Compass News wants you to be smarter than your newsfeed
by Startacus Admin
Compass News - the innovative journalism startup that'll help you navigate the world of news from the publishers you can trust.
.jpg "compass news")
Consuming news is both easier and harder these days than ever before. Some outlets even put their news on paper, an idea they saw in a chip shop, we’re guessing. Print? Is that what it’s called? That doesn’t sound right. Either way, a dozen news sources assault our eyes the moment we open Facebook or Twitter, all basically saying the same thing. Some of these sources you know - the BBC, CNN, Reuters, AP, Stephen Colbert - but there are many out there that you’ve never heard of. Many people’s initial, sensible instinct is to not believe a story from a source they don’t know until they see it corroborated elsewhere, but many other people’s first instinct, Sarah, is to take it as gospel. In an age of fake news (the real kind, not...you know), this can be irritating and misleading at best, and genuinely dangerous at worst.
But what would happen if we were to only trust a single source for our news, lest we be led astray? We need a healthy variety in our news diet, told from all sides in all kinds of voices. So how can we do that and stay safe?
Compass News is a London-based journalism startup that aims to keep young people, in particular, interested in news while ensuring that said news only comes from the highest quality, trustworthy sources.
Built after talking to students across the UK about what they like, dislike, and want in their news consumption, Compass News curates news from trusted publishers all over the world. It is designed to keep people up to date with the day’s happenings without taking too much of their time. With this in mind, the app pushes out 6 of the biggest news stories, twice a day, and includes a bite sized summary. The ‘Story So Far’ function of the app gives readers background information for the major stories in under 100 words so they will always be up to speed.
The editors who curate the stories bring experience from the likes of the BBC, Wired, and the Financial Times. As 
well as these editors, they have been training an AI editor to watch what these human editors do, observe how they make their editorial decisions, and copy.
By teaching it in this way, rather than programming it with a set of rules and conditions, they hope to come out the other end with an AI editor that can reliably work by itself while the humans are doing human things, like sleeping.
Compass News gathered up a nice $1m in funding recently, which they are using to expand into the US. A trustworthy source of news from less mainstream sources is sorely needed, and one that aims particularly to keep young people engaged in the world around them will continue to make the headlines, we think.
If you like this news/publishing/fake-news focused startup, you are likely to want to find out more about:
Echobox, who wants to be your dedicated, AI Social Media assistant and Poll Tracker
Factmata takes on fake news and wins bigly
The Market Mogul crowdsources the whole news story
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Vasile Foca, co-founder and managing partner at Talis Capital outlines why the Chancellor's measures are not enough to tackle the skills deficit and social security issues
Ambition, a pre-accelerator programme run by LEO Donegal and NDRC launches to help early-stage female founders from Donegal take business ideas from concept to pitch
ATI Boeing Accelerator, the 3 month programme supporting and backing startups in the UK aerospace industry announces Rolls-Royce as partner for its second cohort
.jpg)
Amy Robinson, Senior Brand Development Manager at Esendex shares her tips on why customer feedback is vital for businesses in this economy
Pingza is an innovative new app that “uncorks the complex world of wine for amateur and expert alike”...
.jpeg)
Jayne Harrison, Head of Employment Law at Richard Nelson LLP shares some thoughts on striking the balance between working from home or returning to the office
Female founder or woman in business, looking to start, grow or scale a business in NI? Here are a few of the resources, organisations and networks that should help
Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool for business owners and marketing - here is the lowdown on what AI is, how to use it and its future in business
Some tips and advice on what companies should do and how they can differentiate their service for verified and unverified customers
Mountain Technologies, the innovative Northern Ireland-based startup secures investment to launch and market its connected ski pass system
Published on: 15th April 2018
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- VC Firm Talis Capital critique Rishi Sunak's Job Support Scheme 25th Sep 2020 Vasile Foca, co-founder and managing partner at Talis Capital outlines why the Chancellor's measures are not enough to tackle the skills deficit and social security issues
- Ambition, a new pre-accelerator programme for female entrepreneurs in Donegal launches 25th Sep 2020 Ambition, a pre-accelerator programme run by LEO Donegal and NDRC launches to help early-stage female founders from Donegal take business ideas from concept to pitch
- Rolls-Royce joins the ATI Boeing Accelerator as Partner 24th Sep 2020 ATI Boeing Accelerator, the 3 month programme supporting and backing startups in the UK aerospace industry announces Rolls-Royce as partner for its second cohort
- Logistics and Warehousing Focused Startups Wanted for Wincanton Innovation Lab 16th Sep 2020 Got a startup that can offer innovative solutions for the logistics sector? The third edition of Wincanton's innovation programme W² Labs is now open for entries
