‘Lasted much longer than it should have’: Twitter pops champagne over BuzzFeed News shutdown

BuzzFeed News is reportedly shuttering its operation after BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti admits in an email to staff that he “overinvested” in the organization.

In the email, which was shared with NBC News, Peretti explained that layoffs are happening across the board, but the news division is being hit the hardest.

“While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we’ve determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization,” he said, continuing on to reveal he “overinvest[ed] in BuzzFeed News “because I love their work and mission so much.”

However, it just wasn’t something that was going to make enough money to stay viable.

“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.” Peretti did not “hold the company to higher standards for profitability” which would have created more breathing room during downturns common in the digital news sphere.

Twitter reactions were not as somber, however, with many celebrating the reported shutdown:

Sierra Marlee

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