Quartz (publication)

Quartz (publication)
source
Name	Quartz
Type	Digital media
Foundation	24 September 2012
Founder	Kevin Delaney, Zach Seward, Jay Lauf
Headquarters	New York City, New York, U.S.
Key people	Katherine Bell (Editor-in-Chief)
Website	qz.com

Contents

History and founding
Business model and operations
Content and editorial focus
Impact and recognition
See also

Quartz (publication). Quartz is a global, digitally native news organization owned by G/O Media, focusing on the new economy and international business. Launched in 2012 by veteran journalists from The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, it quickly distinguished itself with a mobile-first design and a distinctive editorial voice aimed at a professional, globally-minded audience. Its coverage spans finance, technology, geopolitics, and science, often analyzing the intersection of these fields.

History and founding

Quartz was launched on September 24, 2012, by Atlantic Media, the parent company of The Atlantic, as a bold experiment in modern business journalism. Its founding editors, Kevin Delaney and Zach Seward, along with publisher Jay Lauf, sought to create a publication for the "new economy," moving beyond traditional Wall Street coverage. The launch was strategically timed ahead of the 2012 United States presidential election and was noted for its innovative, card-based website design optimized for tablets and smartphones. In 2018, Uzabase, a Japanese business intelligence firm, acquired Quartz from Atlantic Media. The publication was later sold again in 2020 to G/O Media, the digital media group formed from the assets of Gizmodo Media Group and The Onion.

Business model and operations

Quartz pioneered a business model centered on native advertising and sponsored content, which it termed "Quartz Creative Studio," rather than relying on traditional display banner ads. Its operations are built around a distributed, global newsroom with major hubs in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, allowing for continuous coverage across time zones. A significant shift occurred in 2018 with the introduction of a membership program, Quzartz+, offering premium newsletters and events, moving toward a reader-revenue model. Following its acquisition by G/O Media, its operations were integrated with other properties like Gizmodo and Jalopnik, though it maintains a distinct editorial team led by Editor-in-Chief Katherine Bell.

Content and editorial focus

The editorial focus of Quartz is explicitly global and interdisciplinary, analyzing trends in finance, technology, science, and geopolitics for an audience of business professionals. It is known for its distinctive "obsessions" – deep-dive series on pivotal themes like the Future of Work, Space Business, and the Circular Economy. Its content formats are diverse, including the widely-read Quartz Daily Brief email newsletter, data-driven charts, and reported features. Notable series have included in-depth coverage of the US-China trade war, the rise of cryptocurrency, and the economic implications of climate change, often featuring insights from institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Economic Forum.

Impact and recognition

Quartz has received significant recognition for its innovative approach to digital journalism, winning awards from the Society for News Design and the Online News Association for its visual storytelling and website design. Its reporting has broken major stories, influencing coverage in larger outlets like The New York Times and Bloomberg News. The Quartz Creative Studio has been cited as an influential model for sustainable digital advertising, studied by organizations like the American Press Institute. Furthermore, its global perspective on issues like supply chain disruptions and artificial intelligence ethics has established it as a thought leader for an international executive readership.

Quartz (publication)

History and founding

Business model and operations

Content and editorial focus

Impact and recognition

See also