Online news outlet The Messenger is ceasing operations Wednesday after less than a year, Axios reported.
The Messenger started off with $50 million in May but it was hemorrhaging tens of millions of dollars while only obtaining about $3 million in revenue in 2023, Axios reported, citing financial records. It initially anticipated making $100 million in revenue in 2024. (RELATED: WaPo On Track To Lose Money Since Trump Left Office)
I was just kicked out of @TheMessenger slack along with a lot of my fellow colleagues. I guess I should kill these news stories I’ve been working on.
— James LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) January 31, 2024
The Messenger’s CEO and founder Jimmy Finkelstein launched the outlet in 2023 after selling The Hill in 2021 for $130 million, according to Axios. Within a brief timeframe, the company onboarded 300 employees, providing them with generous salaries.
“This is truly the last thing I wanted, and I am deeply sorry,” Finkelstein wrote in an email to employees, according to The New York Times.
The Messenger produced centrist news on various topics and had a substantial audience, but it could not afford its large newsroom, according to Axios. It spent millions on travel and entertainment without making sufficient advertising revenue, according to Semafor.
“Over the past few weeks, literally until earlier today, we exhausted every option available and have endeavored to raise sufficient capital to reach profitability,” Finkelstein wrote, according to the NYT. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to do so.”
Finkelstein recently met with conservative media and business executives, including Omeed Malik, Garrett Ventry, Ryan Coyne and George Farmer to discuss selling a majority stake in The Messenger at Mar-a-Lago, Axios reported.
Many legacy media publications are dealing with economic challenges affecting the news industry and resorting to drastic measures, Axios reported on Friday. Close to a dozen are laying off workers, dealing with employee strikes or trying to sell.
For instance, The Arena Group recently let go of nearly the entire union staff of Sports Illustrated, and the Los Angeles Times announced it would lay off over 100 journalists as the publication lost as much as $40 million a year, decreasing its newsroom employees by 20%. BuzzFeed has been in talks to unload two of its brands, Complex and Tasty, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Messenger did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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