Who owns them?

Jonah Peretti is the founder and CEO of Buzzfeed with John Johnson as the co-founder. Kenneth Lerer, who was a co-founder and chairman of the Huffington Post, started as a co-founder and investor in BuzzFeed and is now one of the executive chairman as well (Buzzfeed, 2014, para. 8). Their goal of creating BuzzFeed was to focus on tracking viral content in the media.

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How many are owned by the same parent company? Are any owned by independent sources?​

Information has led us to believe that BuzzFeed is a privately owned company. In addition, Bloomberg mentions that the company, “... develops Tasty One Top, a Bluetooth-enabled induction cooktop. Buzzfeed, Inc. was formerly known as Contagious Media, LLC.” (Bloomberg, 2018, para. 1).

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What is their annual revenue?

Reports have shown that Buzzfeed may have missed their revenue target by 20%. In the past, BuzzFeed has grown in revenue from an estimated $170 million in 2015 to $250 million in 2016. The New York Post states, “Revenue in 2017 is expected to come in $70 million short of the $350 million target.” (Morgan, 2017, para. 3). Unfortunately there wasn’t any current revenue information for 2018 for BuzzFeed.

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Where do they get their revenue from?

BuzzFeed mainly is a site for click-bait amongst users and gains revenue through advertisements. Tech Times describes it as, “BuzzFeed charges clients set fees for creating custom content aimed at that client's customer base. Such has been the success of this so-called "native advertising" that it is fast becoming the business model of choice for the online news industry.” (Gallagher, 2015, para. 2). Their main goal is to look for branded content that will attract users to their site on a daily basis.

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What’s their reader/viewer share?

BuzzFeed’s total global audience receives around 650 million visitors. 60% of millennial's are reached in the United States. The average number of BuzzFeed monthly content views are around 9 million (Smith, 2018, para. 8).

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Is there a particular story that “made” this news venue particular popular?

There is not one particular story that made BuzzFeed popular in the media. What attracts and brings viewers in is their content of being entertaining for users looking for a break from regular news content. The Washington Post believes, “BuzzFeed, the multimedia company that got famous for its viral content and used the profits from those enterprises to fund a vigorous journalism enterprise, has raised $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz.”(Rosenburg, 2014, para. 1).

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Was there a story that this news venue is particular well known for scooping?

BuzzFeed is known for scooping and searching for entertainment factors that will draw their audience in. BuzzFeed states on their website, “We strive to connect deeply with our audience, and give them news and entertainment worth sharing with their friends, family, and the people who matter in their lives.” (BuzzFeed, n.d., para. 2).

 

How does the news site frame itself?

BuzzFeed frames themselves as always being different in the media and they do it very well. The Atlantic describes them as, “the most influential news organization in America today because the Internet is the most influential medium—and, in some crucial ways, BuzzFeed demonstrates an understanding of that medium better than anyone else.” (Lafrance, 2015, para. 3).

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How is it perceived (conservative/liberal/moderate/completely unreliable/well-respected

for fairness/etc)?

BuzzFeed can be perceived and is perceived as liberal. They can mainly be perceived as a left-centered bias. Media bias and Fact checks state that, “They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes.” (Media Bias/Fact Check, 2017, para. 1).