
Type of site
News, Lifestyle, Travel, and Culture
Available inEnglish
DissolvedMarch 26, 2019;5 years ago(2019-03-26)
Successor(s)The National Desk(social media accounts)
OwnerSinclair Broadcast Group
EditorLou Ferrara (chief content officer), Bonny Ghosh (managing editor)
URLcirca.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedOctober 16, 2012;11 years ago(2012-10-16)(initial)
July 18, 2016;8 years ago(2016-07-18)(relaunch)
Current statusDefunct

Circa News,also known asCirca,was an Americanonline newspaperand entertainment service. The site was founded in 2012 by Matt Galligan,Ben Huhand Arsenio Santos.[1]The service had news stories and features consisting of individual bits of information.[2]

The service went offline for financial reasons on June 24, 2015,[3]and was then relaunched in spring 2016 under the ownership of theSinclair Broadcast Groupmedia company.[4][5][6]Under Sinclair, the website's coverage was described by some media outlets asconservative[7]although the site claimed to report from a neutral point of view.[8]

The site was discontinued abruptly on March 26, 2019, with Sinclair stating that industry changes did not justify the continuation ofCirca Newsas a website (and three days before sister propertyKidsClickwas also closed with little notice).[9]The former domain for the site now redirects to Sinclair's streaming portal,Stirr.Circa'ssocial mediaaccounts remained active but dormant, with their handles changed to the initials "TND"; Sinclair would later repurpose the accounts for its headline news serviceThe National Desk,removing all traces of Circa from the accounts, but also retaining the existing subscribers of those feeds.[10]

History

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Early years

[edit]
Circa's original logo (c. 2012-2015)

On October 16, 2012,Circalaunched its application foriOS.[11]The app featured news and information from different sources and viewpoints that were stitched together into a story designed to be shifted around and changed easily as stories developed. The founders' aim forCircawas "to pursue a more pure definition of news with truths divorced from conjecture, opinion or biased analysis".[11][12]

On September 24, 2014,Circaannounced version 3.0 of its mobile applications. The update added a daily briefing service called "Wire", whichaggregatestop stories over a 24-hour period.[13]Circa would expand from the app world to the internet in February 2015, with the announcement of a web version, CircaNews.com.[14][15]

On April 30, 2015,Circaannounced that it was looking for a buyer after failing to obtain a newfunding roundofventure capital financing.[16][17]On June 21, 2015,Circahalted its news reporting operations for financial reasons.[18]Three days later, on June 24,Circaannounced that it would shut down and go on an "indefinite hiatus" following its inability to secure an buyer.[18]CEO and co-founder Matt Galligan bade farewell toCircain a blog post titled "Farewell to Circa News"[3]in which, he admired the successes ofCirca,but lamented the company's failure to become a sustainable business.[19]

Acquisition and relaunch

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On November 22, 2015, a few formerCircaemployees reported that theCircaNews.comwebsite was again active, stating a simple message that "Circa will be back soon...". A report by theNieman Journalism Labsaid that the site'sdomain namewas registered a month earlier toSinclair Broadcast Group.[20]Sinclair confirmed on 7 December 2015, that it had acquired Circa News, itsintellectual propertyand assets earlier in 2015, and aimed to relaunchCircain spring 2016.[4]The acquisition ofCircawas to be funded by a Sinclair subsidiary (Sinclair Digital Ventures) and potentially other investors.CircaCEO Matt Galligan mentioned at its closure the previous June that the company could sell or "white-label"its technology to a news-producing company for use in its own apps.[20]

The revivedCircaformally went live on 18 July 2016, with a redesigned app and a website using a new URL, Circa.com.[21]From December 2016,Circa wasled by thechief operating officerJohn Solomon,the former vice-president of content and business development forThe Washington Times.Solomon was hired by Sinclair asCirca'schief creative officerin December 2015.[22]Solomon leftCircato joinThe Hillin July 2017.[23]

The app announced in March 2017, that it would be shutting down.[24]

Ideology

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Sinclair says that it aims to "let the content drive [Circa]" and not let the site adhere to any set political or cultural viewpoint, describingVice NewsandBreitbartas "partisan-driven" news sites that the newCircawould not intentionally emulate. Though Sinclair has airedconservativepolitical contenton its stations, its stated intention withCircawas to present information with "no spin, just facts and transparency" and in "an irreverent tone" that will allow the site's target audience (young adults 18 to 35 years old) to form its own opinions.[8][21]

Circa's reporting has been characterized by other media outlets asconservative.[6][25][7]Circaattracted attention for its reporting onRussian interference in the 2016 election,which broke many stories seen to be favorable to the Trump administration.[6]According toThe Hill,Circa's reporting on Russian interference has "only a peripheral focus on whether anyone in Trump’s inner circle had contact with Russian officials during the campaign".[6]

It has been reported that Sinclair had made an agreement with the Trump campaign to be given greater access in exchange for favorable coverage.[6][5]Solomon said that reporting in many mainstream outlets was "reckless, false, unfair and imbalanced".[6]

Features

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Since its original iteration, theCircamobile appand website have offered "atomization" of news rather than "summarization". "Atomization", as originally expressed byCirca,means "to break down a story into its core elements: facts, stats, quotes and media", as opposed to a summary where content is reduced for quicker reading or users are linked elsewhere for the full story.[26]Circa initially pushed multiple updates, also known as "points", over the days, weeks and months as stories continued to develop.[27]TheCircaapp also allowed users to "follow" particular stories in order to receive future developments.[28]

As relaunched in 2016, theCircaapp and theCirca.comwebsite retained the original "atomization" approach to delivering the news. The redesignedCircaemphasized "short- and long-form video, optimized for mobile and social media engagement".Circautilizes original reporting from its own 80-person staff,user-generated contentand access tovideo feedsand reportage from Sinclair's 172 owned-or-operatedTV stations.[8][29]

Circa features several portals and micro-sites accessible through its website, app and social media platforms. These include:[21][30]

  • Circa Now,a portal for top stories and breaking developments
  • 60 Seconds,a one-minute twice-daily summary of the day's news emphasizing text prompts and images optimized for mobile viewing and social media sharing
  • The Great American Pop Report,a fast-moving summary of pop culture and social media buzz
  • Circa Documentaries,long- and short-form documentaries exploring serious issues and topics
  • Circa Moments,daily news segments produced to air on Sinclair's owned-and-operated TV stations
  • Circa 360,news, entertainment, and branded advertisements shot entirely in avirtual realityformat[31]
  • Circa Humor,topical parodies, satirical content, and humorous videos produced under the supervision ofDavid Zucker.[32]
  • It's Complicated,a series of videos discussing all aspects of dating life for millennials, including "ghosting", "cuffing" and "when to meet the parents". First shown 18 October 2017.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Social Startups: Circa Modernizes the Mobile News Consumption Experience".Social Media Today.Retrieved2023-01-30.
  2. ^Orin, Andy (14 May 2014)."Behind the App: The Story of Circa".Nieman Journalism Lab.Nieman Foundation.Retrieved8 May2015.
  3. ^abGalligan, Matt (24 June 2015)."Farewell to Circa News".Medium.Retrieved24 June2015.
  4. ^abJonathan Kuperberg,"Set to Launch Digital News Site Circa, Sinclair Taps John Solomon as COO",Broadcasting & Cable,12 July 2015
  5. ^abOwen, Laura Hazard (5 July 2017)."In Circa, Sinclair sees a way to attract" independent-minded "millennials (and Sean Hannity)".Nieman Lab.Retrieved17 July2017.
  6. ^abcdefSommer, Will (18 March 2017)."News outlet rising on the right for Russia coverage".The Hill.Retrieved13 July2017.
  7. ^ab"Donald Trump Jr.: Kremlin-linked woman claimed DNC dirt".www.bostonherald.com.10 July 2017.Retrieved13 July2017.
  8. ^abc"Sinclair Acquired and Will Relaunch Mobile News Site Circa",The Wall Street Journal,12 July 2015
  9. ^Hazard Owen, Laura (27 March 2019)."Circa, Sinclair's millennial-focused news site (and the final remains of some interesting mobile ideas), is shutting down".Nieman Lab.Retrieved31 March2019.
  10. ^"Sinclair Quietly Rebrands Circa".21 May 2019.
  11. ^abLim, Yung-Hui (29 October 2012)."Circa - The App That Deconstructs Facts From Fluff To Reconstruct News For Mobile".Forbes.Retrieved2 April2015.
  12. ^Doctor, Ken."The newsonomics of three cracks at the mobile news puzzle".Nieman Journalism Lab.Nieman Foundation.Retrieved24 May2014.
  13. ^Lawler, Ryan (24 September 2014)."Mobile News App Circa Adds A Personalized Daily Digest Of The Day's Top Stories".TechCrunch.Retrieved24 April2015.
    -Galligan, Matt (24 September 2014)."Introducing Circa News 3".Medium.Retrieved8 May2015.
  14. ^Ungerleider, Neal (26 February 2015)."Why Circa's bringing news from smartphones to... your work computer?".fastcompany.com.Fast Company.Retrieved26 February2015.
  15. ^Covert, James (9 March 2015)."Circa — a mobile app for news junkies — launches website".New York Post.Retrieved8 May2015.
  16. ^Shontell, Alyson (1 May 2015)."Twitter is in talks to buy mobile news app Circa".Business Insider.Retrieved2 May2015.
  17. ^Primack, Dan (30 April 2015)."Exclusive: News app Circa is seeking a buyer".Fortune.Retrieved2 May2015.
  18. ^abAbbruzzese, Jason (24 June 2015)."Circa goes on 'indefinite hiatus' after failing to find a buyer".Mashable.Retrieved24 June2015.
  19. ^Wright, Mic (24 June 2015)."Circa news app and website are shutting down".The Next Web.Retrieved24 June2015.
  20. ^ab"Is Circa back? The mobile app might be returning via local TV stations",Nieman Lab,23 November 2015
  21. ^abc"CIRCA LAUNCHES EAGERLY-AWAITED ADVANCED WEBSITE..."press release from SBGI, 18 July 2016
  22. ^"Sinclair Sets Circa Debut, Hires CCO",TVNewsCheck,7 July 2015
    -"SINCLAIR PROMOTES JOHN SOLOMON TO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF CIRCA",press release from SBGI, 12 December 2016
  23. ^"John Solomon Joins The Hill as Executive Vice President, Digital Video".Adweek.Retrieved4 August2017.
  24. ^Hazard Owen, Laura (27 March 2019)."Circa, Sinclair's millennial-focused news site (and the final remains of some interesting mobile ideas), is shutting down".Nieman Lab.
  25. ^Kludt, Tom (10 July 2017)."White House Correspondents Association considers rule change that could ice out Breitbart".CNN Business.Retrieved13 July2017.
  26. ^Cohn, David (1 April 2014)."At Circa We Write Stories, Not Summaries, Take Two".Circa Blog.Circa. Archived fromthe originalon 27 May 2014.Retrieved25 May2014.
  27. ^Ingram, Mathew (7 March 2014)."Circa would like you to know that it's about more than just short news hits — it's about building long-form stories over time".Gigaom.Retrieved25 May2014.
  28. ^"About Circa".Circa.Archived fromthe originalon 23 April 2015.Retrieved24 April2015.
  29. ^"It's official: Something called Circa will launch next year...",Nieman Lab,12 July 2015
    "Sinclair Making Circa Live Again With Video",Broadcasting & Cable,14 June 2016
  30. ^"Learn. Think. Do. Welcome to Circa",Circa.com,18 July 2016
  31. ^"Circa launches VR 360 content and ad platform",press release from SBGI, 28 September 2016
  32. ^"A New Comedy Brand for Millennials",a press release from SBGI, 26 September 2016

Further reading

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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circa_News&oldid=1242055266"