Coronavirus infects publishing: Buzzfeed set to close news operations in the UK and Australia

Businesses across the world are facing the harsh impacts of COVID-19. Thirty-nine per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises have already closed temporarily or plan to do so within the next month.

The latest victim to COVID-19 is news and entertainment company Buzzfeed. Providing a platform for breaking and other interesting news from a range of voices, Buzzfeed has made the decision to close its news operations in the UK and Australia.

Setting up its London office in 2013, the American company said the decision to close these overseas operations was “both for economic and strategic reasons”.

While some staff have kept their positions to cover social news, the celebrity latest and other investigations, it is thought about 10 jobs are affected.

Image credit: PressGazette

Highlighting some of UK Buzzfeed’s greatest work, a two-year investigation by the UK team uncovered explosive evidence pointing to Russia over the mysterious deaths of 14 individuals. Buzzfeed’s work exposed evidence that the police overlooked. This investigation led to Buzzfeed’s nomination for the esteemed Pulitzer Prize in 2017.

The closure of Buzzfeed operations highlights the serious financial impacts COVID-19 has had on even the most high-profile institutions. Unfortunately for journalism, the coronavirus outbreak comes as a blow in ways other than just financially.

Unable to easily adapt to the changing dynamics of everyday life and with some lockdown measures still in place, journalists have to work with constrained movements and limited access to events, officials, politicians and information.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit journalism globally.