Ashley Allison Buys The Root, Returning Site to Black Ownership
Allison sets a strategy centered on video, expert partnerships, live experiences.
Overview
- Ashley Allison is acquiring The Root from G/O Media through her company, Watering Hole Media.
- This is Watering Hole Media’s first acquisition, and financial terms were not disclosed.
- Allison is a CNN commentator and Democratic strategist who served in the Obama White House and on the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign.
- The Root was G/O Media’s last remaining outlet after years of divestments of brands such as Lifehacker, The Onion and Kotaku.
- Founded in 2008 by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Donald E. Graham, The Root previously changed hands to Univision in 2015 and Great Hill Partners in 2019, and Gates praised the new ownership.