LONDON: Facebook has announced it is shutting down its Bulletin newsletter service as it seeks to shift resources to other projects.
Described by Facebook’s parent company Meta as “a project that is directly for journalists and individual writers,” the service aimed to offer new ways for writers and readers to connect.
“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,” the company said on Tuesday.
“While this off-platform product itself is ending, we remain committed to supporting these and other creators’ success and growth on our platform.”
Bulletin was launched in June 2021 as Meta’s response to Substack, a popular newsletter platform on which independent writers, podcasters and other creators can publish directly to their audiences and get paid for their work through subscriptions.
Bulletin was launched with a group of well-known users, including Canadian journalist Malcolm Gladwell, public health expert James Hamblin, and Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, in an attempt to build an audience for the platform.
Meta also signed a number of up-and-coming writers and pledged $5 million to support local news reporters, along with providing a host of publishing and subscription tools for creators.
Sources close to the decision said that Meta has contacted the 120 creators that are part of the program to tell them that Bulletin will close early next year. The company will honor all contracts in full, some of which are not due to end until 2024. Creators will also be allowed to keep their subscription revenue and take subscriber lists and content with them when Bulletin is wound down.
Speculation about the possible closure of Bulletin began to circulate early in the summer amid the company’s stalled growth and a fall in revenue.
Last month, some media sources reported that Facebook executives had told staff the company was reorganizing budgets and would be focusing its resources on creator economy projects.
