CNN is reporting BuzzFeed to Cut 15% of Staff in New Round of Layoffs:
BuzzFeed is preparing to lay off about 15% of its employees. The coming contraction is the latest example of a media company making cutbacks in a difficult operating environment.
The reductions will affect multiple departments, including the news division, according to sources familiar with the matter.
BuzzFeed has about 1,450 employees, so about 220 will be leaving, one of the sources confirmed.
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti confirmed the sharp cut on Wednesday after reporters from other news outlets began inquiring.
The layoffs, he said in an internal memo, are part of a broader effort to "put us on a firm foundation and allow us to invest and grow sustainably for years to come."
After "extensive work" in the past few months, "we've developed a good understanding of where we can consolidate our teams, focus in on the content that is working, and achieve the right cost structure to support our multi-revenue model," Peretti wrote.
As Google and Facebook gobble up an increasing share of on-line advertising sales, what do on-line services have to do in order to survive?
Related Stories
The media industry's current round of cuts and consolidation is accelerating. Sizable layoffs at Buzzfeed, Gannett and Verizon Media (home of AOL, Yahoo, HuffPost and others) were announced Wednesday, totaling over 1,000 jobs cut.
Why it matters: If the headlines signal anything, it's that the news media will continue to struggle to find a sustainable business model in an advertising and attention ecosystem dominated by tech companies like Google, Facebook and Netflix.
By the numbers:
- Verizon Media will cut roughly 800 jobs, or 7% of its global workforce across the organization, as well as certain brands and products. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told Axios earlier this month that each of the company's three units, including the media business, needed to be able to stand on their own. (A company spokesperson later clarified to Axios that Verizon Media Group will still have access to Verizon customer data when customers opt in to provide such information.)
- Buzzfeed will cut roughly 250 jobs, or roughly 15% of its workforce, including jobs within its news division.
- Gannett cut over 20 jobs Wednesday, per Poynter, with more expected as the company tries to shed costs amid buyout talks.
[...] Bottom line: Many news companies are struggling to find sustainable business models in the digital era. There's no sign it's getting any easier.
Previous: BuzzFeed to Cut 15% of Staff in New Round of Layoffs
Vice Media to Reorganize, Lay Off 10 Percent of Staff
Vice Media is planning a reorganization that will include laying off about 10 percent of its workforce as the once high-flying startup looks to rein in an unwieldy business that grew quickly during the height of the digital boom.
Around 250 jobs are expected to be cut, a company spokeswoman tells The Hollywood Reporter, as the 2,500-person Vice reduces redundancies internationally and reorients to focus on growth areas like film and television production and branded content. All departments at every level are expected to have layoffs, from IT to finance to television.
[...] It is crucial that Vice, which the Wall Street Journal reported in November was on track to bring revenue between $600 million and $650 million in 2018, become profitable as investors get antsy for the company to find a buyer. Disney took a $157 million write-down on its Vice stake in November.
Also at TechCrunch.
Another link from AC: Newsflash: The Trump Curse? Vice Media Cuts 10% of Staff after HuffingtonPost & BuzzFeed Layoffs
Related: BuzzFeed to Cut 15% of Staff in New Round of Layoffs
Over 1,000 Media Jobs Lost in One Day
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:00PM (3 children)
Will this increase or decrease the amount of anonymous rumors presented as news?
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:59PM (1 child)
A senior editor at BuzzFeed, who requested not to be named, told me that this is expected to result in an increase of anonymous rumors presented as news.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @08:51PM
FTFY
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @07:45PM
Buzzfeed does something other than that?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:03PM (3 children)
Websites like Buzzfeed are utter crap, dedicated only to generating bullshit that results in clicks.
Gawker was another example.
However it must be admitted that sites like the Washington Post or Fox News are only marginally better, with the painfully obvious slant they display. You will
notice that I am not mentioning only "liberal" or "conservative" "news" outlets. I am mentioning garbage from both camps, because garbage comes in many flavors.
But it is STILL GARBAGE,
Pandering to the political leanings of the scum who write the checks is a strategy which leads to anything BUT the truth being published.
Filter what you read accordingly.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @07:02PM (2 children)
Fox News is run by Alwaleed bin Talal and Rupert Murdoch, a leftist business partner of the Rothschilds in Genie Oil. They are the dictionary definition of controlled opposition. Once you see how closely tied together all of the corporate media are, you will understand why there is such a concerted effort to shut down independent media and stamp out any alternative right movement.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @07:18PM (1 child)
The effort is weak but effective because you are dumb people.
Where did I form this opinion? From statements made by weev.
You simply don't know how to build infrastructure at scale and moderate communities in ways that they don't fill up with nuts and paedos.
This is not the fault of the left.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @07:54PM
The effort is weak but effective because you are dumb people.
Yes, this is true, but submissiveness has its advantages. Real resistance will be met with plain old extermination.
(Score: 1, Troll) by linkdude64 on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:12PM (3 children)
but it will be remembered much less fondly, if at all.
(Score: 5, Touché) by hemocyanin on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:50PM (1 child)
Pollyanna much?
Fake news has been around forever -- things that immediately pop to mind: "Remember the Maine", yellowcake, Gulf of Tonkin, #RussiaRussiaRussia
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @07:08PM
You mean it's not "Remember the Meme"?
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @07:37PM
No it is not, fake news is just the new term for lying propaganda, and that stuff has been around forever.
Fake news will likely get worse if the market gets owned by a few big corps, which is actually a huge part of the current problem.
(Score: 3, Disagree) by VLM on Thursday January 24 2019, @08:28PM (13 children)
They went harder left politically... leftward tilt is always associated with decline and failure; exact relationship of cause and effect unknown, officially. They're very often associated, where you find one you very often find the other.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Snow on Thursday January 24 2019, @08:42PM (12 children)
... And that is why the very conservative middle-east is a bastion of stability, freedom and economic growth while Scandinavia is a poverty-struck shithole.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @09:01PM (2 children)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate#By_country [wikipedia.org]
Saudi Arabia '15 - 1.50
Palestine '16 - 0.69
UAE '16 - 0.89
Qatar '16 - 0.38
Jordan '16 - 1.55
Sweden '16 - 1.08
Finland '16 - 1.42
Norway '16 - 0.51
I think all we can learn from this is that the middle east probably has a big fake news problem with reporting its official stats. Wonder whether the Saudis count honor killings or the stoning of women to death as intentional homicides. I can see UAE and Qatar having low crime as they seem pretty totalitarian.
If those ME numbers end up being accurate (which I question highly) it would make most of the ME safer than big cities in the US and Russia.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Thursday January 24 2019, @10:32PM
I agree that the homicide rate is a good general-purpose measure of 'safety', however as you point out it can sometimes be a little misleading.
In addition to exemptions for 'honor killings' and other unreported deaths, I would imagine that there are a number of other crimes that could be far higher in the ME than in western nations - for example, domestic violence, imprisonment without charge, torture, etc. I think those should be factored in when assessing overall 'safety' of a country.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday January 25 2019, @11:12AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @09:12PM (8 children)
Trump's fall from *cough* "grace" is really doing a number on these Trumptards. Their political propaganda has become a mantra, the only thing keeping their brain together as it maintains the anti-reality world views. They backed Trump so much and their personal identity is so closely tied to being self-sufficient independent SUPER SMART telling-it-like-it-is that admitting they were wrong is worse than death. Thus why we see the increase in violence from far right extremists and denials of obvious reality.
I will reiterate this again, I understand why they voted for Trump, and EVEN NOW they could regain some respect if they would just face reality instead of doubling down supporting that criminal shithead. The wall is stupid, selfish tax cuts are stupid, hating universal healthcare is stupid, the shutdown is stupid. Those are all facts backed up by current real world evidence. Get on board the reality train or continue to be marginalized as "idiots".
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @09:39PM
No thanks, the reality train is headed to infinite war and fiscal suicide, I'll stay at this stop thank you very much.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Thursday January 24 2019, @10:59PM (4 children)
Trump sucks but Democrats have gone insane: https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/new-poll-us-military-occupations-supported-by-far-more-democrats-than-republicans-95cd361ee659 [medium.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @12:38AM (1 child)
Oh, don't get me wrong I'm not saying trust the Dems, most of them are what Republicans were 20 years ago. The politicians are mostly crap, the average liberal voter's platform is not.
Universal healthcare, fix the tax brackets. That is a good start.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @01:52AM
What if I told you the democrats have not changed one bit and neither have the republicans. That is a lie the democrats like to tell themselves.
Remember what the democrat party said about republicans in the early 1900s. It is for the negro and rich people. They use labels to demonize the others and call themselves the progressive party. They are the party of slavery. Nothing they have done recently will change my mind of that. Hell just today they voted down paying people. Just to 'resist'. It is not about helping you. It is about abusing their power. I can count on a republican to sometimes be wrong. I can always count on a democrat to always chose the wrong thing.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Friday January 25 2019, @11:35AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday January 25 2019, @03:12PM
The Democrats are going insane because their leadership are some combination of Jewish and Alzheimer's. People tend to get really crabby when the dementia starts setting in.
You wanna know where Ruth Bader Ginsburg is? Pelosi flew her back to her beloved Isreal, where Ruth can peacefully pass away in the country she spent her life spying and fighting for, the only country she ever loved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @02:44AM
I'm sick and tired of seeing posts by whining little bitches like you.
I sincerely hope you get terminal cancer this year and that the pain is so severe that morphine doesn't cut it.
THEN you'll have a real reason to whine, you worthless little BITCH.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Friday January 25 2019, @11:31AM
When does nasa.gov expire, I need a new domain...
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 5, Funny) by EvilSS on Thursday January 24 2019, @08:40PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @12:04AM
AHAHAHAHA, did they cut back on g-string Friday? The guys must be so upset. They bought 5 pairs each, and now they can only wear them when they go clubbing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @12:10AM
When Verizon bought yahoo 2-3 years ago I called them as one of the first to be 'cleaned up'.
Verizon is about one thing. Ever increasing recurring revenue. They were already struggling to do that when they were bought.
VZ gives them about 2 years to 'show what you got'. They had the 'come to Jesus' meeting about 6 months ago. The second coming did not and is not going to happen no last minute miracles for them. So now the severance packages are being handed out. VZ has fairly decent ones. Do not cry too much for them.
My division was making a material impact on the bottom line of the company. They cut our division a few years ago. We were making hundreds of millions net and they still cut us. What would they do to an under performing embarrassing thing? They will take a 'good will write off' in the next year or so and shut it down is what they will do.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by realDonaldTrump on Friday January 25 2019, @03:08AM (1 child)
CNN is being torn apart from within based on their being caught in a major lie and refusing to admit the mistake. Sloppy Carl Bernstein, a man who lives in the past and thinks like a degenerate fool, making up story after story, is being laughed at all over the Country!
We're winning, folks. And this is a great day for our Country. Because same thing is happening now at Buzzfeed. Even the Witch Hunt Hoaxers say Buzzfeed is Fake News. "Buzzfeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate." Peter Carr, spokesman for the Mueller Witch Hunt. Very appropriate statement. Much appreciated!
Remember it was Buzzfeed that released the totally discredited "Dossier," paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats (as opposition research), on which the ENTIRE Russian probe is based!
Many people are saying that the Mainstream Media will have a very hard time restoring credibility because of the way they have treated me over the past 3 years (including the election lead-up), as highlighted by the disgraceful Buzzfeed story & the even more disgraceful coverage!
I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes Fake Books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 25 2019, @04:12AM
http://www.humorpower.com/art-rulethree.html [humorpower.com]