Digital-news startup the Messenger is shutting down less than a year after it launched, the Wall Street Journal reported. Founder and Chief Executive Jimmy Finkelstein delivered the message Wednesday to the company in an internal memo. “I am personally devastated to share that we have made the painfully hard decision to shut down The Messenger, effective immediately,” Finkelstein said in the memo to staffers. The venture launched in May 2023 with $50 million in funding and 175 reporters. A representative for the publisher at the time said its ambition was to have 500 journalists by the end of 2024. On Wednesday evening, the website appeared to stop displaying articles, and the home page only showed the company’s name and general email address.
