Scroll.in was launched in January 2014[5] as an Indian news website through the holding company of Scroll Media Incorporation.[4] It was founded by Samir Patil and senior journalist Naresh Fernandes, along with Jennifer O'Brien, the former head ofbusiness development at the travel startup Trabblr.[3] Naresh Fernandes who was previously the editor-in-chief ofTime Out India and a journalist associated withThe Times of India andThe Wall Street Journal,[6] became the editor-in-chief of Scroll.in.[7] The publication had received early stage investments from theIPS Media Foundation,[7] theMedia Development Investment Fund and the investment firm ofOmidyar Network, following an endorsement from the law firmKhaitan & Co.[2][8]
In June 2014,Atlantic Media partnered with the Scroll Media Inc to launch the Indian edition of the business news brandQuartz.[9][5] In the following year, the Hindi media publishing company Satyagrah was merged with Scroll Media and became the Hindi edition of Scroll.in which continues to operate under the name of Satyagrah.[3] Sanjay Dubey who was the founder and editor of Satyagrah and previously the editor ofTehelka's Hindi edition, remained as the editor of Satyagrah.[10] In March 2018, the publication partially shifted towards asubscription business model providing ad free delivery of news service and access to archives for subscribers. Naresh Fernandes, the editor-in-chief however stated that the publication will not implement anypaywalls.[11][12]
In December 2018,Deutsche Welle partnered with Scroll.in to launch its Indian weekly programme, Eco India as part of DW's venture into the South Asian media industry.[13] Between May–June 2019,Scroll.in laid off a number of editorial staff citing a restructure of their business model.[12]
Scroll's staff are segregated into two divisions; the editorial team and the distribution team.[1] In an article of theColumbia Journalism Review, the segregation was explained as the result of caution associated with the "credibility ofdigital media" prevalent among the formerprint medium journalists who constituted the editorial team of the new publication. The editorial team in addition consists of an appointedombudsman for additional editorial oversight. Naresh Fernandes is the current editor-in-chief of the website.[7] The Hindi edition of the publication, Satyagrah, has a separate editorial team with Sanjay Dubey as the editor-in-chief.[10]
Thedistribution team of the publication is staffed with analysts of social media and search resultalgorithm who manage the distribution assets of the publication.[1]
According to a report from theReuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, the content delivery of the Scroll.in resembles "almost the pace of anewswire with the depth and sophistication of a quality news magazine," while the presentation of the site was described to be targeted toward an "up-market" audience and compared favorably withQuartz. The publication's business strategy aims to generate income through premiumnative advertising andsponsored content, resembling that of traditional magazine advertising rather than obtrusive ads that distract or annoy the reader. The report also described the publication to have developed a simple and responsive design for its website for the purpose of easyaccessibility.[1]
In addition to the primary website, the distribution of Scroll's content is provided through anAndroid app, two emailnewsletters and an array ofsocial media channels acrossFacebook,Twitter,Instagram, andYouTube. Scroll also operates an online shop for books and literary accessories based on recommendations from the editorial team.[1]
Scroll.in Hindi website Satyagrah journalist Rahul Kotiyal won theRamnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards for 2016,[18] for reporting on a campaign by RSS and Bajrang Dal named "Beti Bachao Bahu Lao". The campaign attempted to stop Hindu girls from marrying non-Hindus. If RSS members get information of a Hindu girl planning to marry a Muslim man, then the RSS members would track the girl and would inform the parents of the girl accusing this to be a case ofLove Jihad.[19]
Scroll.in's journalists won four Red Ink Awards for 2017 for Excellence in Journalism[22][23]
Scroll.in's journalist Mridula Chari was one of the winners of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards for 2017.[24][25]
TScroll.in won two Gold Awards in theWAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2018.[26][27]
Scroll.in's journalists Mridula Chari and Vinita Govindarajan again won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards for 2019 for their investigation into the use of toxic pesticides enabled by tax regulations.[28][29]
