How a ‘gender neutral’ Ladbible will fit into the Australian publishing landscape
Mumbrella’s Josie Tutty talks to Ladbible’s founder and CEO Alexander ‘Solly’ Solomou about the publisher’s Australian expansion, and considers how the Facebook-friendly brand will fit into the current landscape.
When Mumbrella revealed Ladbible was set to launch in Australia, the reception was mixed. The news had broken amid rounds of redundancies at Vice, Buzzfeed and Verizon. A year before, HuffPost Australia’s joint venture with Fairfax Media had come to an end.
Then, just a few weeks after the news broke, HT&E announced it was shutting Techly and Lost at E Minor, as Conversant Media folded into ARN. In short, the publishing landscape was looking bleak, and digital publishers were no longer looking on pityingly at print: they too were being thrown into the wreckage.
So speaking to the Facebook-centric publisher’s founder and CEO Alexander ‘Solly’ Solomou at the team’s shared office space in Darlinghurst, Sydney, it felt strange — and rather refreshing — to hear some optimism.
