RYOT

RYOT is an American media and production brand founded in 2012 by humanitarian workers Bryn Mooser and David Darg, together with Molly DeWolf Swenson and investor Martha Rogers. The company originated from work undertaken in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake. Mooser and Darg met while supporting humanitarian projects there and later developed the idea of a baseball league for children in Port-au-Prince. Their experience led to the creation of RYOT News, positioned as a news service that connected reporting with opportunities for audiences to take action. The company initially combined journalism, documentary production and advocacy. Its early work focused on humanitarian crises, public-health emergencies and stories about communities affected by disaster. Mooser and Darg documented the Haiti baseball project and the concurrent cholera outbreak in the documentary Baseball in the Time of Cholera, which received recognition at the Tribeca Film Festival and was later screened for Congress. RYOT also produced The Rider and The Storm, a documentary short about a New York surfer whose life was devastated by the Breezy Point fires during Hurricane Sandy. RYOT expanded beyond conventional reporting into commercial production and immersive media. Beginning in 2015, it produced 360-degree and virtual-reality work for media organizations, advertisers and nonprofit groups. Its partners included The New York Times, NPR, The Associated Press, The Huffington Post and the Sierra Club. The company became associated with early experiments in immersive journalism, including 360-degree coverage of a war zone in Syria, a disaster zone in Nepal and underwater footage of wild dolphins in the Bahamas. It also developed VR news and comedy programming for Hulu. Its documentary activities included Body Team 12, which followed a Liberian health worker collecting the bodies of Ebola victims during the 2014 outbreak. Executive-produced by Olivia Wilde and Paul Allen, the film premiered on HBO in February 2016 and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject. RYOT later produced On Her Shoulders, about Yazidi survivor and activist Nadia Murad’s campaign against ISIS. The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. The Painter of Jalouzi was notable for being filmed entirely on an iPhone 6S Plus. In April 2016, RYOT was acquired by HuffPost. It subsequently operated within the broader Verizon Media portfolio, with activities organized through units including RYOT Studio, RYOT Films and RYOT Lab. RYOT Studio served as a branded-content agency, RYOT Films developed film, television, digital and immersive projects for clients, and RYOT Lab focused on emerging technology and innovation in partnership with Verizon Lab. In May 2021, Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire Verizon Media, including RYOT and other properties, in a transaction valued at $5 billion. The transaction closed on September 1, 2021. Publicly available reference material does not establish RYOT’s current standalone operating status, leadership roster or independent website.

RYOT developed from humanitarian work in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake. Bryn Mooser and David Darg met there while working on separate relief projects: Mooser was involved with Artists for Peace and Justice and school construction, while Darg worked with Operation Blessing on water and sanitation initiatives. The two later conceived a baseball league for children in the Tabarre neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. After returning to the United States, they brought in Molly DeWolf Swenson as chief operating officer and launched RYOT News in 2012. The new organization presented itself as a news platform that connected journalism with concrete opportunities for audience participation and social action. Mooser and Darg documented their Haiti work in Baseball in the Time of Cholera. The film followed the development of the Tabarre Tigers while also examining the cholera outbreak that affected Haiti. It received recognition at the Tribeca Film Festival, circulated at film festivals and concluded with a screening before members of Congress. The founders later made The Rider and The Storm, a short documentary about a surfer whose home and livelihood were destroyed in the Breezy Point fires during Hurricane Sandy. These projects established RYOT’s early emphasis on humanitarian subjects, disaster reporting and stories designed to prompt public engagement. The company broadened its production model during the middle of the 2010s. In 2015, RYOT began making 360-degree and virtual-reality films for outside media companies, commercial clients and nonprofits. Its work was associated with early immersive coverage of Syria, Nepal and underwater wildlife in the Bahamas. It also produced VR news and comedy programming for Hulu, positioning the company at the intersection of journalism, documentary production and emerging distribution formats. RYOT’s stated or reported partners included The New York Times, NPR, The Associated Press, The Huffington Post and the Sierra Club. RYOT’s documentary portfolio continued to address humanitarian emergencies and human-rights issues. Body Team 12 followed a Liberian health worker who collected the bodies of Ebola victims in Monrovia during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Executive-produced by Olivia Wilde and Paul Allen, it premiered on HBO in February 2016 and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject. Other festival recognition included honors associated with Tribeca, Mountainfilm, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival. The Painter of Jalouzi was distinguished by being filmed entirely with an iPhone 6S Plus. On Her Shoulders, a documentary about Nadia Murad’s efforts to draw attention to the persecution of Yazidis and the crimes of ISIS, premiered in competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. In April 2016, HuffPost acquired RYOT. The brand later operated as part of Verizon Media, where its activities were described through several divisions. RYOT Studio functioned as an in-house branded-content agency; RYOT Films developed projects in film, television, digital and immersive formats; and RYOT Lab worked on emerging technology and innovation in association with Verizon Lab. This structure allowed the company to serve both editorial and commercial clients while retaining a focus on immersive storytelling and social-impact subjects. In May 2021, Apollo Global Management agreed to purchase Verizon Media, including RYOT and other Verizon Media properties, for $5 billion. The acquisition closed on September 1, 2021. The available reference material does not provide enough information to determine whether RYOT continues to operate as an independent brand, its current headquarters beyond its historical Los Angeles base, or its current executive team.

• 2021

  Apollo acquires Verizon Media properties

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  Apollo Global Management completes its acquisition of Verizon Media properties, including RYOT, on September 1.

• 2018

  On Her Shoulders wins at Sundance

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  On Her Shoulders premieres in the Sundance competition and wins the U.S. Documentary Directing Award.

• 2016

  HuffPost acquisition

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  HuffPost acquires RYOT, bringing the company into a larger digital-media organization.

• 2016

  Body Team 12 receives an Academy Award nomination

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  RYOT’s Ebola documentary is nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject.

• 2015

  RYOT enters immersive video

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  RYOT begins producing 360-degree and virtual-reality video for media, advertising and nonprofit partners.

• 2013

  The Rider and The Storm premieres

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  RYOT presents a documentary short about a surfer affected by the Breezy Point fires at the Tribeca Film Festival.

• 2012

  RYOT News is founded

  [1]RYOTen.wikipedia.org

  Bryn Mooser, David Darg, Molly DeWolf Swenson and Martha Rogers establish RYOT News as a news and action-oriented media venture.

A purpose-driven media and production company combining documentary storytelling, journalism, commercial content and immersive technologies with social-impact action.

• Digital journalism · 2012

  RYOT News

  RYOT’s original news operation was designed to link reporting with opportunities for readers and viewers to take action. Its coverage emphasized humanitarian issues, disasters, health emergencies and stories involving social change.

• Film and documentary production

  RYOT Films

  RYOT Films produced documentary and branded projects across traditional film, television, digital and immersive formats. Its documented work includes humanitarian documentaries such as Body Team 12 and On Her Shoulders.

• Branded content

  RYOT Studio

  RYOT Studio operated as an in-house branded-content agency within Verizon Media, developing commercial storytelling and campaigns for clients while drawing on RYOT’s documentary and immersive-production capabilities.

• Immersive technology and innovation

  RYOT Lab

  RYOT Lab served as a technology and innovation unit focused on emerging formats and was described as working with Verizon Lab. Its area of activity included experimentation with virtual reality, augmented reality and other immersive media.

• Documentary film · 2016

  Body Team 12

  This documentary follows a Liberian health worker who collected the bodies of people who died during the Ebola outbreak in Monrovia. Executive-produced by Olivia Wilde and Paul Allen, it premiered on HBO in February 2016 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.

• Documentary film · 2018

  On Her Shoulders

  The documentary follows Nadia Murad’s public campaign to expose the persecution of Yazidis and the crimes committed by ISIS. It premiered in competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award.

• 2021

  Transfer of Verizon Media ownership to ApolloM&A

  Background

  Verizon decided to sell its media properties as part of a broader portfolio transaction.

  Action taken

  Apollo Global Management acquired Verizon Media properties, including RYOT, in a transaction announced at $5 billion and completed on September 1, 2021.

  Aftermath

  RYOT became part of the media assets acquired by Apollo. The available material does not establish its subsequent standalone corporate structure.

  Transaction value. $5 billion (Announced May 2021; closed September 1, 2021)

  Source

• 2016

  Acquisition by HuffPostM&A

  Background

  RYOT’s documentary, journalism and immersive capabilities complemented HuffPost’s digital publishing operations.

  Action taken

  HuffPost acquired RYOT in April 2016.

  Aftermath

  RYOT became part of HuffPost and later operated within the broader Verizon Media portfolio.

  Source

• 2015

  Expansion into immersive mediaStrategy

  Background

  RYOT sought to extend its documentary and journalism model beyond conventional video as immersive formats began attracting interest from publishers, advertisers and nonprofit organizations.

  Action taken

  The company began producing 360-degree and virtual-reality films and developed projects for partners including major news organizations, advertisers and nonprofits.

  Aftermath

  The move established RYOT as an early immersive-journalism and VR-production specialist and led to work across editorial, commercial and entertainment contexts.

  Source

• 2020-11-16

  Officeworks unveils augmented-reality Santa for Christmas campaign[2]Officeworks 推出圣诞增强现实圣诞老人活动mumbrella.com.au

  Reported: 2020-11-16

  Officeworks unveiled a Christmas campaign enabling customers to take a socially distanced Santa photo in store or at home using augmented reality. The campaign involved Verizon Media's branded content division RYOT Studio.

1. 1RYOTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Officeworks 推出圣诞增强现实圣诞老人活动mumbrella.com.au