''Hespress'' () is a Moroccan online news website, founded in February 2007. The website has translations available in Arabic, English, and French. It is one of the most visited Moroccan news websites.

History

''Hespress'' was founded by Hassan Guennouni and his brother Amine, a computer scientist, in February 2004. In the beginning, the two remained anonymous; Hassan initially wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Taha Hamdouchi. According to the co-founder, the name "Hespress" derives from the mythical Land of the

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, Atlas (mytholog ...

, sometimes said to be located in modern Morocco, and the English word "

press Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California ...

." The website initially positioned itself as an alternative to traditional media, with articles written by bloggers around the world. In 2008, ''Hespress'' gained popularity when it hosted videos from Mounir Agueznay, a young activist who exposed corruption within police and security officers. The arrest of regular contributor Mohamed Erraji for a column critical of the Moroccan monarchy, which was reported on

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

, also contributed to an increase in visits to the website. ''Hespress Magazine'', a weekly print magazine, was announced in November 2012, with the first issue published in January 2013. The magazine was headquartered in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, and Fouad Madani served as its editor. The magazine focused on long-form content and reporting not suited for the web, with a new editorial team independent of that of the website. However, the magazine proved unprofitable, with the investment costing . The magazine ceased publication in July 2013, with 29 issues having been published in total. Subsequently, the Guennouni brothers launched ''Hesport'', a portal for sports news in Morocco. As of 2015, ''Hesport'' is the 19th-most visited website in the country, ranking third among the country's sports news websites. On 26 September 2023, Hespress was awarded for the best news platform in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, at the 21st

Arab Media Forum Dubai Press Club (Arabic: نادي دبي للصحافة) is a part of the Government of Dubai Media Office founded in November 1999 by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and is based in Dubai Media City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai (Hel ...

(AMF) in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Business model

''Hespress'' derives its revenues from

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. The website initially relied on

Google AdSense Google AdSense is a program run by Google through which website publishers in the Google Display Network, Google Network of content sites serve text, images, video, or interactive media advertisements that are targeted advertising, targeted t ...

for advertising revenue, but later shifted its focus to selling advertisement space directly to Moroccan agencies. It structured as a company and started recruiting professional journalists in 2009, with editorial staff located in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

. According to Guennouni, the company generated a turnover of up to a month in 2012. The company became profitable in 2011. In 2015, the website started to publish sponsored

advertorials An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed publications, ...

. As of 2015, the website has 37 staff members, with three dedicated to managing its

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page. Over 35% of its readership uses ''Hespress'''s smartphone and tablet apps, while 30% of visits originate from its Facebook page.

Reception

In 2012, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Middle East'' ranked ''Hespress'' third on its list of the most powerful news websites in the Arab world. In January 2015, ''Hespress'' became the third most visited website in Morocco after Google and Facebook, surpassing YouTube.

References

External links

* {{Media in Morocco 2007 establishments in Morocco Arabic-language websites Arabic-language newspapers Moroccan news websites