• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 20, 2014

Thanks to the success of Vice Media and similar start-ups, investors continue to open their wallets for new publishers.  
 
Rant Media Network, for one, just raised another $4 million at a valuation of $55 million.
 
The funding was led by current investor and advisor Barry Honig, along with Hudson Bay Capital and Roth Capital. New investors included Craig Dubow, Gannett Co.’s former CEO and Chairman and Southpaw Asset Management.
 
With the new funds, Rant plans to continue its investment in additional verticals and technology, Brett Rosin, co-founder and CEO of Rant, said on Friday.
 
“It remains our goal to continue giving our users the best experience we can offer, and this is a big step in that direction," Rosin said.
 
More recently, Rant Media debuted Rant Lifestyle and Rant Chic to expand its coverage in the areas of lifestyle, fitness and exercise, entertainment and celebrities.
 
Not your typical media property, Rant pays a network of about 400 writers to produce hundreds of articles per day.
 
The “network” model appears to be working. Last October, Rant Sports was ranked as the second-largest independent sports platform -- and the 12th-largest sports platform in the United States, according to the company, citing comScore data.
 
Across its entire network, Rant Media expects to rake in upwards of 17 million monthly unique visitors by the end of that quarter, as measured by comScore.
 
Publishing partners have included USA Today and Fox Sports.