Special: Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti: Record-high audience, record-low revenue
Generation Covid has swarmed Buzzfeed, with audience numbers at record highs. Yet the pandemic's economic effects have crushed the bottom line. BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti explains how he's enduring near-term pain with an eye toward long-term opportunity. “But the transition is painful,” he says. Buzzfeed is leaning into food vertical Tasty, new e-commerce habits, and Buzzfeed News — which covered the frontline action after the death of George Floyd. Jonah laments that businesses like his don't have more resources to provide social support. But, he says, there's a clarity of purpose in crisis, in bearing witness to the things that are happening in the world.