• About
  • Article PDF
  • White Papers
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Advertising & Sponsorships
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Times Of Entrepreneurship
Growth and Equity for a Changing World
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

Editor’s Note: The Market for Bad Journalism

by Elizabeth Macbride
March 24, 2022
in Editor's Note
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacketBad news for the journalism world this week as BuzzFeed announced layoffs at its Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. Overall, the media company was profitable – in fact, profits are up – but producing high-quality news is expensive. The market was demanding higher returns, so BuzzFeed’s management acted. But who is the market, exactly?

The Washington Post covered the decline of local news and journalism most poignantly in the story, “These mass shooting survivors were called journalism heroes. Then the buyouts came.” The story is partly about the trial of the mass shooter – a disgruntled reader — who killed five people in Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md. But it’s also about a company called Alden Global Capital, an investment firm The Post’s Margaret Sullivan called “one of the most ruthless of the corporate strip-miners seemingly intent on destroying local journalism.” The company is now one of the largest newspaper operators in the country. Alden recognized, smartly from an investment perspective, that local newspapers are cash cows. The firm will likely keep milking subscription revenue and cutting costs until the newspapers are dead.

But Alden doesn’t really own those newspapers. Nor does Vanguard (BuzzFeed’s largest shareholder) own BuzzFeed, exactly. They are merely investment companies. They’re a little more than hired hands, but at the end of the day, they’re managers. Alden is a private equity company, which means we have no information on who the owners are – likely a mix of other private funds and wealthy families, and maybe some with no love for America.

We could figure out some of the owners of BuzzFeed, because it’s publicly held, but only some. There are also private equity funds in its ownership table. And when middle class people own stock, usually through their retirement funds, they don’t pay much attention to what the holdings are. In general, we know that the wealthiest 10% of American now own a record 89% of all U.S. stocks.

The question here is not about ruthless managers (which have and always will exist). The question here is how to create better incentives and regulations in the financial system. As long as the world’s wealthiest families set the demand for high returns and the rest of us follow, and as long as the responsibility for the damage done is hidden, the damage will continue.

For more inspiring stories, insights and actionable funding opportunities, subscribe to Times of E’s weekly newsletter, www.timesofe.com/introduction.
Elizabeth Macbride

Elizabeth Macbride

A business journalist for 20 years, am the founder of Times of Entrepreneurship and the co-author of The New Builders.

Related Posts

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: Times of E Is On A Summer Schedule

by Elizabeth Macbride
May 12, 2022
0

Times of E is going to on summertime schedule starting this week. We’re also working on a pivot. We’re switching...

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: Abortion Scare Politics

by Elizabeth Macbride
May 5, 2022
0

A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride: You would think, from reading the mainstream news coverage, that most entrepreneurs and...

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: A Comeback in Syracuse

by Elizabeth Macbride
April 28, 2022
0

A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride: I’m up in Syracuse for a talk about The New Builders. There clear signs of...

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: An Inflation Hack From One of the World’s Great Investors

by Elizabeth Macbride
April 21, 2022
0

A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride: The huge shift toward an inflationary economy is a good time to rethink...

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: Women’s Work Is Cheapened. Again.

by Elizabeth Macbride
April 14, 2022
0

A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride: Starting a business is somewhat out-of-style right now, as a vehicle for making...

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: Why Fund Strategic Journalism

by Elizabeth Macbride
April 7, 2022
0

A note from our editor, Elizabeth MacBride In March of 2020, as the pandemic was bearing down on us, Elaine...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Learn about the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders

Popular

  • Distribution of Realized U.S. Venture Outcome Over the Past Decade

    Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Take Your IRR With A Grain Of Salt. It’s A Vanity Metric

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A Young Tech Millionaire Moved To Boise. Now, He’s Humbler, And More Connected.

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Canvas CEO Steps Down after $50M Round Incites Racial Controversy about Who Gets Funded

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Commentary: Women Now Face Pressure To Look Beautiful Everywhere They Go. Here’s How To Set Them Free.

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

woman leaning against a brick wall in a white jacket

Editor’s Note: Times of E Is On A Summer Schedule

May 12, 2022
Weekly Newsletter: Abortion Scare Politics, Manufacturing Ethos And Most Fundable Companies

Weekly Newsletter: $200M Headed to Entrepreneurs, VCs’ Vanity, & Summer Vacation Plans

May 12, 2022
Take Your IRR With A Grain Of Salt. It’s A Vanity Metric

Take Your IRR With A Grain Of Salt. It’s A Vanity Metric

May 11, 2022

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
Kristin Smith

Why The Pandemic Will Play Out Differently In The Heartland

2 years ago
Distribution of Realized U.S. Venture Outcome Over the Past Decade

Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

2 years ago
  • About
  • Partner
  • Bespoke Research
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

(703-966-7357)

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • New Builders
  • Ecosystem
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Editor’s Note

© 2022 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Free Download

Times of E Speaks with Jim McKelvey

Get exclusive insights on the future of entrepreneurship. 

Download Now

Support Times of E

Times of E covers the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders.

With your support of our journalism, you will receive our weekly newsletter and one of these resources for free: 

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?