The Cover Story, an Amsterdam-based journalism and photography agency, has launched a new Web site. According to managing director JP Douma, this is the first step of a new corporate strategy to strengthen The Cover Story brand globally.
Established in 1997 to represent professional freelance content-producers, the agency describes itself as a one-stop shop for magazine-makers. Its business model combines stock licensing with original reporting, which pairs imagery with full-length feature articles. The inventory ranges from an exclusive 1,500-word essay on hedonism resorts in Jamaica, accompanied by 55 original photographs, to the more common editorial stock, licensed as single images.
Such content is now accessible through an updated search engine. It separates features from stock and provides real-time keyword suggestions that pop up as you type in search terms.
Feature content is organized for browsing, dividing stories into several categories. There are exclusive stories, a features library that spans 19 categories and a calendar section, which organizes features by month. On offer is "Opera in Exile," which includes 450 words and 30 images of the Shoton Opera Festival, a March cultural event for the Tibetan diaspora that has been held in India for 15 years.
The Cover Story currently represents 100 photographers and 50 writers, as well as distributes stock and photojournalism content from other sources. The agency's exclusive features have been published internationally, in titles such as Marie Claire, National Geographic, La Stampa, L'Espresso and Hong Kong's Sunday Morning Post.