WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Messenger, an ambitious online news site that billed itself as a nonpartisan digital outlet and spent some $50 million ratcheting up its business effort, abruptly shut down Wednesday after only eight months in operation.
In his email, Finkelstein said he hadn't shared the news with employees earlier because he had been trying desperately to raise enough funds to become profitable “literally until earlier today."
“We exhausted every option available,” Finkelstein wrote, saying he was “personally devastated.”The Messenger website carried only its name and an email address Wednesday night.
Planned cuts also have sparked walkouts by employees at other venues, including the New York Daily News and Forbes magazine.
The Messenger was launched last May and spent heavily — some would say excessively, given the current media climate — in hopes of becoming a media heavyweight.
Persons:
Jimmy Finkelstein, Finkelstein, hadn't, ” Finkelstein, “, ambitiously, Critics, Jonah Peretti, he'd, ”
Organizations:
The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, Business, New York Daily News, Forbes, Associated Press, Washington D.C
Locations:
BEACH, Fla, New York, Washington, Florida