News

New Patheos contract fuels debate among Pagan bloggers

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –Since Patheos was acquired by BN Media late last year, there’s been concerns among the site’s Pagan bloggers about how they will fit into a largely Evangelical organization. Those worries boiled over this week when all Patheos bloggers were asked to sign a new contract with only two days’ notice. It’s being characterized as everything from boilerplate legal language to an all-out attack on freedom of expression, with some writers taking sides and others preferring to wait and see how the situation unfolds. John Halstead has adopted the most direct of approaches by writing a post at his own Patheos blog that was highly critical of the new contract.

News

Beliefnet acquires Patheos; Pagan bloggers guardedly optimistic

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ENGLEWOOD, Co. — Last week came the announcement that religion site Beliefnet has acquired Patheos, the far more popular home of a wide variety of religious blogs, include a vibrant Pagan channel. While Beliefnet also once hosted Pagan bloggers, since being acquired by the Christian-focused BN Media company, those writers all eventually moved on. With the new purchase, it has been stated that plans thus far are to keep the two sites independent of each other.  A Wild Hunt investigation into BN Media buying Beliefnet in June, 2016, disclosed the company’s focus:
BN Media seems to be a different sort of owner, if their two largest initiatives, Affinity4 and Cross Bridge, are any indication.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Patheos, Huginn’s Heathen Hoff, Gavin Frost, and more!

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NORFOLK, Vir. — It was announced that Patheos, one of the most popular religion-based websites, has been purchased by BN Media Associates, LLC, the owners of BeliefNet. According to the announcement, “The joining of the two web sites under one umbrella will open up further opportunities to foster the faith and spirituality discussion in a real and honest way. Combined, the websites reach 15 million unique visitors and generate more than 50 million page views each month.” BN Media Associates, a holding company which is known to have had an evangelical focus, purchased BeliefNet in 2010.