Exclusive: Jonah Peretti explains why he sold BuzzFeed
About this episode
From the show’s notesJust days before we spoke, BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti agreed to sell the company, which was losing money and at risk of shutting down. Now there’s a new lease on life — and new leadership. Jonah is taking on a new role as president of BuzzFeed AI, and Byron Allen will become CEO of BuzzFeed.
That’s obviously a huge structural and organizational change, and a really big decision — prime Decoder bait if there ever was any. What are digital media companies doing to adapt and survive in an information landscape dominated by algorithmic social platforms?
Read the show’s notes in full
Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Byron Allen is buying BuzzFeed and becoming CEO | Variety
BuzzFeed issues going concern warning, lacks liquidity | Wall Street Journal
BuzzFeed News is shutting down | The Verge
BuzzFeed sells Hot Ones studio in $82.5M deal | NBC News
The unbearable lightness of BuzzFeed | The Verge
I hate myself because I don’t work for BuzzFeed (2015) | The Awl
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Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt; this episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
