Apple hiring trends further signal its growing interest in editorial content

Over the last year, Apple has put a heightened focus on news and editorial content. Just last week, the company shared its first exclusive piece of content via Apple News, while it was also revealed that Apple has been paying some publishers for early exclusivity rights to video content.

New data on Apple’s hiring trends over the last year only further show the company’s interest in news…

Data aggregated by research firm Thinknum shows Apple’s recent spike in editorial hires. While the company began hiring editors for Apple News all the way back in 2015, things have increased dramatically recently. Apple News-related jobs hit a peak last November, but many editorial positions remain open.

For instance, Apple currently has job openings for positions such as “Politics Editor”, “Business Editor”, “US Editor,” and more. The positions aren’t entry-level, either. As Thinknum explains, the Politics Editor position is looking for someone with seven years of experience:

But the editorial effort began last fall. Apple’s listing for a “Politics Editor”, for instance, has remained on Apple’s job site since November, 2017 when the hiring spree began. And Apple’s not looking for just any editor – it’s looking for someone with at leasst seven years experience and a “strong understanding of high-quality journalism”.

While it can be hard to gauge too many details for job openings, Apple is clearly ramping up its focus on editorial content and appears to be building its own newsroom of sorts.

Just two months ago, Apple announced it was acquiring digital magazine service Texture. Following that, a report indicated that Apple plans to launch a premium magazine and news subscription service within a year.

Additionally, Apple unveiled its first “Apple News Exclusive” content last week, which in this case was a snippet from John McCain’s upcoming memoir. Furthermore, a report also said that Apple is paying for early access to video content from certain publishers.

When you pair Apple’s hiring trends with its recent Apple News content and the Texture acquisition, it’s hard to deny the company’s growing interest in editorial content. Do you think this is the right play for Apple? Let us know down in the comments!

Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: