Odyssey (publication)

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Odyssey

Type of site	News Entertainment
Owner	Odyssey Media Group, Inc.
Key people	Evan Burns (co-founder and executive chairman) Adrian France (co-founder)
URL	theodysseyonline.com
Launched	July 16, 2010; 11 years ago (2010-07-16)[1] (made public in 2014)

Odyssey (also known as The Odyssey or The Odyssey Online) is an American internet media company that operates based on a crowdsourced model, receiving articles from a base of thousands of volunteer authors and edited through their teams of volunteer, outsourced, and professional content strategists.^[2][3][4] The platform produces material covering virtually all major topics, including politics, sports, fashion, technology, entertainment, business, science, and health, among others.^[2] Odyssey has over 15,000 contributing writers, 1,200 communities, and over 30 million readers across the country.^[5] Each community consists of at least 12 writers, a voluntary Editor-in-chief, and a content strategist based in the New York City headquarters. Within each team are opportunities for executive positions, like a contributing editor, social outreach specialist, recruitment director, and more, all on a voluntary basis. Writers have the opportunity to receive compensation for their articles based on the number of page views a contributor generates.

Odyssey was co-founded by Evan Burns and Adrian France, two students from Indiana University, in 2014 under the Odyssey Media Group, Inc.^[2][6][7] The platform's users consist mostly of university and college students in the age range of 18-28, and its viewers mostly come from each individual user's social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.^[2][6]

History[]

Origins[]

In 2009, Evan Burns and Adrian France co-founded Odyssey Media Group, Inc. It started as a print publication, called The Odyssey, at Indiana University with a focus on Greek life and campus issues not generally covered by the university’s official news publication.^[6]

Odyssey expanded itsprint publication to include Greek chapters at other universities, including San Diego State University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Arkansas and the University of Alabama.^[6]

Online transition and funding[]

In 2014, Odyssey was launched as an online publication and platform.^[2][6] In 2015 and early 2016, Odyssey received funding from various sources, totaling over $33 million.^[2][8]

In February 2017, Odyssey laid off 53 employees, 1/3 of its staff. Evan Burns, the former CEO, was relieved of most major financial and management duties and was given the title executive chairman.^[9]

Business overview[]

Odyssey's users are required to apply to start writing articles; the requirements for these authors include having a “unique perspective” and the ability to submit one piece per week.^[2][6]

Odyssey's writers are divided into communities, most of which are college and university campuses, though users are not required to attend as a student at those campuses. Instead, users who do not attend a college or university can write for the community which is located nearest to them.^[6] Once a user has been approved, they can start posting content on the platform. Most pieces of content are reviewed in a three-tiered editing system, starting with volunteer editors, then moving on to an outsourced set of freelance copy editors, and finally back to a set of paid content strategists, employed by Odyssey.^[2][6]

While users are not regularly paid, incentives for highly-viewed articles are given. Writers have the opportunity to receive compensation for their articles based on the number of page view a contributor generates.

References[]