The Grio and News One combine forces to be more focused

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Journalism focused on the needs of African-Americans just got a little more powerful, as NBC News’ TheGrio.com and Interactive One’s NewsOne.com have officially announced the marriage of their editorial and sales staff.

“With the African-American audience representing one of the fastest growing consumer segments online, this partnership is a huge growth opportunity for both TheGrio and NewsOne,” said NBC News President Steve Capus via press release. “This is a smart play for both sides as we combine the best of these two platforms to enhance African-American journalism.”

The partnership will allow for shared editorial content between the two Internet powerhouses, and Interactive One’s sales force will sell advertising for both websites. In addition the alliance will allow cross marketing efforts dedicated to increase the number of unique users to each URL.

“With focus on connecting Black America, Interactive One’s relationship with its user communities makes it an invaluable partner for TheGrio as we look to expand the reach of our trusted news content,” said David Wilson, managing editor of TheGrio.com. “We’ll be able to connect with audiences and customers that we’ve never been able to reach before.”

The targeted efforts will also work to further strengthen the growth in readership for both websites, which have seen a massive increase in audience, during the last year. According to the analytics website, Comscore.com, the total audience for TheGrio grew from 319,000 viewers to 1.3 million viewers from May 2010 to May 2011. NewsOne also increasing its viewership to 881,000 from 356,000, during the same year.

A “win-win” proposition for both parties, TheGrio’s parent company, NBC News, gives the website access to range of information and news, unparallel to any other website focused on the African American population. News One’s savvy sales team provides a revenue generating force that is knowledgeable about the black community.

“They are basically offering a more robust sales proposition, bigger audiences and the opportunity to get ads in front of more eyeballs,” said Steve Capus, the president of NBC News. “We instantly grew the business as a result of this partnership.”

News One is one of the several online properties, owned by Interactive One, which focus’ on and positively impacts the lives of African Americans. Interactive One’s digital lineup also includes The Urban Daily, an entertainment and music focused website, Hello Beautiful offers beauty and celebrity gossip and Elev8.com is a health and well-being website, dedicated to faith and spirituality.