(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) The news organization responsible for launching the Russia Hoax with its Jan. 10, 2017, publication of the “Steele Dossier,” has announced that it will be making drastic cuts to its “money-losing” newsroom, according to the New York Times.
Buzzfeed dropped the dossier on the world and then just stopped doing any reporting on it. https://t.co/GrI1Lf5AGA
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) March 22, 2022
BuzzFeed, Inc. is taking steps that may lead to the elimination of Buzzfeed News, which according to CNBC has “about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year.”
Editor in Chief Mark Schoofs told his staff on Tuesday that he was stepping down, and that two other key figures in the newsroom — Tom Namako, deputy editor in chief, and Ariel Kaminer, the executive editor of investigations — were also leaving the company.
He also advised newsroom employees that some of them would be offered voluntary buyouts before the company considered layoffs.
“After almost two rollicking and deeply fulfilling years as editor-in-chief, I’ve decided that it’s the right time to move on,” Schoofs wrote in a letter to staff.
In a corporate memo, Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti told remaining employees that “BuzzFeed News will need to get smaller” and hinted that the newsroom would lose its independence.
“[We want] to position BuzzFeed News to thrive in the current media ecosystem, accelerate its path to profitability, and become a stronger financial contributor to the overall BuzzFeed, Inc. business,” Peretti wrote.
“This means that BuzzFeed News will need to get smaller [and] prioritize the areas of coverage our audience connects with most.”
Peretti told investors that this means Buzzfeed News will focus less on news and more on “entertainment, celebrity, and life on the internet,” according to Vanity Fair
Buzzfeed has recently distinguished itself for being one of the few publications willing to cover the FBI‘s irresponsible use of confidential informants and scandals among its agents as the feds attempt to drum up domestic terror convictions in the Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnapping case.
There is some consistent coverage in Detroit News but coverage of this case otherwise has been sparse. Unless the jurors read BuzzFeed or Revolver or AmGreatness, it’s unlikely they’ve read a lot about what’s unfolded especially related to FBI deep involvement.
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) March 8, 2022
That excellent work cannot have endeared the newsroom to Buzzfeed’s ruling class investors.
