Business Insider facts for kids
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Type of site
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Financial news website |
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| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
| Owner | Axel Springer SE |
| Created by | Kevin P. Ryan |
| Editor | Henry Blodget |
| Parent | Insider Inc. |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | 2007 |
| Current status | Active |
| OCLC number | 1076392313 |
Business Insider (also known as BI) is a popular online news website. It focuses on financial and business news. It was started in New York City in 2007. Since 2015, a German company called Axel Springer SE has owned most of Business Insider's parent company, Insider Inc.. Business Insider also has different versions for other countries, like the United Kingdom.
Insider publishes its own news stories. It also shares news from other websites. The website has been nominated for awards. However, some people have criticized it for using exciting headlines that might not always be completely true. These headlines are sometimes called "clickbait." From 2021 to 2023, the website was simply called Insider. It shared general news and lifestyle content during that time. Then, it changed its name back to Business Insider.
Contents
History
Business Insider started in 2007 in Manhattan, New York. It was founded by Kevin P. Ryan, Dwight Merriman, and Henry Blodget. The website began by combining several smaller blogs about different industries. Two of the first blogs were Silicon Alley Insider and Clusterstock. These blogs focused on specific business topics.
Besides sharing and analyzing business news, Business Insider also gathers news from many other sources. In November 2014, it launched a version for the UK. In September 2020, it opened an office in Singapore. The main company that owns Business Insider is Insider Inc..
After Axel Springer SE bought Business Insider in 2015, some staff members left the company. In 2017, Business Insider started a paid subscription service called BI Prime. This service put some of its articles behind a paywall, meaning you had to pay to read them. In 2018, employees were asked to sign an agreement. This agreement said they should not criticize the website while working there or after they left.
In early 2020, CEO Henry Blodget shared big plans for the website. He wanted the site to get 1 million paid subscribers. He also aimed for 1 billion unique visitors each month. Unique visitors are different people who visit the site. He also wanted to have over 1,000 newsroom employees.
In 2022, Insider won its first Pulitzer Prize. This is a very important award for journalism. It won for an illustrated report called "How I escaped a Chinese internment camp." This story was told through comics. It shared the experience of a woman escaping unfair treatment in China. The illustrator was Fahmida Azim.
Finances
Business Insider made a profit for the first time in late 2010. By 2011, it had 45 full-time employees. At that time, its main audience was investors and financial experts. In June 2012, the website had 5.4 million unique visitors.
By 2013, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was an investor in Business Insider. His investment company owned about 3 percent of the company. In 2015, Axel Springer SE bought 88 percent of Insider Inc. for $343 million. This showed that the whole company was worth about $442 million.
Divisions
Business Insider has a paid section called BI Intelligence. This section was started in 2013. It provides special reports and data.
In July 2015, Business Insider launched a technology website called Tech Insider. It had 40 staff members. They worked from the same New York office. However, Tech Insider later became part of the main Business Insider website.
Also in 2015, Business Insider started Insider Picks. This section helped people choose the best products when shopping. It is now called Insider Reviews.
In October 2016, Business Insider created Markets Insider. This was a joint project with Finanzen.net, another company owned by Axel Springer. Markets Insider focuses on stock market news.
Editorial Policy
Business Insider publishes a mix of original news stories. It also gathers and shares content from other news sources. Sometimes, it has been criticized for reporting incorrect information. For example, in 2010, it wrongly reported that a New York Governor would resign. It also reported a false story about Steve Jobs.
In 2011, Business Insider allowed publicists to write directly for the website. Also, in 2011, Business Insider sometimes used information from "anonymous sources." This means the people giving the information were not named. Many news outlets try to avoid this or explain why a source is not identified.
See also
In Spanish: Business Insider para niños
