Ankler Media

Ankler Media
Company typePrivate
IndustryMass media
Founded2017; 8 years ago (2017)
Founder
  • Richard Rushfield
Key people
Janice Min (CEO)
Websitewww.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.[1]

In January 2022, Janice Min, former co-president of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, joined the company to form Ankler Media.[2] Min joined as co-owner and CEO, with Richard Rushfield taking the role of editorial director.[3][4][5] In June 2022, the company raised $1.5 million at a $20 million valuation through Y Combinator.[6] In 2024, The Ankler signed a radio deal with NPR's LAist.[7]

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.[8][9][10]

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.[1]

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."[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "How Richard Rushfield's The Ankler Took on Hollywood". Vanity Fair. February 22, 2023. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  2. ^ "Entertainment Trade 'The Ankler' Teams With Janice Min On Expansion Plans". mediapost.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Hopkins, Kathryn (February 19, 2022). "Five New Media Launches". Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Ankler, a Hit Hollywood Newsletter, Charts an Expansion". Adweek. December 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 17, 2021). "Janice Min Loses First Hire at Ankler Newsletter to Rolling Stone (EXCLUSIVE)". Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Dickey, Josh (June 21, 2022). "The Ankler Raises $1.5 Million at $20 Million Valuation". Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Fischer, Sara (June 21, 2022). "Exclusive: The Ankler raises $1.5M seed at $20M valuation". Axios. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "Documentary Spotlight: Raoul Peck Presented by Pure Nonfiction and The Ankler". TIFF. September 10, 2024. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Ankler Media expands team amid explosive growth, further expansion into live events". Editor & Publisher. September 4, 2024. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction's Documentary Spotlight (TV edition)". Documentary Spotlight. June 9, 2024. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Robertson, Katie (December 14, 2021). "The Ankler, a hit Hollywood newsletter, charts an expansion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.