Buzzfeed closes news functions in Britain, Australia
15 May, 2020
Groundbreaking web-site Buzzfeed said in Thursday that it would be shuttering part of its loss-producing news procedures in Britain and Australia, since it scales rear global ambitions to spend less.
"For economic and strategic reasons, we are going to concentrate on news that hits big in the United States in this difficult period," a business spokesperson said.
Many news outlets have already been hard-strike by the coronavirus pandemic, with plummeting advertising revenues and already struggling businesses pushed deeper in to the red.
Ten staff on Britain and four in Australia will be furloughed, in a move that's expected to become permanent.
The company will no longer cover local news in the two countries, but said: "In the UK, we still plan on retaining some employees who are centered on news with a global audience -- social news, celebrity, and investigations."
The four Australian posts were "no more essential during this time of sharply limited resources," the business added.
Once maligned just as a funnel for bit more than celebrity gossip, clickbait lists and cat pictures, Buzzfeed has developed right into a news force to rival more established outlets.
"BuzzFeed gave us space to experiment with covering politics for a audience," Australian news editor Lane Sainty tweeted.
She lauded her staff's work to "tackle important and frequently under-covered beats like abortion, LGBTQ rights, Indigenous affairs, immigration and internet culture."
"I've been grateful for that & incredibly pleased with our work."
Extra cost-cutting measures are anticipated, including in america, where "workshare courses" are being touted as a way of avoiding furloughs.
"Those options need to match our savings goals, end up being legally and logistically workable, and allow us to keep producing kinetic, powerful journalism," Buzzfeed said.
This season "news will spend about $10 million a lot more than it requires in," it added.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com