March 22, 2022

"Several large shareholders have urged BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down the entire news operation...."

"BuzzFeed News... has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year.... The digital media company went public via a special purpose acquisition vehicle in December. The shares immediately fell nearly 40% in their first week of trading and haven’t recovered.... Rather than shut down BuzzFeed News, Peretti is attempting to make the division profitable. He has a ready-made template: He made the decision to lay off 70 HuffPost staffers last year after acquiring the company from Verizon Media...."

CNBC reports.

BuzzFeed — I haven't blogged about Buzzfeed since Ben Smith ran the place and Jake Tapper criticized him for being "‘Irresponsible’ For Publishing Trump Dossier." That was bloggable because Tapper wrote (in private email) "Collegiality wise it was you stepping on my dick."

12 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...

"He has a ready-made template: He made the decision to lay off 70 HuffPost staffers"

That's strange. Getting rid of Huffpost anything usually creates marked improvement.

Checks notes: Buzzfeed.

I stand corrected

rehajm said...

There does seem to be this growing trend that companies that deserve to die never do…

rehajm said...

I checked out the comments over on the Tapper thing and cracked myself up!

Earnest Prole said...

The corporate media opposed Ben Smith's publication of the Steele Dossier in its entirety because it made clear it was merely a shoddy piece of opposition research.

mikee said...

Huffposters? Aren't those the writers who provided content completely voluntarily to Huffpost, without holding copyright or being paid, allowing Ariana Huffington to sell the online site for something like $300,000,000? Those people got fired from another writing job?

I will quote Oscar Wilde: “One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.”

gadfly said...

"BuzzFeed News, which is part of its content division, has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year. . . . . The company, which also has advertising and commerce divisions, said Tuesday its full-year content revenue grew 9% in 2021 to $130 million.

In 2021, BuzzFeed, Inc made $26 million on $400 million in sales, so killing $130 million sales and would supposedly raise revenues profits from 6.5% of sales to 13.3% of sales unless the Content division contributed indirectly to Advertising and Commerce as its own advertising expenditure. Removing BuzzFeed from the internet would not be helpful toward promoting long-term viability of the Advertising and Commerce divisions.

Stockholders paid too much for their paper and now they want a short -term recovery solution which likely will never happen if BuzzFeed News disappears.

rcocean said...

Buzzfeed news has no purpose. The whole MSM except for Fox, WSJ, and NY Post IS Buzzfeed.

Rollo said...

Get over yourself, Jake.

It's not that long.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Why would anyone want to get news from something called Buzzfeed?
Even National Enquirer sounds more respectable.

gadfly said...

rcocean said...
Buzzfeed news has no purpose. The whole MSM except for Fox, WSJ, and NY Post IS Buzzfeed.

No purpose? So why didn't Rupert Murdoch permit his News Corp outlets - Fox, WSJ and the NY Post - to publish the entire Steele Dossier? BuzzFeed News beat every other media outlet to the punch.

Personally, I'll pass on allowing Murdoch to control my mind.

gadfly said...

Bunkypotatohead said...
Why would anyone want to get news from something called Buzzfeed?
Even National Enquirer sounds more respectable.

BuzzFeed is funny like the name "Bunky."

Randall Jacobs Obituary

Phoenix - Randall Jacobs of Phoenix died at age 65, having lived a life that would have sent a lesser man to his grave decades earlier. His friends called him RJ, but to his family he was Uncle Bunky, a.k.a. The Bunkster. He told his last joke, which cannot be printed here, on May 4th, 2020.

Uncle Bunky burned the candle, and whatever else was handy, at both ends. He spoke in a gravelly patois of wisecracks, mangled metaphors, and inspired profanity that reflected the Arizona dive bars, Colorado ski slopes, and various dodgy establishments where he spent his days and nights. He was a living, breathing "hang loose" sign, a swaggering hybrid of Zoni desert rat, SoCal hobo, and Telluride ski bum.

A prolific purveyor of Bunky-isms such as "Save it, clown!" (or "Zeebo" if he was in a mood), he would mercilessly tease his "goombatz" nephews with nicknames such as "mud flap" and "style master." Just days after his beloved cat Kitters passed away, he too succumbed to "The Great Grawdoo", leaving behind a vapor trail of memories and a piece of sage advice lingering in his loved ones' ears: "Do what Bunky say. Not what Bunky do."

For all his chaotic energy and hysterical charm, he had a gentle soul. A night out with Bunky could result in a court summons or a world-class hangover, but his friends and family would drop whatever they were doing to make a trip out to see him. His impish smile and irreverent sense of humor were enough to quell whatever sensibilities he offended. He didn't mean any harm; that was just Bunky being Bunky.

When the end drew near, he left us with a final Bunkyism: "I'm ready for the dirt nap, but you can't leave the party if you can't find the door."

He found the door, but the party will never be the same without him.

In lieu of flowers, please pay someone's open bar tab, smoke a bowl, and fearlessly carve out some fresh lines through the trees on the gnarliest side of the mountain.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"BuzzFeed News... has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year"

They're losing $100,000 / employee?
That's like they're paying them all $100k a year and have no revenue.

Whatever they're doing, it's not working