Rappler.com
Rappler.com, launched in January 2012, is an online news website founded by a group of journalists and businessmen.
Rappler, Inc, a start-up company founded in 2011, operates the news website. In registering the company, it classified itself under the ”information service activities” industry, not media. The company’s primary purpose is “to design, develop, establish, market, sell, maintain, support, distribute, customize, sell, resell, and/or operate news, information, and social network services.”
Nielsen’s consumer and media view survey for the second quarter of 2023 ranked it the sixth leading news website in the Philippines.
Aside from publishing news and features, Rappler has an advocacy arm, MovePH, and an investigative section, Newsbreak. Its website features a “mood meter,” which gauges the reaction of readers to published articles. Aside from its regular news operations, Rappler also debunks disinformation as a third-party fact-checking partner of Facebook and is a member of the International Fact-Checking Network.
Although its website can be accessed for free, Rappler launched in 2019 a paid membership program called Rappler+ that gives full access to members-only events and select content such as investigative stories. Its readers have an option to pay PhP3,500 (around US$61.58) annually or PhP400 (around US$7) per month.
In its pivot to become independent from social media websites, Rappler launched in late December 2023 the “Rappler Communities”, a mobile application where its readers can join multiple chat groups that discuss various topics such as governance, technology and business. It said the chat rooms, which are moderated by artificial intelligence and humans including the Rappler staff, “are not influenced by algorithms that stir you toward inflammatory content” because they operate outside social media platforms.
In October 2023, Natashya Gutierrez, the former editor-in-chief of media outlet Vice Asia-Pacific from 2018 to 2023, replaced long-time Rappler president Maria Ressa, who now solely serves as the organization’s chief executive officer and the president of its parent company Rappler Holdings Corporation.
As of July 27, 2023, Rappler.com has a manpower of 107 consisting of 23 officers and 84 rank-and-file employees.
The question on the legality of Rappler and Rappler Holdings Corporation is still pending before the Court of Appeals.
In June 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stood by its January 2018 decision to revoke the certificate of incorporation of Rappler for granting control on its corporate matters to Omidyar Network, a U.S.-based philanthropic investment firm, through the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) amounting to US$1.5 million (around PhP59.66 million).
“After a careful study of all the pleadings and arguments of the parties, the special panel concluded that the purported donation of the PDRs to the staff of Rappler neither created nor transferred any right in favor of the donees which would mitigate or cure the violation already committed,” the SEC said.
In opposition to the SEC decisions, Rappler has characterized the SEC decision as “a blow to press freedom in the Philippines” under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who accused the outlet of being “fully owned by Americans” and banned it from covering in Malacañang due to its “twisted” reporting. It also called the decisions as “anti-innovation”, citing its unique business model as a media that purely publishes content online. It vowed to appeal the decision up to the Supreme Court., arguing that “PDRs do not equate to ownership or control by the PDR holders – they are merely legal instruments that allow foreign entities to invest in Philippine companies.”
On the other hand, the SEC argued that Rappler, Inc. could have just issued stocks to Omidyar Network if it believes it not to be a mass media entity instead of having its parent company issue PDRs.
According to Rappler, the string of cases against Ressa and its staff “started” following Duterte’s accusations and the SEC revocation order. Out of a total of 12 cases filed against them, three complaints remain pending including Rappler’s petition before the Court of Appeals for a temporary restraining order against the SEC decision.
Ressa and former Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. also appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn their cyber libel conviction in relation to an article that supposedly accused Filipino-Chinese businessman Wilfredo Keng of involvement in illegal activities such as human trafficking and drug smuggling and for owning a vehicle being used by the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, who was impeached in 2012 due to undisclosed wealth.
Meanwhile, all of the five tax evasion charges against Ressa and Rappler Holdings Corporation in relation to the alleged taxable income generated from the issuance of PDRs from Omidyar and North Base Media were dismissed by Sept. 12, 2023.
Audience Share
8.44%
Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
Free and paid content
Media Companies / Groups
Rappler Holdings Corporation
Ownership Structure
The parent company and majority shareholder of Rappler, Inc., the operator of Rappler.com, is Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC).
RHC holds 98.84% shares in Rappler, Inc.
The Bitanga family is the majority owner of Rappler, Inc. with 31.1981% combined direct and indirect shares being held by their media company Dolphin Fire Group, Inc. in Rappler, Inc. and RHC:
Of the 98.84% shares of RHC in Rappler, Inc., the family indirectly owns 30.8381% by way of the 31.20% stakes of Dolphin Fire Group in RHC. In addition, Dolphin Fire Group owns 0.36% direct shares in Rappler, Inc.
Meanwhile, Maria Ressa owns 24.0243% combined direct and indirect shares in RHC. In Rappler, Inc. she indirectly owns 23.4943% of the 98.84% shares through her 23.77% stakes in RHC plus another 0.53% direct shares.
The third biggest shareholder is “angel investor” Benjamin Y. So with 17.8528% combined shares. He directly owns 17.86% of RHC and 0.03% shares in Rappler, Inc. He also indirectly owns another 0.17% being held by DMT Ice Angels Holdings Inc., which he set up as one of the first five groups that funded Rappler, Inc.
The fourth biggest shareholder is Hatchd Group, Inc., which is also among the early funders of Rappler, Inc., that holds a 16.51% stake in RHC. Hatchd, a company created by Internet entrepreneurs to help incubate promising online businesses, is founded and chaired by entrepreneur Manuel “Manny” I. Ayala, who is also among the founders of Rappler, Inc. and RHC.
Voting Rights
Missing Data
Individual Owner
Group / Individual Owner
Benjamin Y. So
Benjamin Y. So is an “angel investor”, a person who provides funding for startup or young companies, of Rappler Holdings Corporation. The DMT Ice Angels Holdings Inc. that he set up was one of the first five groups that funded Rappler, Inc.
General Information
Founding Year
2012
Affiliated Interests Founder
is the chief executive officer of Rappler, Inc. and the president of its parent company, Rappler Holdings Corporation.
was the supervising producer for news and current affairs at ABS-CBN.
is both the chairperson and vice chairperson of Rappler Holdings Corporation and its subsidiary Rappler, Inc. She served as chief operating officer of the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), a 24/7 Philippine cable news channel, from 2008 to January 2011. Other media outlets she previously worked for include the Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Times and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
Before working in the media industry, Gemma B. Mendoza was a legislative staff officer at the Philippine Senate from 1995 to 2000. In 2000, she transitioned as a reporter for Critical Mass magazine and its sister publication CyberDyaryo before joining Newsbreak, then a weekly magazine, in 2001. When ABS-CBN and Newsbreak entered a partnership, she served as a deputy editor for systems and research (February 2008 to February 2010) and eventually as the editor-in-chief (February 2010 to June 2010) of ABS-CBNNews.com in 2008.
is a faculty member at the Ateneo de Manila University. Hofileña and Gloria were among the co-founders of the investigative magazine Newsbreak in 2001, which is now the investigative arm of Rappler.
is a writer and a co-founder of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. She has received a number of awards from the Philippine National Book Awards for her books such as “Rock Solid” in 2019 and “Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao" in 2001, which she co-authored with Gloria.
is the founding president of Probe Productions Inc. and Probe Media Foundation Inc. She has received various recognitions for her work in journalism such as “Gawad Plaridel Award” from the University of the Philippines in 2007 and the Marshall McLuhan Fellowship awardee in 2014.
is chairman of the holding company Hatchd Group, one of Rappler Holdings Corporation shareholders. He is also the co-founder and managing director of Endeavor Philippines; board director in Sky Cable, Hybrid Social Solutions, Inc., and Energy Development Corporation; and a board trustee of University of Asia and the Pacific.
is now a senior management consultant for ABS-CBN after resigning as the chief risk management officer and chief strategy officer of the network in December 2022 and January 2023, respectively. He is a co-founder and former chairman of Dolphin Fire Group Inc., which is currently the No. 1 stockholder of Rappler Holdings Corporation.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
is the chief executive officer of Rappler, Inc. She owns 23.77% of Rappler Holdings Corporation. She is also the chairperson of the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee and co-chair in the board of International Fund for Public Interest Media. She is a member of the board of directors of the U.S.-based media outlets The Intercept and Coda Story. In 2021, she became the first Filipino to receive a Nobel peace prize, receiving the award jointly with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression …”
Before co-founding Rappler, she worked for People’s Television 4 (PTV-4), ABS-CBN, and the Manila and Jakarta bureaus of the American news outlet CNN. She was also a co-founder of Probe Productions, Inc.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Rappler.com does not have an editor-in-chief position.
In Rappler.com’s editorial hierarchy, the executive editor sets the overall editorial direction and policies, and ensures that the company achieves its mission and goals. Glenda M. Gloria has been Rappler’s executive editor since Nov. 16, 2020.
Affiliated Interests other important people
served as Rappler’s managing editor from 2011 to November 2020, when she replaced Maria Ressa as executive editor. In June 2023, the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) awarded Gloria as the 2023 laureate for Southeast Asia in the Women in News Editorial Leadership Award. Gloria finished journalism at the University of Santo Tomas in 1985. She obtained a master’s degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1999.
has taken over as the president of Rappler, Inc. since October 2023. After serving as chief of the Jakarta, Indonesia bureau of Rappler.com from 2015 to 2018, she became the editor-in-chief of the media outlet Vice Asia-Pacific from 2018 to 2023.
Contact
Unit B, 3/F, North Wing Estancia Offices, Capitol Commons, Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1605
Telephone: +632-8661-9985
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
4,228,051.72 US$ / 240,305,548 PhP
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
304,345 US$ / 17,297,783 PhP
Advertising (in % of total funding)
2,349,898.67 US$ / 133,558,841 PhP
Market Share
Missing Data
Further Information
Meta Data
Audience share is based on Consumer & Media View survey for news websites under Nielsen’s Philippine Media Landscape Report for Quarter 2 of 2023.
The figure cited for advertising actually covers advertising, content, and business intelligence as provided by Rappler, Inc. in its 2022 annual financial statement. The company did not provide a breakdown of the three items. Meanwhile, the revenue figures of Rappler combined the following sources as “services revenues”: advertising, content, business intelligence, sponsorship, programmatic, special projects and others.
The operating profit is based on Rappler, Inc.’s declaration of “operating profit before changes in assets and liabilities” in its 2022 annual financial statement.
Conversion rate on Oct. 17, 2023: PhP56.836 per US$1.
Sources
Media Landscape Report for Quarter 2, 2023, available upon purchase from Nielsen Company (US), LLC
ADecadeofCourage (2022), Rappler.com official Facebook page, Accessed on 9 December 2023
