I guess BuzzFeed is like any other journalism outlet.

BuzzFeed Laying Off 15% of its Staff

 

1,450 people work/ed at Buzzfeed? I would have guessed, oh, about 15% of that.

 

I read the story and found that number staggering. They laid off 250 people?!!?!?

 

It’ll cease to exist in 10 years. A lot of places like it will, too.

 

The idea that the web-only business model doesn't work either is chilling.

 

We talking about Buzzfeed, or journalism, or both?

 

Has there been documented proof that digital alone can make money, via subscriptions and ads, or just one?
What is going to happen to cable news when more people opt out of cable?

 

Oh, I think the NYT/Post will still be around.

But, you know, I don't know how, exactly, Buzzfeed is going to survive year over year giving it away for free.

 

Hearing about departures from The Athletic is concerning. Hell, that was the patch of blue sky in the stormy seas.

 

I used to work for Patch, and various people from there went on to become "one man bands" for the communities they were covering, with various degrees of success. However, it is an immense amount of work - you're essentially the site's reporter and its ad rep, and you're not normally making money off the bat. And, for every good one that I know, I know of three shitty ones - infrequent updates because the person has another job that actually pays the bills, or non-journalists just posting sensational shit.

You also bring up the idea of "documented proof," which also gets me wondering. Most of the successful sites I know of, it is one or two employees, and its not like I know for real whether they have another job, or if they traded the Prius in for a Jag because they're doing super well. The economics of blogging, and also podcasting, you seemingly have to take the person's word for it (until they quit or stop doing it).

 

I grew up reading the NY Daily News sports pages and admiring Bill Gallo’s artistry. When the DN fails to staff MLB baseball games and uses wire copy, I fear the end time is nigh.

 

They hired a Mets beat writer today, or at least it was announced, so that's a step in the right direction