Dominic Ponsford of Press Gazette takes a look at the changes at Business Insider in the last few years, culminating in the laying off of 21% of its staff last week.
Ponsford writes, “Two former staffers told Press Gazette there has been a change of atmosphere at the title since the departure of CEO Henry Blodget in 2023,and long-serving editor in chief Nicholas Carlson in mid 2024 and many other long-serving executives. The company has become less chaotic but also more ponderous, according to one well-placed source.
“There has been a definite shift of editorial tone since Jamie Heller joined as editor in chief September 2024 after 20 years at the Wall Street Journal (an upmarket mainly subscription-focused newsbrand).
“One former insider said the newsroom went from being entirely traffic-focused towards having an emphasis on delivering scoops, and quality journalism that is respected (with traffic less spoken about by editorial leadership).
“One former staffer said they were banned from publishing sensational headlines with emphatic adjectives in them (after staff had previously been trained how to do just that).
“They said there has been far more emphasis on straight reporting, more akin to a Wall Street Journal way of working than the old Business Insider way.”
Read more here.
