The Global Media Weekly for executives and entrepreneurs

Quartz for sale – again

The diverging fortunes of digital news startups Quartz and Axios offer some insights into monetization strategies for publishers. While Axios claims it will increase 2020 revenue by 30% and become profitable, Quartz is said to be on the auction block after cutting jobs this year and predicting widening losses.

Quartz’s Japanese parent company Uzabase is seeking a buyer for the business news site — a mere two years after acquiring it for $86m from Atlantic Media. The Wall Street Journal says Uzabase, a financial-data company based in Tokyo, is likely to unlikely to recoup the investment it has made in Quartz.

In addition to Axios, Morning Brew is an example of another news startup that got it right – from the start.

Quartz