How BuzzFeed is building a digital media brand for the future

Stephen Whiteside

BuzzFeed, the digital media company, has found new and smarter ways to drive revenue at a challenging time for the industry in which it operates.

BuzzFeed is a digital media pioneer that made its name with viral “listicles”, quizzes and light-hearted videos, but has since broadened its remit to provide everything from recipes to hard-hitting political coverage.

Jonah Peretti, co-founder/CEO, BuzzFeed

For an extended time after launching in 2006, the New York City-based enterprise was seen as a disruptor that was showing legacy publishers the way forwards. But, in early 2019, it announced plans to layoff over 200 employees – approximately 15% of the organization’s workforce – in a renewed drive to achieve profitability.

“A year ago, I wrote a memo to my own...

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