BuzzFeed gets serious with hard news app

By Rebecca Chambers | 31 July 2014
 

Mainstream news media has almost universally adopted the right hand rail and listicle approach pioneered by BuzzFeed. But now the list-king is heading in the opposite direction.

BuzzFeed is getting serious, hiring Pulitzer Prize winners and a bunch of heavyweight journalists to deliver old-school news. Ex- Huffington Post investigative journalist Chris Hamby is unlikely to be knocking out “24 reasons Summer sucks for people with thick hair”.

Now the firm is working on a 'serious news' app to match its new direction.

BuzzFeed's listy and lightweight content will continue to be a key part of its strategy, but that will be delivered on its existing app, as well as online and mobile, where most of its traffic comes from.

Ben Smith, BuzzFeed’s editor in chief, said the company was looking for new writers who will work, around the clock calling the position “one of the most fun jobs in journalism,” AdAge reports. Smith also made it clear that BuzzFeed was well-equipped to publish credible journalism with “scores of aggressive reporters around the United States and the world.”

According to ComScore, BuzzFeed notched-up 53 million mobile visitors last month, with mobile traffic tripling year-on-year.

Smith indicated that the news-based app would take a native ad approach, although the app environment does provide more flexible ad options that currently exist on mobile.

As BuzzFeed starts to build traction with local brands, with CommBank, Vodafone and McDonald's among those paying it to produce and distribute native advertising, it will be interesting to see how the native format delivers in a more serious news environment.

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