The Messenger (News Publication)

About

The Messenger is a news outlet owned by Jimmy Finkelstein. The publication made headlines when it was announced in March of 2023 with $50 million raised from investors. The publication has lofty ambitions of reaching 100 million subscribers and making $100 million a year within its first year of being live. Upon its launch in May of 2023, the company was widely criticized on social media for multiple reasons, including its poor SEO and choice of topics to cover.

History

In February of 2023, Axios^[1] reported that Jimmy Finkelstein, an owner of The Hill, had raised $50 million for a new media venture called The Messenger. In March, the New York Times^[2] published an article on the project. Finkelstein stated in the piece that he hoped within a year to hire 550 journalists, making the publication on par with the Los Angeles Times. He stated his goal was to create a news organization free of political bias. In the piece, company president Richard Beckman stated his ambitions were for the company to earn $100 million in revenue in 2024, "primarily through advertising and events."

Days after the New York Times' piece, the New York Post^[3] published a piece featuring media insiders discussing the potential pitfalls of the project. One critic called Finkelstein's ideas and goals "delusional," as 100 million readers would mean The Messenger would have to outperform Vox, New York Post and Conde Nast within one year of being active.

The Messenger launched on May 15th, 2023.^[4]

Online Presence

Upon its launch, The Messenger was criticized by numerous journalists and media professionals on Twitter. Among those included Peter Kafka, the executive editor of Recode, who tweeted^[5] a list of the site's headlines on launch day, implying they did not mesh with the company's stated goal of "demystifying the onslaught of misinformation and delivering impartial and objective news." The tweet gained over 30 retweets and 150 likes in one day (shown below, left). User @seangriffey^[6] remarked how Googling "The Messenger" did not bring up the site but rather many other properties with the same name (shown below, right).

Others criticized how the site's approach to sensationalized content clashed with Finkelstein's goal of becoming a publication akin to 60 Minutes or Vanity Fair. For example, on its first day, The Messenger published a video of a 99-year-old woman having knives thrown at her at the circus and a story about cocaine falling out of a fake pregnant belly.

Search Interest

External References