The Messenger, the upstart digital news outlet that hired hundreds of journalists and vowed to upend the industry as a centrist publication, will shut down less than a year after its high-profile launch, the company said Wednesday. The collapse of the outlet, founded by media entrepreneur Jimmy Finkelstein, marks one of the largest and swiftest failures of a media outlet in recent memory. The Messenger’s closure comes just eight months after its debut that was built on a strategy of generating gobs of internet traffic from social media platforms and search engines despite broader industry headwinds.
The company, an aggressive entrant to the digital news space, is expected to cut roughly two-dozen employees this week.
Jimmy Finkelstein — co-owner of The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Adweek — is one of two final bidders for cash-strapped Variety, while billionaire Ron Burkle is the other suitor still in the running, a source close to the situation says.
