Univison, the leading media company serving Hispanic Americans, today acquired The Root, a leading online news destination for African Americans.
The Root, co-founded by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and media mogul Donald Graham in 2008, will now have access to Univision’s digital production facilities and publishing infrastructure. The Root’s editorial team, including Lyne Pitts, former CBS and NBC News executive, who is managing editor, and Donna Byrd, publisher, will remain in place. Byrd also joins the leadership team of Univision Digital.
“Like Univision, The Root aims to serve a significant segment of America’s diverse population,” said Isaac Lee, president of News and Digital for UCI and CEO of Fusion. “This game-changing union strengthens our ability to fulfill our shared missions of informing and empowering our communities.”
The Root, which had been a subsidiary of The Slate Group, a part of Graham Holdings, has 5 million unique users per month, according to ComScore. The acquisition price was not disclosed.