American news firm Semafor is looking to foray into India with a local partner
- ByStartupStory | August 20, 2022
Semafor, a new venture in American news media, is seeking collaborations with regional businesses to reach the Indian market. Currently, the country does not allow a foreign magazine to operate independently due to foreign direct investment regulations.
“An Indian version is very much our plan over time, and we look forward to partnering with a media firm here to pursue that possibility together,” said Justin Smith, CEO and co-founder of Semafor.
London, Washington, DC, and New York all house offices for Semafor. A team from Africa is also part of it. According to Smith, the business plans to start coverage of the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Latin America in sequence.
He asserts that there is a chance to undermine the overseas reporting carried out by American media sources like CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Semafor intends to partner with local businesses or establish local bureaus all around the world for in-depth coverage of the world for Western audiences rather than using foreign reporters, who are frequently from Western countries.
CEO Justin Smith and Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith started Semafor earlier this year (not related). The former served as the CEO of Bloomberg Media, and the latter was a columnist for the New York Times and a former editor of Buzzfeed. They currently have $25 million in preliminary funding and anticipate hiring 70 people by the time of the debut in October.
Follow Startup Story
Related Posts
