"... I suspect the real problem is that from 2023, not quite a decade removed from the golden age of viral traffic for digital publishers, the 'race to go viral' seems pathetic — at best, a brief, wacky interregnum between periods of sustained dominance by big national news publishers, at worst a pointless waste of journalistic creativity and resources spent pursuing a doomed business strategy."
Review | Why BuzzFeed joined Gawker in the internet news graveyard
Ben Smith's "Traffic," about the early battle for supremacy between BuzzFeed and Gawker, sheds fresh light on the fate of digital news companies.
washingtonpost.com