BuzzFeed is closing its Pulitzer Prize-winning BuzzFeed News operation in a consolidation aimed at improving the company’s balance sheet. “We are reducing our workforce by approximately 15 percent today across our business, content, tech and admin teams, and beginning the process of closing BuzzFeed News,” BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti explained in a memo to staff on Thursday. The layoffs will affect about 180 employees. The company will continue operating the meme-driven BuzzFeed.com while HuffPost, acquired in 2020 from Verizon, will carry the mantle for news reporting. Continue reading BuzzFeed News Closing as the Industry Continues to Struggle

BuzzFeed News plans to debut a feature at the bottom of its news pages asking readers to donate between $5 and $100. In exchange, said one source, donors will get updates on big news stories and new programming. This move could presage a membership program with more perks, continued that source, who added that the company is not planning to charge for content. In another revenue-earning venture, BuzzFeed introduced a new product-review/recommendation site, earning revenue from online purchases. Continue reading BuzzFeed News Is Trying New Methods to Generate Revenue

BuzzFeed has introduced a new feature that is intended to help readers understand ideas that differ from the views held in their network of friends. The “Outside Your Bubble” feature will appear at the bottom of BuzzFeed News articles and a staff member will curate content for the feature from social media platforms and other sources. Because of the algorithms behind social media and search results, many people are living in “filter bubbles,” where they are only exposed to ideas that are similar to their own. Continue reading BuzzFeed News Tries to Expose Readers to Outside Viewpoints