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Meta will be shutting down Bulletin, its newsletter subscription service, by early next year, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
Launched in January 2021, Bulletin was Meta’s response to Substack, which at the time was attracting journalists and writers to its subscription newsletter platform in droves but recently laid off staff in an effort to conserve cash. Bulletin provided writers with an independent website, as well as the possibility of distribution on Facebook News and other publishing and analytic tools. The company also sought to lure writers by initially not taking a cut of their subscription revenue and giving them full ownership of their subscriber lists and work published on the platform.
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“Bulletin has allowed us to learn about the relationship between creators and their audiences and how to better support them in building their community on Facebook. While this off-platform product itself is ending, we remain committed to supporting these and other creators’ success and growth on our platform,” a Meta spokesperson said Tuesday.
There are currently more than 120 writers on Bulletin. The first group of writers on Bulletin included celebrities such as Malcolm Gladwell, Mitch Albom, Tan France, political journalist Jessica Yellin and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. The company later expanded the roster to include 25 local news writers, paid out of a $5 million commitment the company made to independent and local journalism.
Meta is paying out all contracts. Writers will keep their subscription revenue and can take the subscriber lists and content with them after Bulletin has folded.
In ending Bulletin, Meta plans to shift more of its content to Facebook directly, in order to make it more of a discovery platform. In June, the company also shuttered its podcast business and integrated its live audio offering — a competitor to Clubhouse — into its Facebook Live service.
The New York Times first reported the news about Bulletin.
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