Knewz
A United States news-aggregation website that combines stories from a broad range of publishers with original reporting.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Knewz is an American digital news and news-aggregation brand. The service was created by News Corp and developed as a way to present stories from a wide range of publishers, including national, local, and politically diverse outlets. Its stated proposition was to give readers access to varied perspectives rather than confining them to a narrow editorial or algorithmic filter bubble. At launch, Knewz said it drew material from more than 600 publishers, most of them in the United States, and the service used both in-house editorial and technology staff. It also incorporated artificial-intelligence algorithms into its aggregation and presentation systems. The Knewz trademark was filed in December 2018. Reporting in August 2019 described a website and mobile application in development, and a public beta followed on 29 January 2020. The initial service carried links or summaries associated with a large selection of national publications and broadcasters, including CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC News, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Axios, The Blaze, Bleacher Report, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Deadline, Mother Jones, National Review, Newsmax, The Washington Examiner, and Talking Points Memo. It also sought local coverage from every U.S. state. Knewz therefore occupied a position between a conventional publisher, which produces most of its own journalism, and a search or aggregation platform, which primarily organizes third-party material. The original News Corp operation was short-lived. In July 2021, News Corp announced that it was closing the service, citing a lack of profitability. The brand subsequently returned after being sold to Dylan Howard's Empire Media Group. The revived operation was organized through Knewz Media Group, LLC, which is described as a subsidiary of Empire Media Group, Inc. The current Knewz service has been presented not only as an aggregator but also as a publisher with its own reporting, supported by human editors, information-technology specialists, and automated systems. Its material has received attention from outlets and platforms including The Associated Press, Drudge Report, and Fox News host Sean Hannity. Knewz's corporate history is therefore defined by two phases: an initial News Corp-backed launch and shutdown, followed by a change of ownership and a relaunch under Empire Media Group. The brand's principal offering remains a web-based destination for discovering news from multiple sources. Because ownership and operating arrangements changed after the original shutdown, the current Knewz brand should not be treated as a continuing News Corp operating unit, even though News Corp was its creator and former owner.
History
Knewz emerged from News Corp's effort to build a broad news-discovery product that could aggregate reporting from many publishers and present it in a single destination. The brand's trademark was filed in December 2018. During 2019, reports from The Wall Street Journal and Axios described a website and mobile application under development. The project was intended to distinguish itself through source breadth, including outlets with differing political positions, rather than by relying on a single editorial viewpoint. The service's public beta began on 29 January 2020. Its launch materials indicated that Knewz drew from more than 600 publishers, mostly in the United States. The catalogue included national newspapers, television networks, financial outlets, digital-native publications, political media, sports publishers, entertainment titles, and local news providers. The service also aimed to provide local sources from all 50 states. This breadth made Knewz a hybrid product: it organized and summarized third-party news while also maintaining internal editorial and technology functions. The site used human editors and IT specialists, and it also made use of artificial-intelligence algorithms. Knewz's initial corporate phase ended in July 2021 when News Corp shut down the service. The company attributed the decision to insufficient profitability. The closure did not permanently end the brand. In the fall of 2021, the service was revived after its sale to Dylan Howard's Empire Media Group. The new operation was established through Knewz Media Group, LLC, described as an Empire Media Group subsidiary. This transaction changed Knewz's corporate identity from a News Corp project into a standalone brand within Empire Media Group's portfolio. Under its revived ownership, Knewz has continued to operate as a digital news destination while also producing some reporting of its own. Its content and brand have received attention from organizations and media personalities including The Associated Press, Drudge Report, and Sean Hannity on Fox. The service's central proposition remains the aggregation of a wide variety of news sources, with an emphasis on giving readers access to perspectives that may otherwise be separated by publication, political orientation, or geographic market. Knewz's history illustrates the commercial difficulty of operating a broad news-aggregation platform. The first version had the backing and distribution resources of a major media company but was closed after failing to become profitable. The later revival preserved the name and core concept while placing the brand under a different owner and adding a more explicit combination of aggregation and original publishing. Publicly available reference material does not establish a complete list of current executives, detailed financial results, or a comprehensive account of the service's present technology and audience.
- 2021
News Corp closure
[1]News Corp shut down Knewz in July, citing inadequate profitability.
- 2021
Ownership transfer and revival
[1]Empire Media Group acquired and revived the Knewz service through Knewz Media Group, LLC.
- 2020
Public beta launch
[1]Knewz launched its public beta on 29 January, with coverage from more than 600 publishers.
- 2019
Website and app development reported
[1]The Wall Street Journal and Axios reported that a Knewz website and mobile application were being developed.
- 2018
Knewz trademark filed
[1]The Knewz trademark was filed in December as News Corp developed the brand.
Products and positioning
A broad-source news destination intended to expose readers to varied political viewpoints and reduce dependence on narrow news filters, while combining aggregation with human-edited and original content.
News aggregation website · 2020
Knewz.com
Knewz.com is the brand's principal web destination. It organizes stories from a large range of third-party publishers, presenting readers with national, local, political, business, sports, and entertainment coverage. The service was initially created by News Corp and later revived under Empire Media Group. In addition to aggregation, the current operation is described as producing some original reporting through internal editorial and technology teams.
News application · 2020
Knewz mobile application
A mobile application was developed as part of the original News Corp Knewz project and was reported publicly before the service's 2020 beta launch. Available reference material confirms the development effort but does not provide enough detail to document its complete feature set or current availability.
Brand decisions
2021
News Corp closes the original Knewz operationStrategyBackground
The News Corp version of Knewz had launched as a broad news-aggregation service but was not considered profitable.
Action taken
News Corp shut down the service in July 2021.
Aftermath
The brand was subsequently sold to Empire Media Group and revived through Knewz Media Group, LLC.
2021
Knewz transferred to Empire Media GroupM&ABackground
Following News Corp's closure of the service, the Knewz brand and operation changed ownership.
Action taken
Empire Media Group acquired and relaunched Knewz through Knewz Media Group, LLC.
Aftermath
Knewz continued as an Empire Media Group news and aggregation brand rather than as a News Corp service.
Recent events
- 2021
News Corp shuts down Knewz[1]
Bankruptcy
News Corp closed Knewz in July 2021, stating that the service had not achieved profitability.
- 2021
Knewz revived under Empire Media Group[1]
M&A · Product launch · Leadership change
After the News Corp shutdown, the brand was sold to Empire Media Group and relaunched through Knewz Media Group, LLC.
- 2020
Knewz public beta launches[1]
Product launch
Knewz formally launched its beta service on 29 January 2020, aggregating material from hundreds of publishers.
- 2019
Knewz website and mobile application reported to be in development[1]
Product launch
The Wall Street Journal and Axios reported that News Corp was developing a Knewz website and mobile application.
- 2018
Knewz trademark filed[1]
Other
A trademark associated with the Knewz brand was filed in December 2018 as News Corp developed the service.
Sources5 sources
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