Refinery29
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
website focused on young women. It is owned by
Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...
.


History

Justin Stefano,
Philippe von Borries Philippe von Borries is a German-born entrepreneur. He co-founded Refinery29 and served as co-CEO of the company. He is currently entrepreneur-in-residence of Red Ventures and president of Lonely Planet. Biography von Borries was born in Cologn ...
, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 in 2005 as a city guide, emphasizing fashion local to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The name of the website alludes to the website distilling information into its essence. The company headquarters is located in the
Financial District, Manhattan The Financial District of Lower Manhattan, also known as FiDi, is a neighborhood located on the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the West Side Highway on the west, Chambers Street and City Hall Park on the north, Br ...
neighborhood of New York City. Refinery29 has over 450 employees globally with offices in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. In 2015, the company launched a UK edition at www.refinery29.uk and the following year in 2016, a German edition at www.refinery29.de. In 2016, Refinery29 announced it had raised $45 million in funding led by
Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...
. As of 2017, Refinery29 reaches an audience of over 500 million globally. On October 2, 2019, Vice Media (owned by Shane Smith (20%),
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
(16%),
A&E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...
(20%),
TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...
(44%), and
James Murdoch James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is a British-American businessman, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and was the chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019. He was the chairman and CEO fo ...
(minority stake)) announced that it would acquire Refinery29. The deal, worth a reported $400 million, values the combined company at $4 billion. In March 2021,
Pedestrian Group Pedestrian, formerly PEDESTRIAN.TV, is a youth digital news and entertainment website based in Sydney, Australia, which has existed since 2005. It is owned by Pedestrian Group, a company created by Nine Entertainment in 2018 after buying out P ...
announced a multi-year deal with Vice Media and Refinery29 to become the Australian digital publishing home of both brands. A new team was announced for Refinery29 later that year.


Ownership and governance

The company is owned by
Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...
. Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries were CEOs .


Content

Refinery29 produces editorial and video programming, live events, and social, shareable content delivered across major social media platforms, and covers a variety of categories. In August 2018, Refinery29 made an official section for music journalism on their website. Although this official section was created in 2018, music writing on Refinery29 was widespread before this date. In 2013, Refinery29 published "The Best Music Blogs That Aren't Pitchfork," featuring other online music publications such as ''
The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...
'', ''
Obscure Sound ''Obscure Sound'' is an mp3 blog launched in the mid-2000s by Mike Mineo. The website is updated daily with articles and reviews covering a range of musical genres, including indie rock, indie folk and electronica. Content ''Obscure Sound'' b ...
'' and ''
Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...
''. Refinery29 has series shows, ''Try Living with Lucie'' and ''Lucie for Hire'', that are hosted by Lucie Fink. Refinery29 was listed three consecutive years on '' Crain's'' "Fast 50", has won seven Clio Awards, and seven
Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...
s. The company produces an annual pop-up exhibition, 29Rooms, where visitors can take
self-portraits A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...
for sharing on Instagram. 29Rooms was launched in 2015 on Refinery29's 10-Year Anniversary. It has been credited as the first "
selfie museum A "selfie museum" or "Instagram museum" is a type of art gallery or installation designed to provide a setting for visitors to pose in photographs to be posted on social media sites such as Instagram. Typical features of exhibits in a selfie museu ...
". Notable writers for ''Refinery29'' include
Kathleen Newman-Bremang Kathleen Newman-Bremang is a Canadian writer and broadcaster, most noted as a journalist and editor for ''Refinery29'' and as a guest commentator on the CBC Radio One arts and culture magazine show '' Q''. She has also worked as a television produ ...
.


Workplace culture and pay disparity

In early June 2020, women of color and black employees and
freelancers ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...
took to social media to tell stories of discrimination while working for Refinery29. A writer for the company wrote on Twitter of "a toxic company culture" and pay disparity etween people of color and white employees On June 10, 2020, co-founders and CEOs Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries released a letter addressing the controversy, which read, in part: "After having read these accounts, we recognize how our privilege as two white male CEOs created blinders that kept us from seeing the struggles, exclusion, and aggressions that you felt at R29. This is an earthquake of a wake-up call." Co-founder Christene Barberich stepped aside as Global Editor-in-Chief, but remained as an employee to Refinery29 until November 2020. In Barberich's Instagram announcement post she wrote, "I’ve read and taken in the raw and personal accounts of Black women and women of color regarding their experiences inside our company at Refinery29 and what’s clear from these experiences, is that R29 has to change. We have to do better, and that starts with making room. And, so I will be stepping aside in my role at R29 to help diversify our leadership in editorial and ensure this brand and the people it touches can spark a new defining chapter." On June 11, 2020, author and former Refinery29 employee Sesali Bowen called Barberich a "sacrificial lamb" on Twitter. Barberich also faced criticism after a former employee recalled in 2020 that Barberich once cried in a team meeting after being told she seemed "squeamish" when discussing race. It was stated Barberich had decided to go home earlier that day due to the confrontation.


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Fashion websites American entertainment websites American women's websites Internet properties established in 2005 Lifestyle websites 2005 establishments in New York City 2019 mergers and acquisitions Vice Media