The head of BuzzFeed News and two other senior editors left the company yesterday ahead of cuts to the newsroom operation sending the stock higher on Wall Street.
Mark Schoofs, who became the editor-in-chief in 2020, said in an email to staff that he would be stepping down. He added that Tom Namako, the deputy editor-in-chief, and Ariel Kaminer, the executive editor of investigations, would also be leaving the company.
Namako tweeted that he was joining NBC Digital as executive editor.
BuzzFeed is an American media, news and entertainment company focusing on digital media. Established in 2006 by Jonah Peretti, a former HuffPost executive, its website became known for viral content before finding acclaim for its investigative reporting. It bought HuffPost in 2020.
BuzzFeed News, which is part of the group’s content division, has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year with one shareholder telling CNBC that shutting down the newsroom could add up to $300 million of market value to the struggling stock.
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The company, which also has advertising and commerce divisions, reported yesterday that its full-year content revenue grew 9 per cent in 2021 to $130 million.
Peretti said that the senior editorial departures were part of “plans to accelerate profitability for BuzzFeed News, including leadership changes, the addition of a dedicated business development group, and a planned reduction in force”.
Peretti added: “We will prioritise investments around coverage of the biggest news of the day, culture and entertainment, celebrity — and life on the internet.”
Shares in BuzzFeed made their debut on the Nasdaq index in December via a merger with a special purpose acquisition vehicle, or blank cheque company. The stock fell by as much as
17 per cent on its first day of trading, hit by a flurry of investor withdrawals the previous week.
The shares have not recovered although they reacted positively to news of the cost cuts.
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By the close in New York last night they were up 6.5 per cent, or 32 cents, at $5.27, valuing the company at $678.97 million.
