Associated Press joins media accelerator Matter
The Associated Press has joined the media organizations collaborating with Matter, an accelerator for media startups based in San Francisco.
AP and three other media companies – A.H. Belo Corp., Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. and the McClatchy Company – have joined the roster of Matter’s media partners that also includes KQED, the Knight Foundation and Public Radio Exchange.
Now in its third year, Matter brings selected startups together to develop their ventures through a prototype-driven design process. The program, based in Matter’s startup “garage” near South Park in San Francisco, recently kicked off its latest class, which will conclude in June with “demo days” in San Francisco and New York, where the participating startups will introduce themselves to interested media companies and investors.
AP and the other participating organizations will provide input to the program and mentorship to the startups. The program also provides a variety of hands-on experiences for participating organizations to learn and apply Matter’s entrepreneurial process and thinking in their own operations.
“We are thrilled to be working with Matter and our industry colleagues to create a robust innovation community that stretches literally from coast to coast,” said Jim Kennedy, senior vice president for strategy and enterprise development at AP. “The direct participation that Matter encourages really makes the program special for the participants and startups alike.”
“This is a powerful set of media partners that will be the wind at the backs of our early-stage entrepreneurs,” said Corey Ford, managing partner of Matter. “Not only will our startups have access to great business opportunities, but they will also establish relationships with experienced media veterans who really get what we are doing and are aligned with our mission.”
Ford is a former film producer for the PBS series Frontline who also taught at Stanford University’s Institute of Design.
Matter opened for business in December 2012 and has been named one of the top Silicon Valley accelerators by Inc. and TechCrunch. With a tagline and goal to “change media for good,” Matter has a current portfolio of 19 media startups with another six entering with the new class this month. The companies in the portfolio span a wide spectrum of innovation across digital media.