Economy & Business

Buzzfeed to take over online news site HuffPost

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2020/11/20 21:40

Today's Vocabulary

1. take over (phr.v)
to begin to have control of something

2. shareholder (n) 
a person who owns shares in a company and therefore gets part of the company’s profits and the right to vote on how the company is controlled

3. revenue (n) 
the income that a government or company receives regularly

4. prominence (n)
the state of being easily seen or well known

5. slashed (v)
to cut with a sharp blade using a quick, strong movement

6. shed (v)
to get rid of something

7. drew (v)
to attract attention or interest

Buzzfeed to take over online news site HuffPost

Online news and lifestyle site Buzzfeed is taking over HuffPost in a deal that brings together two of the most high-profile digital media firms.

Seller Verizon Media will become a minority shareholder in Buzzfeed as part of the deal and invest in the combined company.

The two firms will also join up for advertising and sharing content, a partnership they said would “create new revenue opportunities”. 

Buzzfeed chief executive Jonah Peretti will lead the combined business. He co-founded HuffPost, formerly known as the Huffington Post, in 2005 with publisher Arianna Huffington and started Buzzfeed a year later.

HuffPost rose to prominence during the George W Bush presidency as a site for liberal bloggers, many of whom contributed for free. 

Buzzfeed made its name creating content like listicles and quizzes, which drew young audiences. It also brought on reporters for its news site.

But digital media firms have struggled to draw online advertising dollars away from tech giants such as Facebook and Google. In recent years, Buzzfeed and HuffPost have both shed staff. In May, Buzzfeed closed its newsrooms in the UK and Australia and slashed staff pay.

Mr. Peretti said the new deal would increase Buzzfeed’s heft, by adding HuffPost readers to its audience and allowing it to tap into Verizon’s ad network.

Resource:https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55009742

Discussion
  1. What can go wrong when two companies merge?
  2. In general, is it a good thing when large companies acquire smaller ones?
  3. If you had built up a successful company over 30 years and your main rival offered you twice its value, would you sell it to them?
  4. Why do companies sometimes choose to merge? What are the advantages of doing so?

Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks; he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other.

Pietro Metastasio

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