Ongo
Encyclopedia
Ongo is a news site that compiles stories from newspapers and major media outlets including the New York Times, USA Today
, the Washington Post, the Associated Press
, Reuters
, ProPublica
, the Financial Times
and over 50 other sites. The site received $12 million in initial financing from Gannett Company
, Inc., The New York Times Company
and The Washington Post Company.
The site is divided into eight sections: U.S., world, business, science and technology, sports, arts and entertainment, life and opinion.
, PayPal
and eBay
, looked to improve the online news-reading experience by combining news sites in one place, implementing a reader-friendly design and removing advertisements.
Ongo launched January 25, 2011. It is headquartered in Cupertino, California
.
Ongo more than doubled its number of available publications in May 2011, when the site announced it had added the Los Angeles Times
, Reuters
, regional New York Times company papers, the Chicago Tribune
and other papers owned by the Tribune Company
. It also launched a redesigned site in July 2011, introducing features such as the “Day in Photos” and “Must Reads.”
Ongo uses both a proprietary relevance engine and a staff of professional editors to find and highlight important stories. In addition to focusing on top stories, Ongo’s editorial staff selects interesting stories and editorial pieces that are showcased for Ongo subscribers.
Other features include the following:
Ongo editors also highlight stories on Twitter
and Facebook
. The site has posted over 1 million stories since launching.
Other publications, such as the Boston Globe, provide “top story” versions for as well as full editions of the paper.
Listed below are all publication options.
app was initially released in January 2011 and last updated in June of that same year. The app is free to download and also offers a a free one-day pass for non-subscribers.
Ongo currently offers a mobile version of the site for smart phone users. In an interview published by smart phone app website Appolicious, Kazim said the company is “evaluating” creating a native iPhone
app. Such an app would be designed for users who check their phones for news throughout the day.
In a press release, Ovum Ltd analyst Adrian Drury was quoted saying, “Ongo is bringing a web application to market that delivers a slick interface for reading news onscreen. In exchange, Ongo seeks to package content from premium news publishers and get a monthly subscription from users for the service.”
USA Today reviewed Ongo’s iPad app, giving it three out of four stars and complimenting the interface and variety of publications available. Poynter
praised the site for its ability to find interesting stories, also citing its increased relevance in the wake of the New York Times’ implementation of a paywall for online reading. Ongo was also featured by Appolicious.
Ongo Facebook page
Ongo Twitter
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, the Washington Post, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, ProPublica
ProPublica
ProPublica is a non-profit corporation based in New York City. It describes itself as an independent non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. In 2010 it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its...
, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
and over 50 other sites. The site received $12 million in initial financing from Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
, Inc., The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American media company best known as the publisher of its namesake, The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. has served as Chairman of the Board since 1997. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City....
and The Washington Post Company.
The site is divided into eight sections: U.S., world, business, science and technology, sports, arts and entertainment, life and opinion.
History
Ongo was founded by CEO Alex Kazim, who devised the idea for the site after growing “frustrated with the low quality of most news sites”. Kazim, who had previously held executive positions at SkypeSkype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
, PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
and eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, looked to improve the online news-reading experience by combining news sites in one place, implementing a reader-friendly design and removing advertisements.
Ongo launched January 25, 2011. It is headquartered in Cupertino, California
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...
.
Ongo more than doubled its number of available publications in May 2011, when the site announced it had added the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, regional New York Times company papers, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and other papers owned by the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
. It also launched a redesigned site in July 2011, introducing features such as the “Day in Photos” and “Must Reads.”
Purpose
Ongo aims to compile news from “trusted titles” in one location, while also looking to provide a premium user experience. The user experience is based on design (stories are presented in columns) and a lack of advertisements on site.Ongo uses both a proprietary relevance engine and a staff of professional editors to find and highlight important stories. In addition to focusing on top stories, Ongo’s editorial staff selects interesting stories and editorial pieces that are showcased for Ongo subscribers.
Features
A standard Ongo package includes the New York Times Picks, USA Today, the Associated Press, Financial Times Selected Content, the Washington Post, ProPublica and Reuters. The basic package typically contains over 800 stories per day. Users can add other publications to their individual packages.Other features include the following:
- Topics - News playlists, which compile all stories pertaining to certain key words or phrases the subscriber has specified.
- Clips - An option that allows readers to store articles to read at a later time. All clipped stories are compiled in one page for readers.
- Clubs - Subscriber-created groups where members can share and comment on stories. The groups may relate to a certain topic. Members of clubs do not need to be Ongo subscribers.
Ongo editors also highlight stories on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. The site has posted over 1 million stories since launching.
Funding and Partnerships
In September 2010, the Gannett Company, Inc., The New York Times Company and The Washington Post Company each invested $4 million initial financing in Ongo, making for a total of $12 million. Representatives from the three companies sit on Ongo’s Board of Directors.Publications
Ongo offers readers over 50 publication options to choose from. The New York Times and Financial Times both offer limited content on Ongo. With the New York Times Picks, users can access the top 20 stories of the day (10 picked by the newspaper and 10 by Ongo editors).The Financial Times offers subscribers 20 stories per week, all hand-picked by Ongo staff.Other publications, such as the Boston Globe, provide “top story” versions for as well as full editions of the paper.
Listed below are all publication options.
- The New York Times Picks
- USA Today
- The Washington Post
- The Associated Press
- Financial Times Selected Content
- ProPublica
- Anchorage Daily NewsAnchorage Daily NewsThe Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
- The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
- The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
- The Boston Globe Editors Choice
- Charlotte Observer
- Chicago Tribune
- The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Cincinnati EnquirerThe Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky. The...
- The Courier-JournalThe Courier-JournalThe Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
(Louisville, KY) - Daily PressDaily PressThere are several newspapers named Daily Press:*Ashland Daily Press, a daily newspaper based in Ashland, Wisconsin*Daily Press , a daily newspaper published in Victorville, California, United States...
- The Democrat and ChronicleDemocrat and ChronicleThe Democrat and Chronicle is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in the greater Rochester, New York area. Located at 55 Exchange Boulevard in downtown Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production facility is located in the town of...
(Rochester, NY) - The Des Moines Register
- Detroit Free PressDetroit Free PressThe Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
- The DispatchThe DispatchThe Dispatch is a name which may refer to:Newspapers* The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio* St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri* Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia* The Herald-Dispatch, West Virginia* Cordele Dispatch, Georgia...
(Lexington, NC) - Fort Worth Star-TelegramFort Worth Star-TelegramThe Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
- The Gadsden TimesThe Gadsden TimesThe Gadsden Times is a daily newspaper serving Gadsden, Alabama, and the surrounding area in northeastern Alabama.The newspaper is a member of the New York Times Regional Media Group, a subsidiary of the New York Times Company, through the corporate entity of NYT Holdings, Inc., an Alabama...
- The Gainesville SunThe Gainesville SunThe Gainesville Sun is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. It is a part of the New York Times Regional Media Group. The paper is published by James E...
- The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- The Guardian International
- Hartford Courant
- Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina)
- Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC)
- The Houma Courier
- The Indianapolis StarThe Indianapolis StarThe Indianapolis Star is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903. It has won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting twice, in 1975 and 1991. It is currently owned by the Gannett Company.-History:...
- The Kansas City StarThe Kansas City StarThe Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
- The LedgerThe LedgerThe Ledger is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida and the Polk County area. It is owned by The New York Times Company. Jerome Ferson became publisher of the newspaper on July 30, 2007....
(Lakeland, FL) - Los Angeles Times
- The Miami HeraldThe Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
- The Morning CallThe Morning CallThe Morning Call is a daily newspaper based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The newspaper is owned by the Tribune Company, whose other publications include the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun....
- The News ChiefNews ChiefThe News Chief is a daily paper located in Winter Haven, FL and serves east Polk County, FL. It is owned by The New York Times Company and is located at 455 Sixth St. N.W.- History :...
(Winter Haven, FL) - Ocala Star-Banner
- Orlando SentinelOrlando SentinelThe Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
- Orlando Sentinel Top Stories
- Petaluma Argus-Courier
- Press DemocratPress DemocratThe Press Democrat, with the largest circulation on the California North Coast, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California.It was founded in 1897 by Ernest L. Finley who merged his Evening Press and Thomas Thompson's Sonoma Democrat...
(Santa Rosa, CA) - Raleigh News & Observer
- Reuters Top Stories
- Reuters Full Edition
- The Sacramento BeeThe Sacramento BeeThe Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S...
- Sarasota Herald-TribuneSarasota Herald-TribuneThe Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a daily newspaper located in Sarasota, Florida.It is owned by The New York Times Company, who purchased it in 1982, and part of its regional news group. Along with Comcast, the newspaper operates a local 24-hour...
- SlateSlateSlate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
- Star-NewsStar-NewsStar-News is the daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area . It is owned by The New York Times Company....
(Wilmington, NC) - Sun Sentinel
- Sun Sentinel Top Stories
- The TennesseanThe TennesseanThe Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
(Nashville, TN) - The Thibodaux Daily Comet
- The Tuscaloosa NewsThe Tuscaloosa NewsThe Tuscaloosa News is a daily newspaper serving Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, and the surrounding area in west central Alabama.The newspaper is a member of the New York Times Regional Media Group, a subsidiary of the New York Times Company, through the corporate entity of NYT Holdings, Inc., an...
Devices
Ongo’s iPadIPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
app was initially released in January 2011 and last updated in June of that same year. The app is free to download and also offers a a free one-day pass for non-subscribers.
Ongo currently offers a mobile version of the site for smart phone users. In an interview published by smart phone app website Appolicious, Kazim said the company is “evaluating” creating a native iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app. Such an app would be designed for users who check their phones for news throughout the day.
Reception
Ongo was listed on The Next Web as one of “8 Social Media Apps to Watch in 2011.” On the site’s release, the New York Times wrote “Ongo is for readers who peruse a variety of publications every day and want to read them all in one place.”In a press release, Ovum Ltd analyst Adrian Drury was quoted saying, “Ongo is bringing a web application to market that delivers a slick interface for reading news onscreen. In exchange, Ongo seeks to package content from premium news publishers and get a monthly subscription from users for the service.”
USA Today reviewed Ongo’s iPad app, giving it three out of four stars and complimenting the interface and variety of publications available. Poynter
Poynter
Poynter is a surname that originated in Berkshire, England in the 13th Century. It is an occupational name for the maker of lace fasteners on medieval tunics. The name derives from the Middle English "poynte" and originally from the Latin "puncta", meaning to pierce...
praised the site for its ability to find interesting stories, also citing its increased relevance in the wake of the New York Times’ implementation of a paywall for online reading. Ongo was also featured by Appolicious.
External Links
Ongo websiteOngo Facebook page
Ongo Twitter