Londoner's Diary: Papers crow as the buzz goes out of BuzzFeed

The claws are out for Buzzfeed
Nicholas Kamm
13 April 2016

Unquenchable glee across the print media this morning, which reports that much-loved website BuzzFeed — home of both searing news investigations, political gossip, and quizzes on which Harry Potter character you are — is having to lower its ambitions. According to The Guardian and the Financial Times, the site’s 2015 projections of revenues of $250 million were missed by a long way, coming in at only $170 million. However will they pay the leccy bill?

Enter Alan Rusbridger, who knows a thing or two about the tricky finances of media organisations. The former editor of The Guardian, and new principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, posted a screengrab of the FT’s news story on the figures last night, with his own comment: “Even BuzzFeed feeling chill winds.”

One could forgive Rusbridger for feeling less than sympathetic. A rivalry emerged between the two not only for internet hits but also staff. BuzzFeed carried out a raid on Kings Place and came away with some of their finest journalists, including Janine Gibson, now editor-in-chief of the UK division, Stuart Millar and James Ball.

Is it all a bit rich from Rusbridger? When he left The Guardian last year he said: “I think for a new editor to come in with a billion pounds in the bank is quite a nice position.” But the post-mortem has been less positive and The Guardian is having to make serious savings to steady the ship.

Suddenly BuzzFeed’s income disappointment doesn’t seem so bad, but Rusbridger isn’t the only one seemingly enjoying others’ difficult patches. This morning’s newsletter from the FT carried the line: “Cat videos aren’t what they used to be”. Surely the FT doesn’t feel a rivalry with BuzzFeed?

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British ex-pats in Canada might have done a double-take when flicking through their newspapers today as headlines announce that “Dave Cameron has been fired”.

No, the Canadians don’t have the inside track on our politics and the fallout from the Panama Papers. Dave Cameron is the now ex head coach of the Ottawa Senators ice hockey team, after a string of poor performances this season.

More turn to Churchill in taxing times

Yesterday William Hague said that Winston Churchill’s chaotic personal finances would have been “more difficult to defend in public”, criticising politicians’ rush to publish tax returns. But has the ex-Foreign Secretary been sharing bedtime reading with Prince Philip? A reader noticed the Duke of Edinburgh leaving a church service carrying a copy of David Lough’s book No More Champagne, which analyses the wartime PM’s finances.

It will be the perfect conversation piece next time the prince sees Dave, but something tells us the PM won’t be seen walking around with the book tucked under his arm.

It Boy Ed’s back in the spotlight

What does one do when the party you once led plunges into turmoil? Launch a career as an It Boy, of course. On Monday, after Ed Miliband appeared on ITV’s The Agenda, he and the ITV crew headed to Covent Garden’s Hospital Club, where he was accosted for selfies. Then last night Ed was at the premiere of new film Florence Foster Jenkins in Leicester Square, along with Jemima Goldsmith, and the film’s stars Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.

He then headed to the St Martins Lane for the afterparty. Good to see Ed out and about again. Will it be on to Boujis tonight?

Damian and Helen get monstered

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a literary great, so it took two acting greats to resurrect the monster this morning. Homeland star Damian Lewis and Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory, who are married, were at the historic John Murray publishing house in Mayfair this morning to read passages from the novel at The Frankenstein Breakfast.

Organised by the Keats-Shelley Association, the event was held to toast the winners of the organisation’s Romantic Poetry Prize, Will Kemp and Riona Miller. It also, however, provided the chance to celebrate the discovery of a rarity.

Sammy Jay, who works for rare-book dealer Peter Harrington, recalled that he had discovered a first edition of Frankenstein in the library of his grandfather, former Financial Secretary to the Treasury and original EU negotiations minister Douglas Jay. Inscribed to Byron himself, it’s thought to be one of the few personal items that survived when the tousle-haired poet died, and it sold at auction for £350,000.

The experience doesn’t encourage Homeland star Lewis to get the quill out though. “I’m interested in romantic poetry but I don’t dabble myself,” Lewis told us. “I’m dreadful.”

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Jacob Rees-Mogg was speaking to Hammersmith & Fulham Conservatives last night. Asked whether he didn’t think the then EEC helped end the Cold War, Rees-Mogg said Nato and President Reagan should take the credit, not Germany’s Chancellor Kohl, who was too busy indulging in cream buns. “I’ve got nothing against them,” he said. “I enjoy them myself, but...”

Burley's such a Valli Girl

To the Piccadilly Theatre for a gala performance of Jersey Boys last night. The show based on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons delighted the audience, especially Sky news anchor Kay Burley, who said: “I’ve seen this show 18 times — my mum used to sing Frankie Valli songs around the house so the music brings back really happy memories.” Eighteen times?

The Londoner also asked about the public fury after she complained on Twitter about Chiltern Firehouse asking her to leave her table and finish her £130 bottle of wine at the bar. Burley didn’t want to relive that trauma. “I can’t talk about negativity now.”

Also in the audience was presenter Su Pollard who was surprised to see people eating Chinese takeaways during the show. “I was shocked,” said Pollard. “People lack a basic respect for those around them.”

Distance of the day: 4.37 light years to Alpha Centauri, where cosmologist Stephen Hawking plans to send “a fleet of robot spacecraft no larger than iPhones.”

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