JOURNAL OF ‘WRECK’
‘Delusional’ media venture looking like bad news
The Messenger — a yetto-be-launched news site from media mogul Jimmy Finkelstein — risks becoming a money pit helmed by old-school executives with “delusional” ambitions in an increasingly cutthroat business, according to industry insiders.
Finkelstein, a former part owner of The Hollywood Reporter and The Hill who has amassed $50 million to fund the venture, told The New York Times he will launch the site in May with at least 175 journalists located across New York, Los Angeles and Washington.
The 74-year-old investor said the site, which he hopes will appeal to a wide swath of Americans like “60 Minutes” and “Vanity Fair” did in past decades, will eventually employ around 550 journalists — about as many as the Los Angeles Times.
“Whenever a new website references an old magazine and TV show, you know they are not looking toward tomorrow,” deadpanned a media critic.
‘Wishful thinking’
One media exec took a softer approach, calling Finkelstein’s project “interesting” and a “positive” for the industry that, if successful, could create new jobs and enliven competition.
“I have no doubt in his sincerity in doing it,” the source said. “Jimmy wants to matter. He’s a guy who wants to get the president on the phone.”
Finkelstein’s No. 2 executive, Richard Beckman, a Condé Nast veteran who later was president of The Hill, has claimed The Messenger will generate more than $100 million in revenue next year as it lures 100 million monthly readers.
“The revenue will be a mix of direct advertising, programmatic and sponsorship revenue across multiple platforms,” a company spokesperson said. “Given the wildly enthusiastic response from a number of partners, we have a high degree of confidence about reaching that number by the end of 2024.”
The optimistic traffic target would make the site one of the most read digital outlets in the US, beating out the likes of Condé Nast, Vox Media and the New York Post’s digital network, each of which logged around 83 million visitors last month, according to Comscore.
The goal is “delusional,” one longtime media exec who is close to Finkelstein and Beckman told The Post.
“It’s wishful thinking,” the exec said. “They are a few ghosts from the past. If they were a public company, I wouldn’t invest in them.”
A source who has worked with Beckman — nicknamed “Mad Dog” for his hard-charging business style — said that the North London native brings an aggressive and clever “soccer hooligan’s approach to selling” that some say would “not fly today.”
Beckman is perhaps best known for a horrific “joke” gone wrong when he tried to make two Vogue coworkers, an advertising director and fashion director, kiss after a meeting in 1999.
Beckman ended up banging their heads together — and breaking one of their noses, for which Condé Nast paid a seven-figure settlement. Beckman was forced to apologize and attend counseling.
“If they all emerge from this with just a broken nose, they will be lucky,” one insider quipped.
Beckman has made “piein-the-sky” projections of $100 million-plus annual growth at other small media properties, the source said, adding that the he usually sells his vision with cheesy “sizzle reels” that “cost a fortune.” He pitched The Messenger with a video featuring the Dire Straits’ ’80s hit “Money for Nothing,” The Times reported.
“Richard has had a highly successful career and his reputation in the industry has been earned by delivering billions of dollars of revenue,” Finkelstein said in a statement to The Post.
“He achieved tremendous success at Condé Nast and was equally successful when he worked with me at Prometheus and The Hill, and that’s why he’s now here at The Messenger.”
Finkelstein also has tapped digital traffic guru Neetzan Zimmerman, who worked at Gawker Media and The Hill. In between those gigs, he helmed the Whisper social media app, where he became the target of a series of stories by The Guardian, which alleged the app improperly tracked its users’ locations.
Zimmerman called the reporting lies, and the outlet printed clarifications. But Zimmerman was suspended and left the company. An internal Whisper investigation found no wrongdoing.
Hiring troubles
Insiders said The Messenger — which aims to cover topics ranging from news and politics to entertainment and sports through an unbiased lens — is having trouble attracting talent.
Among those who have passed on offers are Janice Min, whom Finklestein hired to revamp The Hollywood Reporter in 2009, former Hearst editor Joanna Cole and ex-Daily Beast top editor John Avlon, sources told The Post.
Finkelstein settled on Dan Wakeford, who was editorin-chief of People before exiting last year amid a restructuring, as The Messenger’s top editor. Other hires include Marty Kady, a longtime senior editor at Politico, and Mary Margaret, formerly the editor of Entertainment Weekly.
While he has been dangling generous, six-figure salaries, candidates say Finkelstein’s plans appear “vague” on how the outfit will be structured and even where reporters will work.
A handful of current employees are operating out of a WeWork in Midtown, while Finkelstein runs the business from his home in West Palm Beach, Fla. The company is expected to move into an office in downtown Manhattan before its launch, sources said.