Wednesday online news site Messenger Quits suddenly. Sites that expired after less than a year of operation include: one of the biggest failures It launched with more than $50 million in funding and then branched out into online journalism.
According to Messenger employees, without any warning I found out about the business closure while reading the news on another site. Employees were unable to retrieve personal items from the office and were no longer able to log into their company accounts. It is reported that they were not paid severance pay, and their health insurance was immediately discontinued.
First of all, Messenger owners are the worst. Site content has been deleted.. For the news site's writers and staff, this means that all of their work from the past year has quickly turned to digital dust. All Messenger employees will no longer be able to discover the stories they need to find their next job. Sites that referenced The Messenger now have links that lead nowhere. All articles, comments, and information contained in photos on the site are now gone.
Messenger started out as a comprehensive news outlet covering everything from politics to sports. Funding was primarily based on advertising sales; Everyone Advertising revenue is declining significantly. Journalism jobs are evaporating At an increasingly fast pace, the declaration that the site would generate $100 million in revenue by 2024 never made sense. Nonetheless, founder and CEO Jimmy Finkelstein was reportedly close to securing additional funding before the deal fell through and the site was suddenly shut down.
The funding that The Messenger initially secured and the big plans announced by Finkelstein allowed the organization to lure reporters and other staff away from major media outlets. Less than 11 months later, employees are leaving the company without receiving severance pay, health care, or other benefits.
Finkelstein earned $130 million It stems from the 2021 sale of The Hill, which was founded by his father in 1994. Apparently none of that money was spared to provide his former employees with a few weeks of health insurance or anything that could soften the blow.
When the messenger disappeared, the Chicago Tribune staff went on strike Thursday marks the first time in the paper's 177-year history. Editors joined reporters and photographers on the picket line as they marched against the newspaper's owner, Alden Global Capital. vanity Fair, and as a “secret hedge fund that quickly and surprisingly easily became one of the largest newspaper operators in the country.” Atlantic Ocean.
Alden Global Capital acquired the Chicago Tribune in 2021, and what has happened to the paper since then goes beyond the typical decline other local papers have faced. New billionaire owner baltimore sun You may have shown up to the office just long enough to dress your employees in derogatory tirade and let them know that you really don't. read The new owner of the Chicago Tribune didn't even put much effort into the newspaper he had just purchased. They just moved in immediately. dig up a place.
Two days after the deal closed, Alden announced an aggressive acquisition. In the ensuing exodus, the paper lost a Metro columnist who advocated for residents of troubled public housing complexes, an editor who maintained a database of murder cases that police could not tamper with, and a photographer who produced beautiful portraits. The investigative journalist who helped expose the state's undocumented immigrants and the governor's offshore shell companies. When it was over, a quarter of the newsroom was gone.
Now Alden is confronting the remaining employees with a proposal that would eliminate the company match for 401(k) retirement funds, raise lump sum salaries and drastically reduce bonuses already owed under previous contracts.
But even while the Chicago Tribune was dying out, its owners is Workers and treating them ~can do Go on strike to draw attention to their cause. Those who left were bribed.
That's a huge improvement over finding your office door closed before your eyes and all your work deleted.
This is a good example of why employees stay at the company. Texas Tribune I'm trying to form a union. The Texas Tribune is a non-profit organization. Award-winning newsroom. How is it structured and what is its ability to sustain itself in that situation? The market becomes increasingly bleak The news attracted a lot of attention from other sites looking for alternatives.
Last summer, the Tribune was forced into command. first dismissal Our 14-year history has shown us that there is no safe space in this storm. (Daily Kos was also not free from this industry downturn, This was the first layoff in the site's 20-year history. In 2023.)
The Texas Tribune's layoffs included its entire copy desk team. (Note: That's a real horror story for anyone who commits commas as much as I do.)
Texas Tribune Executives have been supporting Labor Union Efforts. “Our response is simple,” said CEO Sonal Shah. “If Tribune employees wish to be represented by a union, we will respect their right to representation.”
In this environment, through major media outlets I feel like I'm failing day by dayEven employees at consistently outstanding publications like The Texas Tribune cannot take their positions for granted.
meantime, new york magazine Here's a look at the final days of The Messenger from a shipwrecked author.
If I tell you that I was a film critic and senior entertainment writer for The Messenger, you'll just have to take my word for it. The website is now a blank white page with just the company name and email address. This is the scariest image for any writer. I doubt whether letters sent there will be returned.
(warning: fake social media accounts Be careful, as they are likely to deceptively approach Venmo, GoFundMe, BuyMeACoffee, and other well-intentioned protests targeting displaced people by pretending to be some of The Messenger's well-known writers.)
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