W/C - 31st October: Weekly Article (15)

BuzzFeed prepares to split into news and entertainment units

https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/aug/25/buzzfeed-split-news-entertainment-jonah-peretti

Summary

Buzzfeed is a private internet media company in America and the article talks of how they are splitting themselves into two distinct units - news and entertainment. Buzzfeed feels that having a separate video department holds no substance anymore, what they can produce is just the same as having a mobile based department. The reorganization will see the creation of Buzzfeed entertainment run by president Ze Frank and will act as an umbrella to encompass all of its entertainment content. While the news side of Buzzfeed will be separate and run by co-founder Ben Smith. Buzzfeed make these changes in the hope to become the number #1 news brand for the new and changing generations that consume the news in a different way to their parents, it's the traditional VS the online. The news of the reorganization came as reports arose of Buzzfeed missing their revenue targets in 2015. 

Key Statistics - From separate Guardian Article

• Forced to cut 2016 revenue targets from $500m to $250m after missing 2015 target by more than $80m. 
• Buzzfeed  reportedly projected revenues of $250m in 2015 but generated less than $170m
• Combined worldwide mobile and desktop traffic to Buzzfeed.com fell by 14% from 330m to 287m between April last year and March this year. 

My opinion

I that the changes to the way in which Buzzfeed is operating by dividing into news and entertainment is an extremely good idea. This is because the clear distinctions will give BuzzFeed a clear target audience to aim towards as parents from the previous generations and kids of the current generation consume things in totally different ways. They are creating themselves a company, that young people can take an interest in and meet the ways in which we want to receive the news. They are taking what we are more likely to be interested in and separating it from what say our parents are more likely to be interested in. However, this separation could cause confusion as to what the aim of the company is and they may loose sight of what they are trying to provide their audiences with as they have widen their market way to much.