 | |
| Industry | Digital media |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 2021; 4 years ago (2021-08) |
Key people | Sarah Personette, CEO |
| Website | puck |
Puck is an American digital media company founded in 2021. Puck's coverage aims to cover the 'four centers of power' in the United States:Silicon Valley,Hollywood,Washington, D.C. andWall Street.[1] Its journalists includeMatthew Belloni,Peter Hamby,Dylan Byers andBaratunde Thurston.
Puck was founded by Joe Purzycki, Jon Kelly, Liz Gough,Julia Ioffe, and Max Tcheyan. The company launched its landing page in August 2021 and debuted in whole in September 2021. In 2021, the company received $7 million in funding fromStandard Industries andTPG Growth.[2][3][4] Purzycki stepped down as CEO of the company in May 2023.[5] On January 5, 2024, Sarah Personette, the former head of ad sales at Twitter, was announced as the company's CEO.[6]
Puck debuted a series of podcasts hosted by its writers in September 2021.[1] In March 2022, the outlet debuted a podcast co-created byBill Simmons'The Ringer, which is owned bySpotify.[7]
In August 2023, editor-in-chief Jon Kelly toldAxios that the company raised over $10 million inSeries B funding.[8]Puck launched its first-ever live conference events in October 2023, holding an event with former White House Chief of StaffRon Klain at the Top of the Hay inWashington, D.C. Events withNetflix'sBela Bajaria andGoldman Sachs'David M. Solomon are scheduled for later in 2023.[9]
In March 2025,Tara Palmeri left Puck to do reporting onYouTube.[10]
In September 2025, Puck entered an agreement to acquire the weekly fine-culture and lifestyle newsletter,Air Mail.[11][12] The following monthSaks Global sued Puck, Saks Global accused Puck of running “hit pieces” on the group and failing to disclose a supposed conflict of interest between Puck reporterWilliam D. Cohan and Saks Global.[13]
FollowingFTX founderSam Bankman-Fried's arrest, Bankman-Fried was interviewed by Puck during his house arrest.[14][15] Puck has reported on Bankman-Fried's political aspirations prior to his arrest, reporting in September 2023 that he had intended to donate between $15 million to $30 million to Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell.[16]
In August 2023, Puck reported on a falling out between Canadian singerJustin Bieber and his longtime managerScooter Braun. While both parties denied rumors that Bieber was searching for new management, Puck stood by its report. Outlets includingVariety andBillboard went on to report on tensions between Bieber and Braun.[17]
The company takes its name from the 19th centurypolitical satire and humor magazine of the same title, which was headquartered in thePuck Building inManhattan.[18] It is also a play on the name of thecharacter inWilliam Shakespeare's playA Midsummer Night's Dream ("puckish" means "playful, especially in a mischievous way").
In a 2022 profile,The New Yorker described Puck's editorial tone as being "deliberately clubby," with part of the appeal for readers being that "its writers move in the same elevated spaces as the people whom they cover."[19]Bloomberg News described Puck as a company that "treats reporters likesocial media influencers".[1]
As of November 2022, Puck had 25 staff members and 200,000 email subscribers.[20] As of 2024[update], Puck has 40,000 paid subscribers, which theWall Street Journal reported in February 2025 had "grown significantly since then".[21]The New York Times reported in 2022 that the company had a valuation of approximately $70 million following its latest funding round.[8][22] Puck journalists are given equity in the company and receive bonuses based on the number of subscribers their articles produce.[23]
While awaiting his fraud trial later this year, Bankman-Fried wears an ankle bracelet to track his movements and plays with his new dog, Sandor, according to a Puck News report.
At Puck, journalists are given equity in the business and, in addition to salaries, receive bonuses based on the number of subscriptions their work produces. They also receive compensation based on IP development.