Buzzfeed is closing its dedicated UK and Australian news operations, resulting in staff being furloughed and stood down.
The decision to stop covering local news in the two countries has been made “both for economic and strategic reasons”, a spokesperson said.
Buzzfeed continues to publish news in the US and said it plans to retain some UK staff to cover global news for its American audience in areas such as social news, celebrity and investigations.
Some ten UK staff are understood to have been furloughed.
The move comes as the global news industry is facing an advertising downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis, with thousands of staff put on furlough in the UK alone and some titles having been suspended.
Buzzfeed News, which launched in the US in 2011 and expanded to the UK in 2013, is dependent on advertising as its main source of income.
The digital-only news outfit made a loss of £9.4m in the UK in 2018, with turnover down nearly £12m.
A Buzzfeed spokesperson said: “Both for economic and strategic reasons, we are going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period.
“Therefore, we will notify staff in the UK and Australia that we are not planning to cover local news in those countries.
“We will be consulting with employees on our plans regarding furloughs and stand-downs in these regions.
“In the UK, we still plan on retaining some employees who are focused on news with a global audience — social news, celebrity, and investigations.”
Buzzfeed UK has faced repeated staffing cuts in the last two years, with some 23 editorial staff made redundant in 2018.
Cuts to 15 per cent of Buzzfeed’s global workforce at the start of 2019 further reduced the UK newsroom to 20 journalists.
Former Guardian journalist Stuart Millar took over as Buzzfeed UK editor from Janine Gibson last year.
Ben Smith, the founding editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, left the news website to join the New York Times in January this year, eight years after helping to launch its US newsroom.
www.pressgazette.co.uk
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All rise for the traditional clickbait funeral dirge
B U Z Z F E E D - U K / A U S - I S - D E A D
The decision to stop covering local news in the two countries has been made “both for economic and strategic reasons”, a spokesperson said.
Buzzfeed continues to publish news in the US and said it plans to retain some UK staff to cover global news for its American audience in areas such as social news, celebrity and investigations.
Some ten UK staff are understood to have been furloughed.
The move comes as the global news industry is facing an advertising downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis, with thousands of staff put on furlough in the UK alone and some titles having been suspended.
Buzzfeed News, which launched in the US in 2011 and expanded to the UK in 2013, is dependent on advertising as its main source of income.
The digital-only news outfit made a loss of £9.4m in the UK in 2018, with turnover down nearly £12m.
A Buzzfeed spokesperson said: “Both for economic and strategic reasons, we are going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period.
“Therefore, we will notify staff in the UK and Australia that we are not planning to cover local news in those countries.
“We will be consulting with employees on our plans regarding furloughs and stand-downs in these regions.
“In the UK, we still plan on retaining some employees who are focused on news with a global audience — social news, celebrity, and investigations.”
Buzzfeed UK has faced repeated staffing cuts in the last two years, with some 23 editorial staff made redundant in 2018.
Cuts to 15 per cent of Buzzfeed’s global workforce at the start of 2019 further reduced the UK newsroom to 20 journalists.
Former Guardian journalist Stuart Millar took over as Buzzfeed UK editor from Janine Gibson last year.
Ben Smith, the founding editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, left the news website to join the New York Times in January this year, eight years after helping to launch its US newsroom.
Buzzfeed to close dedicated UK and Australian news operations with staff furloughed
Buzzfeed will no longer run a dedicated UK or Australian news operation, resulting in staff being furloughed and stood down.
www.pressgazette.co.uk
------------------------------
All rise for the traditional clickbait funeral dirge
B U Z Z F E E D - U K / A U S - I S - D E A D
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