News from Vox Media: Week of January 4, 2016

Announced at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Hack Harassment is a new collaborative initiative from Intel, Vox Media, Re/code, and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation to fight online harassment and provide safer, more inclusive online experiences. "As a company that is built on the notion of open expression online, we want to do our part to protect individuals and communities who seek to communicate without fear of harassment," said Vox Media Chairman and CEO Jim Bankoff. "We invite all media companies to join us in this effort." The news was covered by the Associated Press, CNN Money, Fortune, Billboard, and The Verge, among many other publications.

The Verge's First Click newsletter returned. New and improved, the 7:30AM daily email brings readers across the globe the most fascinating stories that broke overnight alongside original essays that explore what it means to live in the near-future. This week, First Click reported on the best of CES.

Chad Mumm, VP, Vox Entertainment, was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in media, one of the year's young leaders defining and driving the ever-shifting world of news and content. Mumm was also recognized as one of Variety's 30 Execs to Watch: "Vox Media is getting ready to jump to the big screen, and Chad Mumm is leading the charge, building out a subsidiary called Vox Entertainment, and working on longform TV programming."

Digiday profiled The Verge as it brings more women into its fast-growing audience. Engagement editor Helen Havlak, who manages much of that audience development work, explained "it was definitely a year of maturing our platforms and deciding what are the things that are working."

Re/code's Kurt Wagner broke the news that "longer tweets are coming soon to Twitter." It was a scoop that was shared throughout the industry, such as on the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Bloomberg, and one that prompted Twitter's CEO to respond.

Melissa Bell, VP, Growth and Analytics, spoke with Nieman Reports on the Vox Media company culture, Vox.com's recent launch on Snapchat Discover, and diversity in the newsroom.

Vox Media co-founder Tyler Bleszinski was interviewed by Nieman Lab about the company's evolution from "an Oakland A's blog into one of the Internet's biggest publishers." He explained while the current company looks much different than the fan site he founded in 2003, there is similar thread among all Vox Media brands: "they all have that similar common passion and also the commitment to quality that I founded the company with."