# Inside.com

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{{Short description|Former website and trade magazine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Inside
| logo = Inside-logo.jpg
| screenshot = Inside-dot-com-screenshot.png
| url = {{URL|Inside.com}}
| commercial = Yes
| advertising = 
| type = [Media](/source/Mass_media) & [Entertainment](/source/Entertainment)
| registration =
| language = [English](/source/English_language)
| owner = Powerful Media (1999–2001)<br />Primedia (now [Rent Group](/source/Rent_Group)) (2001)
| founded = 1999
| founder =  [Kurt Andersen](/source/Kurt_Andersen), Michael Hirschorn, Deanna Brown
| authors = 
| editor = Michael Hirschorn
| key_people = [Steven Brill](/source/Steven_Brill_(journalist)) (from April 2001)
| employees = 100 (April 2001)<ref name=nypost />
| headquarters = 601 West 26th Street<br />[New York City](/source/New_York_City)
| launch_date = {{start date and age|2000|05 }}
| current_status = Defunct (as of {{end date|2001|10|}})
| footnotes = 
}}'''''Inside.com''''' was a website and [trade magazine](/source/trade_magazine) that covered "the converging worlds of entertainment, media, music and technology."<ref>Hill, Julianne. [https://www.writersdigest.com/articles-freelance/kurt-anderson-co-chair-of-insidecom "Kurt Anderson: Co-chair of Inside.com: Kurt Andersen, co-chair of the hot Internet site Inside.com, founder of Spy magazine and author of the best-selling novel Turn of the Century talks about his career here,"] ''[Writer's Digest](/source/Writer's_Digest)'' (2000).</ref> Launched with a great deal of hype in the spring of 2000,<ref name=WaPo /> Inside was a victim of the [dot-com bubble](/source/dot-com_bubble) and the [early 2000s recession](/source/early_2000s_recession), and it closed down at the end of 2001. Company headquarters were in the [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea%2C_Manhattan) neighborhood of [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan).<ref name=Observer>Snyder, Gabriel. [https://observer.com/2001/04/brills-contented-insidecom-merger-feeds-his-big-maw/ "Brill’s Contented: Inside.com Merger Feeds His Big Maw,"] ''[Observer](/source/The_New_York_Observer)'' (April 9, 2001).</ref>

The magazine/website is not related to the later [Jason Calacanis](/source/Jason_Calacanis) startup Inside.com, which focuses on delivering thematic newsletters.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/investor-jason-calacanis-worth-millions-thanks-to-uber-2017-7|title=How a founder went from being worth millions to -$10,000 almost overnight — then rebounded to a $100 million fortune|last=Mazarakis, Shontell|first=Anna, Alyson|date=2017-08-03|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-10-27}}</ref>

== History ==
Inside.com was co-founded by [Kurt Andersen](/source/Kurt_Andersen), Michael Hirschorn, and Deanna Brown (calling themselves Powerful Media)<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/jun/10/business.theobserver|title=The downside to Inside.com: They were the new chroniclers of the net age, but online magazines like Inside.com are being spiked|first=Edward|last=Helmore|date=9 June 2001|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)}}</ref><ref name=WaPo /> in 1999, with the announced goal of helping to "reinvent a form, not unlike [magazines](/source/magazines) at the beginning of the twentieth century, or even [newspapers](/source/newspapers) and the [novel](/source/novel) in the eighteenth and nineteenth."<ref name=Guardian />

The company began with $12 million in financing<ref name=Awl>Sicha, Choire. [https://www.theawl.com/2011/05/bubbles-crashes-and-burns-15-lessons-from-10-years-ago/ "Bubbles, Crashes and Burns: 15 Lessons from 10 Years Ago,"] ''[The Awl](/source/The_Awl)'' (May 25, 2011).</ref> from [Jim Cramer](/source/Jim_Cramer) and [Flatiron Partners](/source/Flatiron_Partners), and added a second round of $23 million in May 2000,<ref name=NYMag /> prompting Andersen to famously proclaim that raising money for the site was "easier than getting laid in 1969."<ref name=Observer /><ref name=Slate>Moneybox. [https://slate.com/business/2000/07/inside-com-size-matters.html "Inside.com: Size Matters,"] ''Slate'' (July 18, 2000).</ref><ref name=WaPo />

Starting with an "all-star" staff of 72 stocked by "[old media](/source/old_media)" talent from the likes of ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'', ''[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)'', the ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'', ''[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)'', ''[U.S. News & World Report](/source/U.S._News_%26_World_Report)'', [Disney](/source/The_Walt_Disney_Company), ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))'', ''[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)'', ''[The New York Observer](/source/The_New_York_Observer)'' and ''[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)'',<ref name=WaPo>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/05/03/point-and-clique/c8666ca3-178e-4118-be65-020c0fdfef0d|title=Point and Clique|first=Howard|last=Kurtz|newspaper=Washington Post|date=May 3, 2000}}</ref> Inside.com launched in May 2000<ref name=NYMag>[Wolff, Michael](/source/Michael_Wolff_(journalist)). [https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/columns/medialife/3259/ "The Insiders,"] ''New York'' (May 29, 2000).</ref> as an online media news website. ([Courtney Love](/source/Courtney_Love) attended the launch party.)<ref name=Awl />

Inside's internal "manifesto" was "Correctness. Insiderness. Juiciness. Utility. Honesty. Smartness. Go kill".<ref name=Guardian /> The site was divided into sections — "Inside Dope," "Daily Digest," "Power Index," "Ratings," "This Morning's Talk Shows," "Mogul Astrology," and "Today's Gossip";<ref name=WaPo /> subscribers were also promised data-driven lists of TV ratings, box office numbers, CD sales, and the like.<ref name=WaPo /> Subscriptions to the site were priced at $199 a year,<ref name=NYMag /><ref name=Guardian /> with an announced goal of 30,000 subscribers.<ref name=NYTimes-Kuczynski /><ref name=WaPo />

''Inside'', the biweekly print magazine, launched in December 2000.<ref name=Awl />

The site was named Best Internet Site at the [5th Golden Satellite Awards](/source/5th_Golden_Satellite_Awards) (held in January 2001),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000296/2001/|work=[Internet Movie Database](/source/Internet_Movie_Database)|at=imdb.com|title=Satellite Awards for 2001|publisher=[IMDb](/source/IMDb)|access-date=May 17, 2017|date=May 17, 2017}}</ref> and also won the [Webby](/source/Webby_Awards) for Best News Site in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jul/19/newmedia1|title=Web 'Oscars' results announced|first=Amy|last=Vickers|date=19 July 2001|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/2001/websites-and-mobile-sites/general-websites-and-mobile-sites/news/157613/inside|title=Webby Winner: Websites and Mobile Sites: News 2001|access-date=January 21, 2023}}</ref>

Things, however, soon turned sour for Inside. The site never got more than a few thousand subscribers, and like many other publications covering media and technology, the company couldn't figure out how to turn a profit.<ref name=Guardian />

In April 2001, Inside.com was sold to [Steven Brill](/source/Steven_Brill_(journalist))/PriMedia (now [Rent Group](/source/Rent_Group)), who immediately canceled the print magazine (after only two issues)<ref name=Guardian /> and laid off 50 staff members.<ref name=Observer /> At the same time, Brill announced he would merge the magazine with his own ''[Brill's Content](/source/Brill's_Content)'' in the fall of 2001, with the new publication to be named ''Inside Content''.<ref name=nypost>{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Keith J. |title=Brill's Bloodbath – Inside Mag to Shutter, up to 50 to be Axed |url=https://nypost.com/2001/04/03/brills-bloodbath-inside-mag-to-shutter-up-to-50-to-be-axed/ |access-date=16 September 2021 |work=New York Post |date=3 April 2001}}</ref><ref name=Observer /> Instead, Inside editor-in-chief Hirschorn left in July,<ref name=NYTimes-Kuczynski>[Kuczynski, Alex](/source/Alex_Kuczynski). [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/25/business/editor-in-chief-of-insidecom-steps-down.html "Editor in Chief Of Inside.com Steps Down,"] ''New York Times'' (July 25, 2001).</ref> and Inside itself closed down in October 2001, as Brill dissolved his partnership with PriMedia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/16/business/brill-s-content-closes-web-site-insidecom-is-cut-back.html |title=Brill's Content Closes; Web Site, Inside.com, Is Cut Back |first=Felicity |last=Barringer |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=16 October 2001 |access-date=19 August 2020}}</ref>

== Notable staff and contributors ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Michael Hirschorn, editor-in-chief<ref name=nypost />
* [Sarah Bartlett](/source/Sarah_Bartlett), editorial director<ref name=nypost />
* [Tom Bierbaum](/source/Tom_Bierbaum)<ref>[http://www.legiononline.net/volume5/creators.html Bierbaum bio in the Legion of Super-Heroes Online Companion: Volume 5.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004050625/http://www.legiononline.net/volume5/creators.html |date=2007-10-04 }} Accessed September 15, 2008.</ref>
* [Bernie Brillstein](/source/Bernie_Brillstein), advice columnist<ref name=WaPo />
* [David Carr](/source/David_Carr_(journalist))<ref name=WaPo />
* [Michael Cieply](/source/Michael_Cieply), West Coast editor
* [Tom Fontana](/source/Tom_Fontana), industry insider<ref name=WaPo />
* [Bruce Feirstein](/source/Bruce_Feirstein)
* [Andrew Hindes](/source/Andrew_Hindes), Senior Correspondent and Film Editor<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehotbutton.com/today/hot.button/2006_thb/060224_fri.html |title=February 24, 2006 |publisher=The Hot Button |date= |access-date=2011-05-17}}</ref>
* [Jared Hohlt](/source/Jared_Hohlt)
* [Sarah Lewitinn](/source/Sarah_Lewitinn)
* [Kim Masters](/source/Kim_Masters), senior correspondent<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lyman |first1=Rick |title=Stumbling Toward A Theater Near You |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/movies/stumbling-toward-a-theater-near-you.html |access-date=16 September 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=15 April 2001}}</ref>
* [Sara Nelson](/source/Sara_Nelson_(editor)),<ref name=twsOctJ15>{{cite news
 |last= Motoko
 |first = Rich
 |title= Top Editor at Publishers Weekly Is Laid Off
 |publisher= The New York Times: Arts
 |date= January 26, 2009
 |url= http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/top-editor-at-publishers-weekly-is-laid-off/
 |access-date= 2010-10-05
}}</ref> Books<ref name=WaPo />
* [Roger Parloff](/source/Roger_Parloff), legal editor<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/00/09/24/reviews/000924.24parloft.html |title=Coughing It Up |last=Parloff |first=Roger |date=2000-09-24 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-03-30}}</ref>
* [Kyle Pope](/source/Kyle_Pope), television<ref name=WaPo />
* [Harry Shearer](/source/Harry_Shearer), industry insider<ref name=WaPo />
* [Erik Wemple](/source/Erik_Wemple), Washington correspondent<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewPerson?oid=oid%3A7408|title=Erik Wemple|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194254/http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewPerson?oid=oid%3A7408|archive-date=September 27, 2007}} Brief biography in the ''People Directory'' of the [Association of Alternative Newsweeklies](/source/Association_of_Alternative_Newsweeklies) (AAN) (incl. hyperlinked archive to "In the News" articles by and about Wemple and his AAN award and honorable mention.)</ref>
}}

== See also ==
* ''[Business 2.0](/source/Business_2.0)'' 
* ''[The Industry Standard](/source/The_Industry_Standard)''
* ''[Red Herring](/source/Red_Herring_(magazine))''
* ''[Mediaweek](/source/Mediaweek_(American_magazine))''
* ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))''
* ''[Wired](/source/Wired_(magazine))''

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* [Beller, Thomas](/source/Thomas_Beller). [https://mrbellersneighborhood.com/2002/10/inside-inside-com "Inside Inside.com,"] ''[Mr. Beller's Neighborhood](/source/Mr._Beller's_Neighborhood)'' (Oct. 25, 2002).

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001109191600/http://inside.com/front/index.html <nowiki>Inside.com</nowiki> front page from November 8, 2000]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inside.com}}
Category:1999 establishments in New York City
Category:2001 disestablishments in New York (state)
Category:Defunct American websites
Category:Internet properties established in 1999
Category:Magazines about the media
Category:Magazines published in New York City
Category:Mass media trade magazines
Category:Online magazines published in the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Inside.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside.com) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside.com?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.