The Messenger, a well-funded news startup, to launch May 15

The Messenger, a well-funded news startup founded by longtime media entrepreneur Jimmy Finkelstein, will launch in beta with 200 employees on May 15, the company’s president Richard Beckman told Axios. Two-thirds of that headcount will be newsroom employees.

Beckman said news and politics “is where our reputation will be and where everything needs to be balanced, trusted, nonpartisan. … We’re going to be objective and we’re going to be accurate, and we’re going to be fast.”  News and politics will launch in May, with business and entertainment slated for June and sports and tech/science for July. The remaining sections will roll out monthly through year’s end.

The other nine verticals aim to “inspire people’s passions and connect them with what they love the most,” he added

Axios adds that the company has raised $50 million from a slew of investors, including The Stagwell Group, a D.C.-based ad holding company led by Mark Penn, and Victor Ganzi, the former CEO of Hearst. Other investors include Loews CEO James Tisch, Apollo co-founder Josh Harris, and Interactive Brokers founder and chair Thomas Peterffy.

The New York Post reported that The Messenger — “a yet-to-be-launched news site from media mogul Jimmy Finkelstein — risks becoming a money pit helmed by old-school executives with “delusional” ambitions in an increasingly cutthroat business, according to industry insiders.

“Finkelstein, a former part owner of The Hollywood Reporter and The Hill who has amassed $50 million to fund the venture, told The New York Times he will launch the site in May with at least 175 journalists located across New York, Los Angeles and Washington.”