The Messenger
Type of site
News website
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersWest Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
OwnerJAF Communications Inc.
Founder(s)Jimmy Finkelstein
PresidentRichard Beckman
CEOJimmy Finkelstein
URLthemessenger.com
CommercialYes
LaunchedMay 15, 2023 (2023-05-15)

The Messenger is an American news website founded by Jimmy Finkelstein, the former owner of Washington, D.C.-based news organization The Hill. The publication launched on May 15, 2023, and brought in editors-in-chief from several other news organizations to serve in senior editorial roles. The Messenger's stated business model, which includes plans to hire 550 journalists within its first year of operations and to achieve 100 million unique monthly viewers by the end of 2024, is considered to be aggressive.

History

The Messenger was founded by Jimmy Finkelstein, the former owner of The Hill, an American newspaper and website based in Washington, D.C. After selling The Hill to Nexstar Media Group in 2021, Finkelstein began to raise funds for The Messenger, which he founded in West Palm Beach, Florida.[1] The website secured an investment of $50 million from American businessmen Mark Penn, Victor Ganzi, Josh Harris, James Tisch, and Thomas Peterffy[2][3] and acquired the assets of Grid News prior to its launch on May 15, 2023.[4][5][6] Richard Beckman, former president of The Hill and Condé Nast, serves the same role with The Messenger.[3]

In January 2024, The New York Times reported that The Messenger would be laying off two dozen employees due to financial difficulties. Beckman announced he would be leaving the company due to health issues.[7] Semafor later reported that the company's board was considering shutting it down after learning that the company would run out of money by the end of the month. The company said that it had begun to secure further investments.[8] CNBC reported the site scaled back its employee cuts and planned on launching a vertical called Messenger TV, even with its liquidity and cash flow problems, and estimated a surge in revenue for the year.[9]

Staffing

At the time of The Messenger's launch, editorial and managerial staff included senior staff from several other news organizations. Former editor-in-chief of People, Dan Wakeford, serves as The Messenger's editor-in-chief, while former Politico politics editor Marty Kady serves as the website's politics editor. The sports section is led by former editorial director of The Athletic Dan Kauffman, while former Gizmodo editor-in-chief David M. Ewalt serves as the website's technology and science editor. The Messenger's health vertical is edited by Amy Eisinger, the former editor-in-chief of Self, and the website's entertainment vertical is led by former Entertainment Weekly editor-in-chief Mary Margaret.[2]

The Messenger employed about 150 journalists at the time of its launch,[10][2] with the website planning to employ around 550 by the end of its first year in operation.[3]

Business model

The site's business model is dependent primarily on revenue from advertisers, as the website is free-to-access and is not paywalled,[2][6] though the site also aims to bring in revenue through the sale of subscription-only newsletters and sponsored events.[2] The website's approach to publication of news content is to publish large quantities of content, having rapidly hired large numbers of journalists at above-market wages and acquiring Grid News in order to facilitate broad coverage of the news.[11][6][3]

The company's growth strategy is considered aggressive, with its stated goals being to expand its employment rolls to 750 (including 550 newsroom employees) and to attain profitability by earning $100 million in annual revenue by 2024,[2] seeking to achieve 100 million unique monthly visitors by that time.[3] The Messenger had more than 100,000 unique daily visitors four days after its launch.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Fischer, Sara (February 7, 2023). "Scoop: Jimmy Finkelstein raises $50M for new media venture". Axios. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fischer, Sara (May 2, 2023). "The Messenger to launch May 15 with 150 journalists". Axios. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Mullin, Benjamin (March 10, 2023). "The Messenger, a Media Start-Up, Aims to Build a Newsroom Fast". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  4. ↑ Owen, Laura Hazard (March 22, 2023). "A forthcoming news site absorbs Grid (and its Middle Eastern funding, too)". NiemanLab. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  5. ↑ Fischer, Sara (March 27, 2023). "Scoop: Grid News' website to shutter". Axios. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Klein, Charlotte (March 28, 2023). "Inside the Very Tough Business of Trying to Disrupt Media". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Mullin, Benjamin (January 2, 2024). "The Messenger Plans Layoffs Amid Hunt for Cash". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  8. ↑ "The Messenger's board weighed shutting it down over cash shortfalls: sources". Semafor. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ Schwartz, Alex Sherman,Brian (January 10, 2024). "The Messenger is counting on a sudden and dramatic advertising turnaround to survive". CNBC. Retrieved January 10, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. 1 2 Mullin, Benjamin (May 20, 2023). "Tensions Flare Inside The Messenger, a Fledgling News Site". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ Ingrham, Matthew (May 18, 2023). "The Messenger is a news startup, but it feels like a blast from the past". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
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