BuzzFeed, the digital media company known for its listicles and quizzes, is shutting down its news division and will cut about 15% of its entire staff. The decision was announced by BuzzFeed’s co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti in a memo to staff.

According to multiple media reports, the cuts will affect teams across its business, content, tech and administrative departments, and the company is also considering job cuts in some international markets.

In his memo, Peretti admitted to having made a mistake by “overinvesting” in the news division, and failing to recognize early enough that the financial support needed to sustain its operations was not there. “I’ve learned from these mistakes, and the team moving forward has learned from them as well,” he wrote.

Peretti went on to say that the company will now have only one remaining news brand, HuffPost. BuzzFeed had acquired HuffPost from Verizon Media in 2020.

The move comes just a few months after BuzzFeed announced it would be cutting 12% of its workforce due to worsening economic conditions. The company, founded by Peretti in 2006, had established itself as a serious contender in the news business, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for international reporting.

BuzzFeed’s decision to shut down its news division and make significant job cuts is a reflection of the challenges faced by digital media companies in recent years. The media industry has been hit hard by declining ad revenues, as more people shift their attention to social media platforms.

The closure of BuzzFeed News is a significant blow to the journalism industry, as it was one of the few digital news outlets to invest heavily in investigative reporting and had built a reputation for producing high-quality journalism.

The decision also comes at a time when news organizations are facing increased scrutiny and pressure to maintain high standards of journalism. The closure of BuzzFeed News highlights the ongoing struggle for news outlets to find a sustainable business model in the digital age.

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