In the ultimate days of doomed news website The Messenger, insiders painted a chaotic scene of checked-out-bosses and furious staffers — a few of whom had already “tapped out” because that they had no faith in CEO Jimmy Finkelstein.
The accounts from several of the roughly 300 journalists who were fired when the startup went belly-up Wednesday tell of the growing disconnect between highly-paid editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford and the beleaguered staff, based on insiders who spoke to The Post on Thursday.
With news swirling that Finkelstein was scrambling to shore up funds to be able to save the corporate — launched just last May with $50 million in funding — employees either “tapped out” by calling out sick because they believed their fate was already sealed or “worked harder” within the misguided hope that last-minute scoops could show potential investors that The Messenger was value saving.
“Top editors were assigning stories two days before the location shutdown,” said one staffer. “It wasn’t clear that leaders had any clue what was going to occur.”
Even Wakeford was said to be out of the loop about the upcoming implosion, writing on the corporate’s internal Slack messaging system that he wasn’t aware that the location was shutting down after the news first broke.
Employees painted a chaotic scene of the ultimate days of The Messenger, a start-up co-founded by Jimmy Finkelstein. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Other top editors also were kept at the hours of darkness, with one female supervisor chewing out staffers that had inquired concerning the company’s dismal-looking future.
With tensions high, the editor was offended that that they had the “gall” to ask her if she knew whether the location would close down.
“If you happen to’re in a high position, you make it your position to know what’s occurring,” said one offended reporter who felt the editor’s wrath.
Late Thursday, the laid-off staffers fired back, filing a class-action suit in Recent York that alleges the corporate violated the state’s Employee Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act by failing to present them 60-days notice ahead of the mass culling.
Finkelstein didn’t return calls for comment.
Editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford and other top editors at the corporate were surprised to learn concerning the closing of the web site. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Tempers remained high, with the fired journalists pointing to an absence of leadership and communication as The Messenger’s tragic flaw.
Lots of them pointed the finger at Wakeford, who was paid around $900,000, for being allegedly “MIA” from the corporate’s expansive, and expensive headquarters within the Financial District, especially when it got here to big editorial decisions.
“People didn’t know he was British,” said one surprised staffer, who said the primary time they heard Wakeford speak was during an emergency meeting held two-and-a-half weeks ago — as reports surfaced about The Messenger’s imminent demise.
By then, Wakeford had a fraught relationship with Finkelstein, who “restricted” him from holding meetings and sending out staff emails to spice up company culture and morale, a source near the situation said.
“There was no management. There was no leadership,” said a seasoned editor who had stints at major networks and news organizations prior to being lured to The Messenger. “I’ve never seen dysfunction quite like this.”
Finkelstein decided to shut down The Messenger on Wednesday after failing to secure funding. The Messenger
Wakeford — who was hired to run the location after previously helming celebrity glossies like “People” and “InTouch” — was out of his depth when it got here to coverage of breaking news, especially the war within the Middle East, sources claimed.
“The one time he would light up is when he talked about Taylor Swift. What was he doing leading a news operation?” the insider said.
One other staffer added that the editor was “silent” on how one can cover big news stories just like the Israel-Hamas war, only periodically chiming in with: “Did we get this celebrity break up?”
Wakeford pushed back on claims he rarely showed up on the office at 195 Broadway and denied he was raking in nearly $1 million.
Richard Beckman, Finkelstein’s number two, recently left the corporate,
after telling employees the corporate was running out of cash. Theo Wargo
“I used to be within the Recent York office greater than any executive in the corporate,” Wakeford told The Post on Thursday. “I worked to the bone to attempt to make the brand a hit.”
In the previous few days, Finkelstein had been attempting to lock down a funding deal, telling The Post on Tuesday that staff would learn of their fate in the following 48 hours.
He even held talks with Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong — who last week fired 1 / 4 of his staff — about buying The Messenger however the offer had fallen through, based on The Hollywood Reporter.
Earlier this month, a gaggle of conservative media and business executives led by Omeed Malik, a financier who backed Tucker Carlson’s latest media enterprise, met with Finkelstein in Mar-a-Lago and had reportedly proposed $30 million for a 51% stake within the news site, putting its valuation at $60 million.
Finkelstein tried to reassure employees that he would find the cash to maintain the location afloat during a gathering — before berating them that leaks about The Messenger’s financial “were making it harder to do his job,” a staffer said.
The source said Finkelstein “rambled” about his meetings in Mar-a-Lago with high-powered investors and expanding the Messenger team.
Employees griped that the mandate at the corporate was writing clickbait stories to be able to pump up traffic for ad revenue. The Messenger
“It was wild,” the source said. “It made things worse. That’s after we realized we were all f–ked.”
That realization only grew worse after the sudden shutdown as they learned they might get no severance and would immediately lose their health advantages.
The one thing they received was a FedEx account number to return their company-issued MacBooks to the Recent York office.
“I’ve got news for you, no one is sending their laptops back, I can promise you that,” a staffer said.
Wakeford, like others on the outlet, were lured by the lofty guarantees of Finkelstein and his lieutenant Richard Beckman, who crowed to The Recent York Times before launch that The Messenger would herald 100 million readers and $100 million in revenue in 2024.
The duo told The Times they envisioned a 500-person newsroom that may produce hard-hitting stories found on “60 Minutes” and punchy profiles and buzzy investigations present in Vanity Fair.
The truth hit the boys hard when they may only drum up a fraction of that traffic — bringing in only 12.5 million unique viewers in November and $3 million in revenue with its 300-person staff.
Finkelstein required staffers to return their work laptops after laying Getty Images
“Many days our top stories were about gang rape or aliens,” said a staffer. “There have been no editorial standards. The motto was — whether or not they said it aloud or not was — traffic at any cost.”
Contained in the company, top brass pointed to Beckman — who sources said was making $1.5 million — as being instrumental in the corporate’s demise because he relied on a dated media playbook.
Beckman didn’t return requests looking for comment.
Beckman, an exec known for aggressively drumming up promoting revenue at magazine giant Conde Nast, sounded the alarm bells to employees that the location was running out of cash in November.
CNBC reported that the corporate spent roughly $39 million on hiring and that it ended 2023 with a net lack of $43 million and laid off two-dozen employees to stem costs in early January.
Still as the tip neared, Finkelstein shot down reports that he was considering shutting down over money shortfalls.
Beckman, meanwhile, stepped down in October, with sources telling The Post he did “not see eye to eye” with Finkelstein on the direction of the business.
Sources near the situation said the 2 men, who had been partners in various media ventures, including at now-defunct Prometheus Global Media and Finkelstein’s publication The Hill, which he sold in 2021, are not any longer speaking.