Our review tackles the effectiveness and appeal of theSkimms friendly tone and laid-back, skimmable format.
TheSkimms primary goal is to deliver easily communicable topics impacting and concerning millennial women.
TheSkimms second goal is to be your friend.
TheSkimm positions itself as a nonpartisan news source, but it skews left according toAd Fontes Media.
Tone and delivery play a major role in the digestion of any information.
What we give up for impartiality leads to impersonality, which is its own caveat for independent news sources.
TheSkimms solution is to extend a personality and its not for everybody.
Every event is effectively distilled as casual conversation.
What is the Daily Skimm?
Zakin and Weisberg initially met on anoverseas programbefore reuniting at NBC News.
Zakin and Weisberg left their position as NBC producers to start up theSkimm in 2012.
Zakin and Weisberg are industrious millennials themselves.
Its true that Zakin and Weisbergs casual narrative lacks nuance and is occasionally left-leaning.
However, the cofounders preference for digestible snippets thwarts informational overload or hyper-moralization.
Who is theSkimm for?
TheSkimm is primarily for busy millennial women on the go.
Its a professional audience, Weisberg said.
[We] looked at what they do first thing in the morning.
Your alarm goes off, you grab your phone, and you read emails from friends and family first.
TheSkimms casual format and friendly tone are appropriate for an early morning read.
Whereas older generations simply turn on the news, younger generations seek quick and personalized information via email.
Close to93% of US women use email, offering extensive outreach.
Secondly,email enables neutrality.
The anecdotal, biased nature of social media is tiring for women who want factual news.
What makes the Daily Skimm different?
We found that Zakins words ring true.
TheSkimm is news delivered by and for a busy but no-less-informed close friend.
TheSkimms friendly voice discards formality so readers have a starting point for more nuanced topics.
By linking out, theSkimm provides both reliable and skimmable content that doesnt eliminate nuance.
Readers across the political spectrum should be wary of humor because it can be a vehicle for false reporting.
However, the Daily Skimm employs humor strategically in an effort to keep things honest.
TheSkimm effectively summarizes, links out to credible publications (e.g.
Reuters and NPR News), and sends you on your way.
How does the Daily Skimm deliver the news?
The Daily Skimms skimms utilize a simple format.
There may also be a bullet list summarizing important figures or events related to the story.
For example, Guess Whos Back, Back Again headlines the textual nugget Brazils new-ish president has everyone talking.
Meanwhile, Whos stepping out?
refers to Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden retiring after decades of service.
theSkimm makes these pairings in a pithy but not self-indulgently witty way to keep eyes on the page.
Concise text, ample use of external links, and generally accessible content are what make theSkimm different.
