id: thewrap--2020-05-05--Mark Schoofs Named Editor-in-Chief of BuzzFeed News

source: thewrap

content:
Mark Schoofs is the new editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News , according to a Tuesday release from BuzzFeed Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti .
Schoofs is a 30-year journalism veteran and Pulitzer Prize winner who is currently a visiting professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism .
According to the release , Schoofs earned one Pulitzer Prize at The Village Voice and shared another at The Wall Street Journal and also led a team of investigative journalists at ProPublica .
He founded BuzzFeed News ’ own investigations team in 2014 .
Also Read : BuzzFeed News Editor in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York Times “ I ’ m thrilled to come back to BuzzFeed News , ” Schoofs said in a statement released with the announcement .
“ Its journalists — tough , rigorous , and fearless — are the best in the world , hands down.
” In late January , Ben Smith announced he was exiting the editor-in-chief role after eight years , similarly praising BuzzFeed News ’ journalists : “ It ’ s been the privilege of my life to do this job , in its many iterations , for more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a letter first sent to staff .
“ The notion that BuzzFeed could play a major role in shaping global news , and the news business — from tweets to streaming shows — sounded crazy in 2012 .
Now it ’ s just a fact , the product of most of all of your hard work , creativity , aggressiveness , and judgment.
” On Twitter , Smith reacted to the announcement , calling it “ an incredible , ambitious hire .
”

author: Lindsey Ellefson

new_content:
Mark Schoofs is the new editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, according to a Tuesday release from BuzzFeed Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti.
Schoofs is a 30-year journalism veteran and Pulitzer Prize winner who is currently a visiting professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
According to the release, Schoofs earned one Pulitzer Prize at The Village Voice and shared another at The Wall Street Journal and also led a team of investigative journalists at ProPublica. He founded BuzzFeed News’ own investigations team in 2014.
“I’m thrilled to come back to BuzzFeed News,” Schoofs said in a statement released with the announcement. “Its journalists — tough, rigorous, and fearless — are the best in the world, hands down.”
In late January, Ben Smith announced he was exiting the editor-in-chief role after eight years, similarly praising BuzzFeed News’ journalists: “It’s been the privilege of my life to do this job, in its many iterations, for more than eight years,” he wrote in a letter first sent to staff. “The notion that BuzzFeed could play a major role in shaping global news, and the news business — from tweets to streaming shows — sounded crazy in 2012. Now it’s just a fact, the product of most of all of your hard work, creativity, aggressiveness, and judgment.”
On Twitter, Smith reacted to the announcement, calling it “an incredible, ambitious hire.”


id: thewrap--2020-05-14--BuzzFeed News Halts Local Coverage of UK and Australia

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BuzzFeed News plans to stop reporting on Australia and the UK , a spokesperson confirmed to TheWrap Wednesday .
Further , Tom Namako has been made deputy editor in chief .
Citing “ economic and strategic reasons , ” they said BuzzFeed News is “ going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period.
” “ Therefore , we will notify staff in the UK and Australia that we are not planning to cover local news in those countries .
We will be consulting with employees on our plans regarding furloughs and stand-downs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ In the UK , we still plan on retaining some employees who are focused on news with a global audience — social news , celebrity , and investigations.
” Also Read : Condé Nast to Lay Off About 100 Employees , Furlough Another 100 In America , four non-bargaining unit employees were furloughed but the spokesperson said BuzzFeed News is “ open to considering other options in our negotiations , including workshare programs , ” provided the options meet savings goals and are legally and logistically workable .
BuzzFeed News will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if it ’ s possible to do “ workshare ” programs instead of furloughs .
The company ’ s news division will spend around $ 10 million more than it takes in this year , dropping that number to $ 6 million next year .
BuzzFeed is just one of many companies undertaking cost-cutting measures as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the economy .
Wednesday , publisher Condé Nast began the process of laying off just under 100 employees and furloughing a similar number .

new_content:
BuzzFeed News plans to stop reporting on Australia and the UK, a spokesperson confirmed to TheWrap Wednesday. Further, Tom Namako has been made deputy editor in chief.
Citing “economic and strategic reasons,” they said BuzzFeed News is “going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period.”
“Therefore, we will notify staff in the UK and Australia that we are not planning to cover local news in those countries. We will be consulting with employees on our plans regarding furloughs and stand-downs in these regions,” they continued. “In the UK, we still plan on retaining some employees who are focused on news with a global audience — social news, celebrity, and investigations.”
In America, four non-bargaining unit employees were furloughed but the spokesperson said BuzzFeed News is “open to considering other options in our negotiations, including workshare programs,” provided the options meet savings goals and are legally and logistically workable. BuzzFeed News will be inviting the NewsGuild to help investigate if it’s possible to do “workshare” programs instead of furloughs.
The company’s news division will spend around $10 million more than it takes in this year, dropping that number to $6 million next year.
BuzzFeed is just one of many companies undertaking cost-cutting measures as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the economy. Wednesday, publisher Condé Nast began the process of laying off just under 100 employees and furloughing a similar number.


id: thewrap--2020-05-07--BuzzFeed to Furlough 68 Employees This Month, Extend Pay Cuts Through End of Year

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BuzzFeed will furlough 68 employees this month and extend previously announced pay cuts through the end of the year as the company seeks to keep losses under $ 20 million , CEO Jonah Peretti told staff on Wednesday .
“ The global economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted increasing negative impact on our business .
In recent weeks , we have been confronted with even greater revenue declines than expected , ” Peretti wrote in an email to staff , which was provided to TheWrap by a spokesperson .
“ Based on our projections and our goal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we determined we must further reduce costs to sustain BuzzFeed through this crisis and position ourselves for the eventual recovery.
” Also Read : BuzzFeed to Reduce Employee Pay , CEO to Forgo Salary Due to Coronavirus Pandemic The furloughs , which will begin on May 16 and last for three months for U.S.-based staff , will impact the U.S. and U.K. business divisions , the studio team and the admin group , Peretti said .
The company is also considering subleasing its D.C. and Minneapolis offices , suspending its 401K matching program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closing out over 50 open heads in Content and Tech that were budgeted for this year.
” For those not furloughed , BuzzFeed will continue implementing pay cuts between 5 to 25 percent — determined based on salary level — through the end of 2020 .
Peretti also said BuzzFeed leadership will be negotiating with the BuzzFeed News union to determine how to reduce costs in that section .
“ This is a difficult day for all of us .
We will do everything we can to support our colleagues who are furloughed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people at BuzzFeed are amazing , you always step up to support each other and share empathy and compassion .
We need that spirit more than ever during these tough times and I know we will pull through for each other .
”

author: J. Clara Chan

new_content:
BuzzFeed will furlough 68 employees this month and extend previously announced pay cuts through the end of the year as the company seeks to keep losses under $20 million, CEO Jonah Peretti told staff on Wednesday.
“The global economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted increasing negative impact on our business. In recent weeks, we have been confronted with even greater revenue declines than expected,” Peretti wrote in an email to staff, which was provided to TheWrap by a spokesperson. “Based on our projections and our goal to keep losses under $20M, we determined we must further reduce costs to sustain BuzzFeed through this crisis and position ourselves for the eventual recovery.”
The furloughs, which will begin on May 16 and last for three months for U.S.-based staff, will impact the U.S. and U.K. business divisions, the studio team and the admin group, Peretti said. The company is also considering subleasing its D.C. and Minneapolis offices, suspending its 401K matching program through the end of 2020 and “closing out over 50 open heads in Content and Tech that were budgeted for this year.” For those not furloughed, BuzzFeed will continue implementing pay cuts between 5 to 25 percent — determined based on salary level — through the end of 2020.
Peretti also said BuzzFeed leadership will be negotiating with the BuzzFeed News union to determine how to reduce costs in that section.
“This is a difficult day for all of us. We will do everything we can to support our colleagues who are furloughed,” Peretti said. “The people at BuzzFeed are amazing, you always step up to support each other and share empathy and compassion. We need that spirit more than ever during these tough times and I know we will pull through for each other.”


id: thewrap--2020-03-26--BuzzFeed to Reduce Employee Pay, CEO to Forgo Salary Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

content:
BuzzFeed will be reducing its employee pay between five to 25 percent for at least two months , BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced in an internal memo to staffers on Wednesday .
“ We ’ ve been monitoring the human and economic impact of the coronavirus and it ’ s clear we will see a major economic downturn in the next few months , ” Peretti wrote in the memo , which was provided to TheWrap by a spokesperson .
“ In our own business we want to save as many jobs as possible , even at the expense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know how long this will last but we want to move quickly to make sure our business remains sustainable and we will lift the program and reevaluate if things improve.
” The salary reductions , which will begin on April 1 , will apply to employees in the U.S. making above $ 40,000 a year and will be tiered based on a person ’ s annual salary .
For those making $ 40,000 to $ 64,900 , salaries will be slashed by five percent .
Employees making between $ 65,000 and $ 89,900 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while those in the $ 90,000 to $ 124,900 range will get a nine percent cut .
BuzzFeed staffers with salaries between $ 125,000 and $ 169,900 will have an 11 % cut , while those making between $ 170,000 and $ 224,900 will have a 12 % cut .
And on the highest end of salaries , employees who make above $ 225,000 will receive a 13 % salary cut , while “ purple executives ” — the heads of the various BuzzFeed divisions like News , HR and Sales — will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Peretti himself will also be foregoing his salary entirely until the company is “ on the other side of this crisis , ” he wrote in the memo .
“ This program will be applied to the majority of the company for April and May , and we will continue to review it on a monthly basis , ” Peretti wrote .
“ We wanted to make sure that the lowest paid employees were least impacted , and leaders in the company making larger salaries took on more of the burden.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company ’ s U.S. employees , Peretti said that similar reductions would be rolled out in BuzzFeed ’ s international offices soon .
Meanwhile , BuzzFeed ’ s contractors and freelancers will experience an 8 % reduction in their rates , Peretti said .
There may be room for change in this pay reduction plan , however , as Peretti said that he will be meeting with the News Guild — a union that represents staff from BuzzFeed News and other media outlets — to share the plan and “ invite them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new plan that meets the same savings goal.
” ( The BuzzFeed News union said in a statement that it was glad the company was taking a “ proactive approach and pursuing options to cut costs that don ’ t result in job losses.
” ) “ If the economy improves and our forecast improves , we will end the program and return to full compensation .
If the economy worsens , this plan puts us in a better position to respond to the market and weather the changes , ” Peretti wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t come to this lightly , but as we operate through a major crisis as a more mature company , we have to put both the greater good and the long-term health of the company at the center of our decision-making process .
”

new_content:
BuzzFeed will be reducing its employee pay between five to 25 percent for at least two months, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced in an internal memo to staffers on Wednesday.
“We’ve been monitoring the human and economic impact of the coronavirus and it’s clear we will see a major economic downturn in the next few months,” Peretti wrote in the memo, which was provided to TheWrap by a spokesperson. “In our own business we want to save as many jobs as possible, even at the expense of wages declining. We don’t know how long this will last but we want to move quickly to make sure our business remains sustainable and we will lift the program and reevaluate if things improve.”
The salary reductions, which will begin on April 1, will apply to employees in the U.S. making above $40,000 a year and will be tiered based on a person’s annual salary. For those making $40,000 to $64,900, salaries will be slashed by five percent. Employees making between $65,000 and $89,900 will receive a seven percent cut, while those in the $90,000 to $124,900 range will get a nine percent cut. BuzzFeed staffers with salaries between $125,000 and $169,900 will have an 11% cut, while those making between $170,000 and $224,900 will have a 12% cut.
And on the highest end of salaries, employees who make above $225,000 will receive a 13% salary cut, while “purple executives” — the heads of the various BuzzFeed divisions like News, HR and Sales — will experience the highest cuts at 14-25%. Peretti himself will also be foregoing his salary entirely until the company is “on the other side of this crisis,” he wrote in the memo.
“This program will be applied to the majority of the company for April and May, and we will continue to review it on a monthly basis,” Peretti wrote. “We wanted to make sure that the lowest paid employees were least impacted, and leaders in the company making larger salaries took on more of the burden.”
While these pay cuts apply to the company’s U.S. employees, Peretti said that similar reductions would be rolled out in BuzzFeed’s international offices soon. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed’s contractors and freelancers will experience an 8% reduction in their rates, Peretti said.
There may be room for change in this pay reduction plan, however, as Peretti said that he will be meeting with the News Guild — a union that represents staff from BuzzFeed News and other media outlets — to share the plan and “invite them to participate in this or to propose a new plan that meets the same savings goal.” (The BuzzFeed News union said in a statement that it was glad the company was taking a “proactive approach and pursuing options to cut costs that don’t result in job losses.”)
“If the economy improves and our forecast improves, we will end the program and return to full compensation. If the economy worsens, this plan puts us in a better position to respond to the market and weather the changes,” Peretti wrote. “Please know that we didn’t come to this lightly, but as we operate through a major crisis as a more mature company, we have to put both the greater good and the long-term health of the company at the center of our decision-making process.”