The founder behind a news organization which was in the right place to cover the 2020 pandemic, Rick Berke will discuss how STAT sticks to its mission "delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about health, medicine, life sciences and the fast-moving business of making medicines."
The site's name comes from the term "stat", an often-used medical term derived from statim, which means important or urgent.
According to a New York Times story in March 2020, the site attracted nearly 30 million unique visitors in the first three months of this year alone, which is reported to be four to five times its regular traffic. Berke will talk about how and why he co-founded the publication with Boston Globe owner John Henry, how its good fortune happens to be based on Covid-19. And why, "the site [is] [well positioned](nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/media/stat-news-boston-coronavirus.html) to cover an epoch-defining story."
Berke will discuss past and future editorial and business choices that the organization made, including their successful $350/year premium subscription product, STAT PLUS. Before the pandemic, it was reported that at least half of STAT’s revenue came from subscriptions.
Media Guru events are well-known for their "no speeches, no Power Point" promise: Just compelling one-on-one conversation with a fascinating personality making news in the media business, followed by Q+A.
