In 2013, we were approached by Facebook to help develop a new product called Facebook Paper—an iPhone app for people to explore and share stories from friends and the world around them. While we were initially asked to consult on the various channels’ content, our role quickly expanded. We worked closely with the Facebook team to determine not only what the channels should be, but to develop the vision, content, focus, and name for each. In the end, we created eighteen themed sections, from headlines, business, and sports to entertainment, food, and design. Then, in order to populate the sections twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with the most timely, interesting stories available, we built, managed, and edited the work of a team of curators working around the world. These topic experts, under Melcher Media’s editorial direction, were responsible for culling the best articles, photographs, and videos from both established news sources and emerging voices within Facebook.

Officially launched in January 2014, Paper has won critical acclaim for its visually arresting, intuitive interface that emphasizes original, high-resolution images and easy access to a broad array of content. Wired predicted it would “forever change the way we build mobile apps.” More recently, Paper received one of Apple’s most prestigious distinctions, being named one of its “Best Apps of 2014.”  Fast Company also honored it by calling it one of the “Best Mobile Apps of 2014” and praising it as “a whole new way to experience the social network, with the most beautiful UI the company has ever created.”

We’re honored to have been the company Facebook called on to help develop the content for such a useful and fluid mobile app, and to have had the opportunity to help shape the future of digital news.