Fusion is set to relaunch as Splinter on July 24. Fusion is part of Fusion Media Group — the Univision-owned digital media company that includes the Gizmodo network of sites, as well as The Onion, The A.V. Club and ClickHole.
“We firmly believe in telling the truth about outdated institutions and calling out injustices when we see them — and sometimes the truth hurts,” said Dodai Stewart, the editor in chief of what will soon be known as Splinter. “Splinter will contextualize current events while remaining committed to amplifying underrepresented voices, shining a light on systemic inequality and skewering politicians when necessary. Readers can expect piercing reporting and commentary with a sharp point of view.”
The new name comes after Fusion struggled to distinguish its news web site from Fusion TV, Univision’s television network. The site, which initially positioned itself as an English-language web site for Hispanic Millennials, finally found a niche as a news site for woke Millennials. Last fall, Gizmodo Media Group was acquired by Fusion parent company Univision for $135 million last fall after the network of web sites formerly known as Gawker Media Group declared bankruptcy as a result of losing a tumultuous privacy lawsuit brought by Hulk Hogan over a 2012 sex tape.
The URL for Fusion.net will redirect to SplinterNews.com (searching for available dot-com domain names does not seem to be the company’s first step when deciding on a web site name).
The name, perhaps not surprisingly, has been getting a rise out of the media community on Twitter, with many pointing out that the new news site shares the name with the rat in Ninja Turtles while others made reference to other recent names of digital media brands like Cheddar, Oath and Tronc.
Read more about Fusion Media Group:
Fusion’s Alexis Madrigal Returns to The Atlantic
Turmoil at Gizmodo Media Group as Staff Protest Departure of Top Editor