The digital landscape is in the midst of some major changes, and it seems Buzzfeed News is the latest online platform to say goodbye.
In a memo sent to employees earlier this week and posted on Twitter by reporter Ben Mullin, CEO Jonah Peretti said he is “beginning the process of closing BuzzFeed News” and also discussed plans to reduce the rest of the firm’s workforce, which includes the popular news website Huffington Post, by 15%. Peretti took on most of the blame for the outlet’s failure to turn a reasonable profit and expressed that the layoffs are part of a larger effort to get things back on track.
“Please know that we exhausted many other cost-saving measures to preserve as many jobs as possible,” he said in the memo. “We are reducing budgets, open roles, travel and entertainment, and most other discretionary, non-revenue generating expenditures. The internet entrepreneur referred to his decision to “overinvest” in BuzzFeed News as one he made “because I love their work and mission so much.” Peretti says that this kept him from accepting “that the big platforms wouldn’t provide the distribution or financial support required to support premium, free journalism purpose-built for social media.”
BuzzFeed’s model of distributing the news marked a more instant and straight-to-the- point change of pace for the 24-hour online news cycle. The popularity of the “listicle” is also part of BuzzFeed’s influence on shareable content. “Our mission, our impact on culture, and our audience is what matters most, but we need a stronger business to protect and sustain this important work,” said Peretti. BuzzFeed is not alone in big layoffs and budget cuts as Insider Inc (formerly Business Insider), ABC News, NPR, and USA Today have all recently announced significant changes to their workforce.
With ChatGPT on the rise and major outlets closing their doors, many journalists are worried about where they’ll end up as a recession looms.