BuzzFeed News Is Shutting Down Amid Layoffs And AI Insurgence 

After being one of the pioneers in digital journalism and winning a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting, BuzzFeed News is shutting its doors for good.
 
The news comes after multiple reports cited an internal memo issued by co-founder and chief executive Jonah Peretti to employees last Thursday. In the statement, Peretti said that “the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News.” However, shutting down the site is also part of a larger company-wide layoff scheme as the publication looks to trim down its workforce by 15%, or 180 people.

BREAKING: BuzzFeed news is shutting down. @peretti’s memo: pic.twitter.com/k3vGnHOkcl

— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) April 20, 2023

He also mentioned that the pandemic, the changing economy, and a shift in audience habits were part of the reasons for the declining interest in the site.
 
“I made the decision to overinvest in BuzzFeed News because I love their work and mission so much. This made me slow to accept that the big platforms wouldn’t provide the distribution or financial support required to support premium, free journalism purpose-built for social media,” wrote Peretti.
 
The closure seems to favor transferring BuzzFeed News’ role to HuffPost, also under the company’s umbrella. “Moving forward, we will have a single news brand in HuffPost, which is profitable, with a loyal direct front page audience,” Peretti states. In addition, it would seem that many of those made redundant will find jobs under HuffPost instead.
 
The memo also includes a new goal to bring innovation to its audiences and clients through “creators, AI, and cultural moments.” One can’t help but wonder if the company’s recent uptake with artificial intelligence might also motivate removing the department and instead focusing on more generated content.
 
Journalists from different publications have also taken to Twitter to mourn the closure and express their thoughts about the industry’s future.

Absolutely devastated for @buzzfeednews. You have to understand that some of the most talented people in our industry were there fighting to keep it alive.

— sara yasin (@sarayasin) April 20, 2023

wild that Peretti doubles down on AI in the same memo where he kills the award-winning BuzzFeed News https://t.co/pKP20BBQZP pic.twitter.com/IQSeZN8xIP

— Jon Christian (@Jon_Christian) April 20, 2023

 
 
 
[via The Drum and The Guardian, coverr photo 145348304 © Bigapplestock | Dreamstime.com]