The Incline Explained

The Incline
Logo Alt:	The Incline logo
Company Type:	Private
Website Type:	News
Language:	English
Owner:	WhereBy.Us
Area Served:	Pittsburgh
Key People:	Colin Williams (Local director)
Location:	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Industry:	Internet, media
Advertising:	None
Registration:	None
Current Status:	Active

The Incline is an online newspaper focused on the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region. Launched in 2016, the news outlet curates syndicated content^[1] and produces original stories aimed towards millennials.^[2] Instead of ads, The Incline's revenue comes from events. The best known of which is their "Who's next" event series.^[3] In March 2019, The Incline was acquired by WhereBy.Us.^[4]

History

Spirited Media founded Philadelphia's web-only local news site Billy Penn in 2014. Billy Penn functions as a mixture of links to news articles produced by other outlets with its own original reporting mixed in.^[5] Rather than direct ad sales, Billy Penn found success with an event-based business model. Spirited Media looked for new cities to deploy it in.^[6] In 2016, Pittsburgh was identified as the second city after major investments came from Gannett.^[7] The Incline deviated from Billy Penn, by selling ads upon its introduction in order to gain exposure and awareness.^[1]

The Incline was launched in September 2016. The news outlet was named after the Duquesne Incline.^[8] Because of the presence of Silicon Valley companies working with Carnegie Mellon University and the absence of a tech business website in Pittsburgh, the Incline focused more on technology news compared to its Philadelphia counterpart.^[9] The Incline was also experimented on curation of news based on the moods of their readers.^[1]

Awards and recognition

The Incline won the award for the “Biggest blockbuster story” at the Hearken's 2018 Champions of Curiosity Awards.^[10] The Incline obtained recognition in multiple categories from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania at the 54th Golden Quill Awards.^[11] The Incline won an award from the 30th Anniversary Vann Media Awards for their coverage of business news.^[12]

References

1. Web site: With Launch of The Incline in Pittsburgh, Sprited Media's Brady Says 'We Want to Be a Connector' . Grubisich . Tom . October 21, 2016 . Street Fight Magazine . May 18, 2019.
2. Web site: Spirited Media Fights Collapse of Local News . Mullin . Benjamin . November 10, 2017 . The Wall Street Journal . May 18, 2019 .
3. Web site: Inside a local media company's pivot to reader revenue . Krewson . Chris . January 26, 2018 . Digital Context Next . May 18, 2019.
4. Web site: Pittsburgh local news site The Incline finds a new home at WhereBy.Us . Owen . Laura . March 19, 2019 . Nieman Lab . May 18, 2019 .
5. Web site: Rieder: Developing models for digital local news . Rieder . Rem . October 19, 2016 . USA Today . May 18, 2019 .
6. Web site: Billy Penn taking its formula to Pittsburgh with help from Gannett investment . Stelter . Brian . May 9, 2016 . CNN Business . May 18, 2019 .
7. Web site: Next stop for Billy Penn founder: Pittsburgh . Mullin . Benjamin . May 9, 2016 . poynter . May 18, 2019.
8. Web site: Billy Penn launches sister website in new market . Blumenthal . Jeff . Sep 14, 2016 . Philadelphia Business Journal . May 18, 2019.
9. Web site: The Incline, Billy Penn's new sister site, launches in Pittsburgh . Lichterman . Joseph . September 13, 2016 . Nieman Lab . May 18, 2019.
10. Web site: The winners of Hearken's 2018 Champions of Curiosity Awards . Dec 11, 2018 . Hearken . May 18, 2019.
11. . May 24, 2018. Press Club of Western PA Announces 2018 Golden Quill Winners. Pittsburgh. The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania . May 18, 2019.
12. . Pittsburgh Federation Announces Winners in 30th Anniversary Vann Media Awards Contest . May 3, 2018 . Pittsburgh Black Media Federation . May 18, 2019.