New York Magazine - USA (2019-11-25)

BuzzFeed

made the world

a meme.

BY MAX READ

“I heardWeGrow, thepreschool,is beingshutdown,”

JonahPerettisays,sittingina conferenceroomin

BuzzFeed’s NewYorkoffices.“Howdoyouexplain

thattoyour4-year-old?”He affectsa gentlyparental

tone: “ ‘There’s this guy Adam Neumann, and he’s very

charismatic...’”

Li keNeumann,Peretti,thefounderofBuzzFeed,

tookmoneyfromtheJapaneseinvestmentgiantSoft-

Bank—not the company’s Saudi-backed Vision Fund,

he’s careful to clarify—early in his start-up’s life.

Unlike WeWork, though, BuzzFeed has managed to

keep its head above water for 13 years in an industry

with much worse prospects than those of real estate.

Since its founding in 2006 and especially since the

creation of its news division in 2012, BuzzFeed has led

the transformation of a media industry threatened by

tech megaplatforms, private-equity vultures, fickle

readers, and declining ad sales. It has pioneered new

formats and business models, all while breaking

major national stories like the infamous Steele dos-

sier. (Even the New York Times has taken notice: Its

2014 “Innovation Report” looked to BuzzFeed as a

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER YANG

Peret

J

nah