However, I found the following passage a little loose...
"But recently, that story hasn’t been so rosy. In November, Morning Brew announced it was laying off 15% of its staff, with “fear and uncertainty” in the economy cited as the main culprit. Then last week, it laid off 40 more people, again citing a “volatile advertising market.” While I don’t have any insider knowledge of the company’s finances, it seems clear that the growth engine that allowed Morning Brew to grow its business so quickly is now showing some signs of strain."
One...
The linked source doesn't show MB citing the economy as the main culprit.
Rather:
"The economy is evolving, and unfortunately, there is a lot of fear and uncertainty among companies around the world–including from many of our current advertisers."
The "fear and uncertainty" is from those companies, not the economy.
Two...
"While I don’t have any insider knowledge of the company’s finances...", which was then followed up by a conclusion ("it seems clear") without having any insider knowledge (?).
I do think there's reason to be concerned about Morning Brew, but a couple of hopeful caveats: 1. The 1st round seemed centered on speculative B2C plays, not the core business -- and the parent company seemingly made everyone suffer layoffs then. Not so sure about this 2nd round. 2. Morning Brew is transparent about its layoffs, unlike at least one other email-focused player in recent months. Maybe that's bad news for everyone, but they aren't on an island.
You forgot to mention the OG of all professional news aggregators, biztoc.com by Mark Cuban — Been around for like two decades in one way or another. Certainly launched before Buzzfeed.
what it all boils down to is this: the attention economy is constantly changing and regardless of what type of media business you run, you need to adapt or you die, or at least have a harder time winning. smaller entities tend to be faster in changing their course, but when they grow big like buzzfeed or morning brew and then the environment changes (or the novelty aspect fades), it is painful to move into a different direction.
I unsubscribed to Morning Brew, and its related newsletters, quite a while ago. There is only so much bullet-point "writing" that I can take. And if I never again see the bolded phrase "Zoom out:", I will be measurably happier.
Aggregator sites are stale. There are too many other options, and consumers of media have much greater capability to find and curate their own reading and listening (or they're too busy doing other things). A general aggregator site, by definition, doesn't cater to the individual.
Many high profile companies are slashing jobs. Some of this stems from excessive hiring during the pandemic. Or it's just good governance. Job cuts at mature companies doesn't always mean they're in trouble.
Personally found the Morning Brew to be a waste of my time as it focused on things that had already happened (and which I was aware of as I had seen the alerts on my phone). Indeed, this was part of what motivated me to start the Daily Contrarian. I wanted something forward looking that focused on data releases, earnings, and other things that were likely to move markets that day
Lots of incorrect speculation in this article
This was a good thought-piece.
However, I found the following passage a little loose...
"But recently, that story hasn’t been so rosy. In November, Morning Brew announced it was laying off 15% of its staff, with “fear and uncertainty” in the economy cited as the main culprit. Then last week, it laid off 40 more people, again citing a “volatile advertising market.” While I don’t have any insider knowledge of the company’s finances, it seems clear that the growth engine that allowed Morning Brew to grow its business so quickly is now showing some signs of strain."
One...
The linked source doesn't show MB citing the economy as the main culprit.
Rather:
"The economy is evolving, and unfortunately, there is a lot of fear and uncertainty among companies around the world–including from many of our current advertisers."
The "fear and uncertainty" is from those companies, not the economy.
Two...
"While I don’t have any insider knowledge of the company’s finances...", which was then followed up by a conclusion ("it seems clear") without having any insider knowledge (?).
Just felt comparatively sloppy.
Keep the articles (and office hours!) coming.
I do think there's reason to be concerned about Morning Brew, but a couple of hopeful caveats: 1. The 1st round seemed centered on speculative B2C plays, not the core business -- and the parent company seemingly made everyone suffer layoffs then. Not so sure about this 2nd round. 2. Morning Brew is transparent about its layoffs, unlike at least one other email-focused player in recent months. Maybe that's bad news for everyone, but they aren't on an island.
You forgot to mention the OG of all professional news aggregators, biztoc.com by Mark Cuban — Been around for like two decades in one way or another. Certainly launched before Buzzfeed.
Hint: your "advertise-in-this-newsletter" link isn't working.
what it all boils down to is this: the attention economy is constantly changing and regardless of what type of media business you run, you need to adapt or you die, or at least have a harder time winning. smaller entities tend to be faster in changing their course, but when they grow big like buzzfeed or morning brew and then the environment changes (or the novelty aspect fades), it is painful to move into a different direction.
I unsubscribed to Morning Brew, and its related newsletters, quite a while ago. There is only so much bullet-point "writing" that I can take. And if I never again see the bolded phrase "Zoom out:", I will be measurably happier.
important to note the sophistication of mamamia when touting its reach (also 7 million when there are only 30 mn in oz? idk man): https://www.mamamia.com.au/amy-schumer-interview/
Aggregator sites are stale. There are too many other options, and consumers of media have much greater capability to find and curate their own reading and listening (or they're too busy doing other things). A general aggregator site, by definition, doesn't cater to the individual.
Many high profile companies are slashing jobs. Some of this stems from excessive hiring during the pandemic. Or it's just good governance. Job cuts at mature companies doesn't always mean they're in trouble.
Where will aggregator sites be in 5 or 10 years?
Personally found the Morning Brew to be a waste of my time as it focused on things that had already happened (and which I was aware of as I had seen the alerts on my phone). Indeed, this was part of what motivated me to start the Daily Contrarian. I wanted something forward looking that focused on data releases, earnings, and other things that were likely to move markets that day
Excellent insights! Keep mixing those metaphors!!
Any thoughts on how this applies to niches competing with trade publications? Asking for a friend...
Terrific article today, Simon!