From The New York Times to CNN, are top news outlets failing to connect with Generation Y? For Mackinley Greenlaw, 32, who recently helped his father and former MTV ad executive Doug
Greenlaw found One Minute News, the answer is yes.
As its name implies, the online- and mobile-based news service specializes in "bite-sized" content, which it is both producing and
aggregating.
More important than its ADD-immune appeal, One Minute News is spearheading an honest, conversational style and sense of community that mainstream media presently lacks, according
to the young Greenlaw.
"We're being underserved," Greenlaw said of his generation of 21- to-35-year-old consumers. "We're looking for an honest, human point of view."
While
Greenlaw insisted that One Minute News is not modeling itself after any particular news outlet or personality, he cited CNN's Anderson Cooper, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart as
strong examples of the sort of style One Minute News wants to create.
Talent-wise, that's a tall order for the start-up's eight full-time correspondents, several of whom previously worked
for Generation Y-focused brands, such as MTV and Current TV.
They are reporting to George Alexander, formerly a producer at CNN and Fox News Channel.
Although One Minute News officially
debuted this week, the site is not yet carrying ads. Greenlaw, however, said the company is currently in talks with "a major agency" to place ads on the site within the month. He also promised that
they would be extremely short -- as in no longer than five seconds.
Aware of Generation Y's fondness for sharing and online community, One Minute News is also encouraging user interaction via
commenting and discussions, polls and social media synchronicity.
The company is currently running on angel investment, but is planning to raise its first official round of funding, according
to Greenlaw.