Important announcement alert! With the launch of the redesigned Coconuts.co website (a.k.a. COCO 4.0) and the hiring of a new Editor-in-Chief, we have consolidated our network of separate city websites into a unified global publisher in the quest for world domination.
The most important feature of COCO4.0 is the Coconuts.co homepage, which now features top stories from across the region. It was previously a corporate landing page, which is no fun for anyone.
We have also hired Chad Williams, the current Editor-in-Chief of the Phnom Penh Post, to keep this new homepage “fresh and juicy” and lead all Coconuts editorial strategy, staff, and news decision-making. He will be based in our Hong Kong office.
Williams has worked at the Phnom Penh Post, the most venerable English-language newspaper in Cambodia, since 2011. During his tenure, the newspaper won 16 awards from the Society of Publishers in Asia and WAN-IFRA, consistently against competition from much larger markets (#humblebrag). Prior to joining the Phnom Penh Post, Williams worked at The Hollywood Reporter in Los Angeles for eight years, most recently as the International News Editor. (Translation: He’s a catch.)
Says Williams: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining one of Asia’s premier, up-and-coming news outlets. The Coconuts team of editors has done a brilliant job of creating a relationship with readers in some of the world’s most vibrant cities, and over the coming months we’re confident that impact will only grow, both in reach and quality.”
Under Williams, we’ll aim to publish more hard-hitting and substantive stories – and thus depend less on viral traffic from Facebook – while retaining the irreverent style that hopefully you have come to enjoy.
“Online publishers hit peak Facebook engagement addiction in 2016. The election of Donald Trump in the US and the rise of fake news proved something that I think we as online editors innately know: That the most sensational stories will always be the most popular on social media, whether they are true or not,” says Coconuts Media Founder and CEO Byron Perry. “I believe there will be movement to return to authenticity, to return to truth, and a craving for trustworthy and higher quality news from responsible publishers. I want to both advocate for this movement and position Coconuts Media to benefit from it. At the same time, we’re never going to lose the eye for the absurd that is our calling card.”
Stand by for more announcements on new COCO4.0 features, including User Profiles, Comments, Neighborhoods pages, and our Travel section.
ABOUT COCONUTS
Coconuts is an online media publisher reaching an audience of millions with fresh and juicy stories and videos.
The Coconuts.co news and lifestyle website produces in-depth coverage of what’s happening in Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bali, Yangon, and beyond. Coconuts.co reaches up to 4.2 million monthly unique users.
Coconuts TV is the company’s documentary and entertainment video channel focused on the weird and wondrous untold stories of Asia. Coconuts TV releases its videos to an international audience of up to 10 million views per month on Youtube and Facebook, and also licenses and produces videos for broadcast TV and streaming platforms.
Across all platforms, Coconuts Media reaches up to 26 million people per month.
FOLLOW US
https://coconuts.co
https://www.facebook.com/coconuts/
https://twitter.com/coconutsdotco
https://www.instagram.com/coconuts/
https://www.youtube.com/coconutsmedia
