Buzzfeed News to close due to downturn in online advertising

Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti blamed the decision on changing reader habits and a tough economy Photo: Manuel Blondeau — Corbis

BuzzFeed News is closing 12 years from now as the company grapples with a downturn in online advertising and a deteriorating economy.

Its parent company Buzzfeed is set to cut 15% of jobs, or 180 positions, and focus future media efforts on HuffPost as well as developing AI software that can replace writers.

In a memo to employees, Chief Executive Jon Peretti blamed the decision on changing reader habits and a tough economy.

He added: “But I want to be clear: I could handle these changes better as the CEO of this company and our leadership team could do better despite these circumstances.

“Our job is to adapt , change, improve and work, despite the challenges in the world. We can and will do better.”

When it launched in 2011, the company set out to reinvent media for the digital age and take market share away from traditional newspapers.

It hired investigative reporters to polish the reputation of the Buzzfeed brand, which to start with was best known thanks to the viral content known as "listicles".

The organization quickly gained attention with a series of scoops, including the so-called Steele dossier that revealed possible links between then-President Donald Trump and Russia. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles exposing China's crackdown on Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

However, Buzzfeed closed its news outlets in the UK and Australia in 2020 due to shortcomings in its ad-funded business model became more obvious. He ran into financial difficulties after a disastrous stock market offering through a special acquisition company (Spac) in late 2021.

At its peak, digital publishing was worth about $1.7 billion, but that valuation has now dropped to $110 million. Stocks fell 15% after the latest cuts were announced.

In January, BuzzFeed reported that it intends to start using artificial intelligence to help write quizzes as it grapples with the new technology's impact on the sector.< /p>

The company is partnering with OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, on this initiative.

In a note to employees, Mr. Peretti said BuzzFeed's continued focus will be on HuffPost, a digital news publisher that he acquired in 2020.

As part of the reshuffle, Chief Revenue Officer Edgar Hernandez and COO Christian Beisler will leave the company.

The cuts came on the same day that rival internet news site Insider has announced it is laying off 10 percent of its U.S. workforce.

Its chief executive, Barbara Pan, said the cuts are necessary to save the company.» healthy and competitive” amid growing pressure on the industry.