The corporate plans to plug Mel Journal into its video operations, doubtlessly with speaking head analyses and quick movies. The writer involves Actually Media with a small preexisting video footprint of round 20 quick documentaries, in keeping with Katzeff.
Mel Journal plans to rent a senior editorial chief, in addition to a mixture of three to 5 part- and full-time employees. Ideally, its headcount shall be a mix of former Mel Journal contributors and new, rising expertise.
An possession carousel and model security issues
Actually Media would be the third proprietor of Mel Journal in three years.
The writer was initially based in 2015 as a top-of-funnel advertising automobile for Greenback Shave Membership, throughout which period it had no promoting on its web site and generated no reader income.
A change in possession at DSC led the corporate to promote Mel Journal to Recurrent Ventures in July 2021, however the association proved a poor match and Recurrent Ventures shut down the title a yr later.
“Mel is a beloved model with a historical past of inclusive and distinctive storytelling,” Recurrent Ventures CEO Andrew Perlman stated in a press release. “Though it didn’t match inside our portfolio or go-forward technique, we’ve got quite a lot of respect for its content material and legacy. We’re happy that we have been capable of finding the proper house for the model.”
In Actually Media, Mel Journal can have one thing of a homecoming. Katzeff performed an integral function in serving to create the unique idea for the journal when it launched at DSC. The media firm additionally counts Josh Schollmeyer—previously the editor in chief of Mel Journal—as a key member of its employees, though he’ll play no formal function with the writer, in keeping with Katzeff.
Complicating its business prospects, Mel Journal owes its cult readership partially to its penchant for salacious material, together with latest explorations of vajazzling, incel tradition and strip golf equipment within the metaverse.
Advertiser issues over the model suitability of such content material performed a major function within the November closure of Jezebel, and Mel Journal must cope with a programmatic ecosystem during which extra salacious content material monetizes poorly in contrast with extra anodyne writing.
“We’re going to be spending extra time rising our newsletters and direct viewers in 2024,” Katzeff stated. “While you bundle these alternatives collectively, it creates a extra appetizing alternative for manufacturers in a manner that Mel hadn’t carried out up to now.”