BuzzFeed to hire three editorial staff down under
US-based viral content site BuzzFeed is preparing to launch an Australian office later this year with senior editorial staff to visit Australia ahead of the launch, Encore can reveal.
The move, by the self professed “technology platform for viral content”, follows the recent Australian launch of both US political fact checking website Politifact Australia and this week’s launch of digital Australian edition The Guardian.
In an exclusive interview with Encore, Scott Lamb, editorial director of BuzzFeed, said the team would initially consist of up to three editorial staff focused on catering to an Australian audience.
“We think BuzzFeed’s sensibility matches Australian culture really well, and from our earliest days we’ve had a sizable Australian readership,” said Lamb. “A number of our earliest community members were Australian and it’s also one of our largest readerships outside the United States.”
The Guardian has spotted the hole in the Australian media landscape for Progressive commentary. Huffington Post are (were?) also rumoured to be contemplating starting up here. Now, Buzzfeed. It was only a matter of time before the balance began to shift against the right-wing News Ltd/ABC weighting.
Whatever the BuzzFeed jobs are called, they won’t be ‘journalists’. Copy-repurpose-paste artists, perhaps…
@Doug; the ABC – Right wing? You’d be in a pretty small minority who share that view.
I think Lamb is spot on. There are a few social-focused publishers in Australia, but they aren’t really focused ‘on’ Australia… if that makes sense.
It will be interesting to see if BF can replicate its success for the Aussie market… and I wonder if HuffPo’s decision to delay setting up here influenced their move?
I can’t wait till we can get an Australian take on “Ten Llamas that wish they were supermodels”, or the other insightful GIF-laden stories Buzzfeed spews out daily.