The Newsweek network, Part 5: Winavo and Bizu

Here are some IBT Media sites that are no longer functioning, although they can still be viewed in archived form:

1.  Winavo.com 

Winavo.com was a tech site, and archived pages show the latest posts were made in March, 2014.  The About page said:

Winavo is a technology blog dedicated to the latest PC news, product launches and the intersection of all Microsoft platforms. We aim to provide the latest information about Windows 8 smartphones and tablets. We also cover the latest Xbox and Xbox Live news.

The header had links to DroidReport and MacRage, so it appears Winavo formed a trio of tech sites for IBT Media:

An old Contact page lists four editors and reporters:  Michael Nunez, Heriberto “Lobo” Rivera, Jordan Mammo, and Eric Chiu.  For some reason, the same four names appear on the Contact page for NatureTimes.com, which was a bit confusing when I first stumbled onto it.

Another defunct website is:

2.  Bizu.tv

Bizu.tv was dedicated to streams of business videos.  An archived page from April 4, 2015, says:

Alas, dear friends, Bizu.tv is no more. 

Thank you to our viewers, content providers and advertisers over the last two years, it has been a great ride.

Bizu.tv was featured in the 2014 IBT media kit, on a page describing video opportunities.

Krazywolf.com

On Tuesday, the #1 post on /r/TwoXChromosomes was a Medium op-ed on the topic of contraceptives, titled: "Data Shows Contraception Lowers Abortion Rates and Saves Billions, but Why Do Republicans Continually Fight to Deny Women the Right to Birth Control."

It was submitted by /u/Miked378, and it received 19,026 upvotes.

Overall, it's an average piece of writing.  It cites a couple key statistics and it hammers home the thesis.

However, at the end of the Medium op-ed was an outbound link to an article from another site called Krazywolf.com, which bills itself as a "viral content source."  The article on Krazy Wolf has nothing to do with contraceptives.  It's about the rapper Logic performing at the VMAs.  (Note: The link was later removed from the op-ed, but it's still visible in this cache.)

My question is:  Why did an op-ed about contraceptives include a link to some random viral website?

The op-ed was written by a woman named "Claire Anderson."  Her Medium profile does not contain any biographical info, nor does it have links to other social media accounts. This was her first piece ever published on Medium.

This wasn't the first time Miked378 posted the Medium link on /r/TwoXChromosomes.  He previously posted the link on September 6, and it received 1,525 upvotes.  Miked378 later deleted his thread, but it can still be viewed in this archive.

Miked378 has since been banned from Reddit: www.reddit.com/user/miked378.

Here are some other KrazyWolf.com links posted recently on Reddit:

September 6:  A link in /r/NotTheOnion about Monopoly: 78 upvotes, later deleted.
September 7:  A link in /r/NotTheOnion about Monopoly: 2,847 upvotes, later deleted.
September 8:  A link in /r/NotTheOnion about Monopoly: 103 upvotes, submitted by /u/flembdog.
September 8:  A link in /r/NotTheOnion about Monopoly: 114 upvotes, later deleted.
September 8:  A link in /r/Science about Monopoly: 35 upvotes, submitted by /u/flembdog.

Nobody who commented on the posts in /r/TwoXChromosomes mentioned the Krazy Wolf link. To be clear, I don't have an issue with the content of the op-ed itself, nor with the content on Krazy Wolf.  I just don't understand how people can consume news and not wonder about the source of their information.

The Newsweek network part 4: CruxialCIO

CruxialCIO.com is another news site with "2017 IBT MEDIA INC" in its footer.  The About page shows the address "7 Hanover Square, Fifth Floor, New York, New York."

The most recent stories on CruxialCIO.com are from September, 2015.  Here is the site's description:

CruxialCIO is a service for top business and technology leaders worldwide, delivering ongoing professional education in the form of practical information, analysis and advice on how to best use information systems to achieve organizational goals.

I had noticed last week that there were lots of websites beginning with "cruxial" using the administrative e-mail "domains@IBTimes.com," although none of them were active—e.g. CruxialSales.com and CruxialCMO.com.  

The CruxialCIO.com domain is registered to Perfect Privacy, LLC.  The admin e-mail address consists of a random string of numbers and letters, followed by "@domaindiscreet.com."  However, the same e-mail address is assigned to nine other domains:  CrucialCFO.com, IBTMediaCorp.com, CrucialCEO.com, CruxialManufacturing.com, CrucialRisk.com, CruxialRisk.com, CruxialPharma.com, CruxialHealth.com, CrucialCIO.com, CruxialCIO.com.  

None of those additional domains are active.  According to Whoisology, the CruxialCIO.com domain is set to expire on September 9, 2017, and I'm curious to see what happens in the next couple days.  Will the registration lapse, or is there somebody keeping tabs who will renew the domain?  

The Newsweek network, part 3: The Latin Post Company

Latin Post Company LLC was incorporated on December 31, 2012.  It was originally called Latinos Media Group LLC, then switched to Latino Post Company LLC in 2013 before switching to the current name in 2014.

In 2015 and 2016, Latin Post Company LLC submitted six applications for H1B visas, and those forms can be viewed on MyVisaJobs.com.  The "Employer Point of Contact" on each form was "Johnathan Davis," and his title was "Publisher."  The employer's address was 33 Whitehall Street, Floor 9.

The Latin Post doesn't appear to be doing great these days, judging by this tweet from of one of their top editors, Michael Oleaga:

Months later I'll admit: It's disappointing Latin Post collapsed but not surprising. Great years of personal growth though.

— Michael Oleaga (@EditorMikeO) December 17, 2016

Here are domains that appear to be part of the Latin Post Company:

1. LatinOne.com -- No updates since February, 2016.  The address in the Contact section is 2372 Morse Ave., Ste. 410 Irvince [sic], CA.  The About page says "LatinOne.com is a web property part of The Latin Post Company LLC based in New York City."

2. LatinoPost.com -- Redirects to LatinOne.com.

3. LatinosHealth.com -- No updates since April 27.  The Terms Of Service page says the material is provided by the Latin Post Company.  The Contact page shows the address "2372 Morse Ave., Ste. 410."

4. LatinosPost.com -- No updates since January, 2016.  Articles contain links to BoomsBeat.  The About page says "Latinos Post is part of the Latin Post Company LLC."  The Contact page shows the address "2372 Morse Ave., Ste. 410, Irvine, CA 92614."

5. LatinPost.com -- No updates since June, 2017.  Articles are embedded with videos from Newsweek Media Group.  The address on the Contact page is 40 Wall St., 28th Floor.

6. LatinPostCompany.com --  This isn't a standalone news site, but has general information about the Latin Post Company.  The page mentions five reporters in particular: Michael Oleaga, Robert Schoon, David Salazar, Milly Contreras, and Francisco Salazar.

7. LPCNetwork.com -- The homepage for a native advertising business.  An archived page from network.latinpostcompany.com gives a glimpse of LPCNetwork's strategy:  "LPC Network is an emerging platform that allows brands to feature their content across hispanic-centric web and mobile media properties in a real seamless and effective way."  It appears the business was re-branded as EasyNative, and the focus expanded beyond Hispanic-centric websites.

It seems kind of confusing that a company would publish multiple news sites with nearly-identical names.  (I mean, seriously, "LatinPost" and "LatinosPost"?)  Then again, I don't have any experience in terms of publishing news sites, so what do I really know?

The Newsweek network, part 2: The IBTimes domains

IBTimes.com is registered to "IBTimes Media Inc."  The administrative contact e-mail address for the site is "domains@IBTimes.com," and, according to Whoisology, there are 182 domains using the same e-mail.

Some of those sites are featured in Newsweek Media Group's 2017 media kit:

1. LatinTimes.com -- Regularly updated.  Articles are embedded with Newsweek Media Group videos.

2. MedicalDaily.com -- Regularly updated.

3. Player.one -- Regularly updated.

Another domain is featured in the current IBTimes media kit:

4. iDigitalTimes.com -- Redirects to Player.one.

Here are some news sites using that e-mail address which aren't in the media kits:

5. BeautyWorldNews.com -- No updates since April, 2017.  Articles contain links to BoomsBeat.

6. Celebeat.com --  No updates since about June 30, 2017. A publication of Claire Entertainment.  Articles are embedded with videos from Newsweek Media Group.  The address on the Contact page is 30 Broad Street 14th Floor

7. DesignTimes.com --  No updates since April, 2017.

8. DroidReport.com --  No updates since July 16, 2017.  Articles are embedded with videos from Newsweek Media Group.  The address on the Contact page is 33 Universal Headquarters, 33 Whitehall Street.

9. iDesignTimes.com -- No updates since January, 2016.  The address on the About page is 40 Wall Street, Floor 28.

10. iMotorTimes.com -- No updates since April, 2017.  The address on the About page is 40 Wall Street, Floor 28.

11. iScienceTimes.com -- No updates since May, 2014.

12. MacRage.com -- No updates since May, 2014

13. MotorTimes.com -- No updates since December, 2014

14. NatureTimes.com -- No updates since January, 2016

15. ScienceTimes.com -- Regularly updated. Articles are embedded with videos from Newsweek Media Group. The address on the Contact page is 2372 Morse Ave., Ste. 410, Irvine, CA.

The following news sites are down, but still use that e-mail address.

16. DesignNTrend.com

17. FashionLedger.com

18. FashionNStyle.com

19. FashionTimes.com

20. FashionTimesCo.com

21. iRealtyTimes.com

What's kind of interesting is that the DesignNTrend website was live until a few weeks ago, and the domain isn't due to "expire" until early 2018. It's the digital equivalent of seeing a storefront go dark.  Apparently it was part of Fashion Times Co, because the Contact page includes "Fashion Times Co" in the mailing address.

Fashion Times LLC was acquired by IBT Media back in May, 2015.  When IBT Media was undergoing layoffs last year, the reports said Fashion Times was one of the brands being "consolidated," along with Latin Times, Medical Daily, and iDigitalTimes. However, a year later, the Fashion Times website has simply disappeared.

Fashion Times LLC filed two applications for H1B visas in 2015, both dated in September.  (Or, at least, the employee's start dates were in September.)  The forms listed the employer address as 30 Broad Street, Suite 1480.  The "Employer Point of Contact" was Taeok Lee, and his title was "Publisher."

The Newsweek network, part 1: Tech Times

Craig Silverman of BuzzFeed recently published an article about how the Australian version of IBTimes.com is staffed with writers based in the Philippines.  Silverman also drew a connection between IBTimes.com.au and Tune Media, which is in charge of 18 other brands, including TechPlz, The Gamer's Drop, and Citzizen Oracle.

It's a fascinating article, although I have a feeling there are even more properties that are part of the same network as International Business Times and Newsweek Media Group.

I'll begin with:

1. TechTimes.com

TechTimes.com is a news site covering the general categories of technology, science and pop culture.  The first think you'll notice upon visiting TechTimes is that every article is embedded with videos produced by Newsweek Media Group.  These videos autoplay whenever you click on an article, and they're impossible to miss:

The "About" page for Tech Times doesn't mention IBTimes or Newsweek, nor does it say who publishes Tech Times.  The corporate location is 140 Broadway, Floor 46, while the newsroom location is 33 Whitehall Street, Floor 7.  There's a masthead with 23 names of various editors and reporters, but nobody is identified as editor-in-chief. The owner is simply referred to as Tech Times LLC.

Tech Times LLC was incorporated in New York in December, 2012.  The company's original name was "iTech Post Media Group LLC," but it was changed in September, 2013.

In 2015 and 2016, Tech Times LLC submitted five visa applications to the U.S. Department of Labor. The application forms can be accessed at MyVisaJobs.com On every application form, the section for "Employer Point of Contact Information" lists the name "Johnathan Davis."  Davis's title is "Publisher," and he uses a @TechTimes.com e-mail address.

IBTimes was co-founded by Johnathan Davis and Etienne Uzac, so either there are two men named "Johnathan Davis" publishing similar websites, or it's the same guy.

As I said earlier, there are 23 names on the TechTimes masthead.  I looked for LinkedIn profiles of writers with matching names and found four writers in the U.S., all of whom have left TechTimes in recent months:  Lauren Keating, Eric Brackett, Jimmie Geddes and Cameron Koch.  I also looked at the bylines on TechTimes.com from Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and found matching social media profiles of three writers based in the Philippines.  (The only byline for which I couldn't find a matching profile was "Allan Adamson.")

For the record, I don't believe it's inherently wrong to hire writers in the Philippines for your website.    It's not as though the "tech" beat is one that requires a writer to be in a certain location.  And if employees at TechTimes are putting in an honest day's work, then who am I to categorize them?

However, I do think there's bound to be a difference in the final product.  There are old videos on YouTube of TechTimes reporters interviewing folks on the streets of New York, and it's tough to produce those videos if your reporters are halfway around the world.  That's obvious, right?

According to TechTimes's "About" page, their editorial team "is comprised of passionate and consummate editors and writers who are based in the US, Europe, and Asia."  So there's wiggle room in terms of geographical layout.  The data on Quantcast shows TechTimes.com had 1.8 million pageviews in August, 2017, down from 9.3 million pageviews in August, 2016.

Earlier this morning, I called IBTimes's headquarters and left a message explaining that I was planning to write a blog post about the apparent connection between TechTimes and IBTimes.  I gave them my phone number and will update this post if I hear back.