Trump: 'Fake News' and 'Bad Journalism' Caused BuzzFeed Layoffs
Buzzfeed Huffington Post axe employees amid downturn
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Following news outlets BuzzFeed and Huffington Post's recent mass layoffs, president Donald Trump said that “fake news” and “bad journalism” was to blame for the job losses.
“‘Ax falls quickly at BuzzFeed and HuffPost!’ Headline, New York Post. Fake News and bad journalism have caused a big downturn,” President Trump tweeted.
“Sadly, many others will follow. The people want the Truth!”
Buzzfeed announced it was laying off 15 percent of its employees, around 200 people.
More people turning to alternative media allegedly cause the dip in popularity, prevent the outlets to gain h profitability.
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But BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said that the layoffs are to avoid raising money from investors again.
He wrote:
Unfortunately, revenue growth by itself isn’t enough to be successful in the long run.
The restructuring we are undertaking will reduce our costs and improve our operating model so we can thrive and control our destiny, without ever needing to raise funding again.
These changes will allow us to be the clear winner in the market as the economics of digital media continue to improve.”
The privately held company has not been profitable for several years. It has raised hundreds of millions from such investors as Comcast’s NBCUniversal.
Buzzfeed, which is still embroiled in the 'Trump/Russia' dossier, landed in hot water last week as Counsel Robert Mueller’s office released a statement disputing the report.
“Ax falls quickly at BuzzFeed and Huffpost!” Headline, New York Post. Fake News and bad journalism have caused a big downturn. Sadly, many others will follow. The people want the Truth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2019
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Messages obtained by the Daily Beast revealed BuzzFeed staffers denouncing Peretti’s handling of the layoffs and lamenting whether it will affect future hiring prospects.
“This is the second time in less than six months that such mass layoffs have been leaked and subsequent management of said leaks and their fallout have been inadequate, bordering on cruel,” one employee told the chief executive.
Verizon said it is cutting around 800 jobs, also reorganizing the troubled division.
According to Breitbart: The wireless company had hoped to create an ad business that could compete with Google and Facebook. It spent roughly $10 billion buying up former Internet pioneers Yahoo and AOL.
However, Verizon found benefits from integrating those two companies were less than expected. The company slashed the value of its media unit by nearly $5 billion in December.
The new CEO of Verizon’s media division, Guru Gowrappan, informed employees of the layoffs in an email Wednesday. He says the division’s priorities will now include focusing on mobile and video products and stemming declines with desktop users.
At least 15 unionized staffers at the Huffington Post — owned by Verizon — were let go from the digital website this week, which also saw its entire opinion section eliminated.
Newspaper companies have also suffered deep cutbacks, with staffs nearly cut in half since 2004.
Reports started rolling in Wednesday of Gannett, one of the country’s largest newspaper publishers, laying off journalists from USA Today, the Arizona Republic and other newspapers.
It’s unclear how many jobs were lost.
