Founding partners KQED, Knight Foundation and PRX are joined by media companies, the Associated Press, A.H. Belo Corporation, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. and The McClatchy Company.
Founding partner KQED is proud to announce its continued participation in Matter, the startup accelerator for early stage media entrepreneurs, as part of a new seven-organization partnership. Joining founding partners KQED, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and PRX are The Associated Press, A.H. Belo Corporation, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI) and The McClatchy Company. Grounded in a human-centered and prototype-driven design process, Matter is driven by its mission to “change media for good” and invests in startups that work towards creating a more informed, connected and empowered society.
The new partnership features a powerful mix of international, national and local media organizations with a vast reach across television, radio, online and print. More than half of the world sees news from the Associated Press. CNHI reaches more than 130 communities throughout the United States. McClatchy operates media companies in 28 U.S. markets in 14 states and owns iconic brands such as The Miami Herald, The (Raleigh) News and Observer and The Kansas City Star. A. H. Belo covers Texas with The Dallas Morning News and other media properties. KQED is the most listened-to public radio station and one of the highest-rated public television stations in the nation, and is an innovative leader for public media in online and interactive content. Knight Foundation is the nation’s leading funder of journalism and media innovation. PRX operates public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, including This American Life, The Moth, and the Radiotopia podcast network.
This network of partners gives participating startups extensive mentorship by industry leaders, connections to potential customers and real world opportunities to test their ideas. This new partnership also extends Matter’s reach beyond its accelerator program, allowing it to begin seed investing in media entrepreneurs that fit its mission, but are unable to participate in its accelerator program due to geography or stage. More details on the new seed investing initiative and the Matter Four class, which is starting its session this week, will be available at a later date.
Launched in 2012, Matter was selected as one of the top Silicon Valley accelerators by TechCrunch, Inc. and UIPalette and has a current portfolio of 19 media startups, including such ventures as GoPop, SpokenLayer, Contextly, ChannelMeter and Stringr. For each startup selected to its accelerator program, Matter invests seed capital and provides a 20-week program in its San Francisco SoMa district working space with some of the most influential minds working in technology and media today as mentors, speakers and participants. Each program culminates in Demo Days in San Francisco and New York City for a select group of investors, media executives, mentors and members of the Matter community. Corey Ford, who previously built the incubator Runway and was an award–winning film producer for the PBS series FRONTLINE, will continue as managing partner of Matter. For more information on Matter, please visit matter.vc.