[HN Gopher] Ozy Media Says It Is Shutting Down
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Ozy Media Says It Is Shutting Down
Author : atombender
Score : 37 points
Date : 2021-10-01 21:22 UTC (1 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.nytimes.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.nytimes.com)
| paulpauper wrote:
| I wonder what the impersonation audio sounded like. was it
| robotic or obvious like Stephen Hawking's voice or something
|
| anyway, we're talking 1/100 the size of theranos, so could be
| worse
| Mizza wrote:
| I've got to say I've enjoyed watching this whole thing implode.
| They set out to be the "Uber of media", but ended up being the
| Theranos.
|
| I really hope we're starting to see the end of the "fake it till
| you make it" era.
| dannykwells wrote:
| Well that escalated quickly.
| dredmorbius wrote:
| For those like me who'd never heard of Ozy until this past week
| (I thought the first stories were a misspelled reference to the
| aging rock star, also know for going off the rails), Wikipedia as
| usual has a decent overview. It apparently launched in 2013:
|
| _Ozy was launched as a digital magazine and daily newsletter in
| September 2013. The company raised a $5.3 million seed round of
| funding in December 2013 backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, founder
| of Emerson Collective. Additional early investors include Louise
| Rogers and Ron Conway._
|
| _In October 2014, Ozy announced that German media giant Axel
| Springer had invested $20 million in the company. In January
| 2017, Ozy announced a $10 million Series B round of fundraising,
| led by Michael Moe 's GSV Capital. In November 2019 Ozy announced
| a Series C round of $35 million, led by businessman Marc Lasry._
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OZY_(media_company)
|
| I'll note that it didn't even rate mention on HN until the past
| week as well.
| Mizza wrote:
| I've only been aware of it since the RS article where the
| writer went to OzyFest on acid with the Chapo bros:
| https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/a-neol...
|
| Nightmare fuel.
| CameronBanga wrote:
| https://archive.is/TpcXg
| Apocryphon wrote:
| Nothing beside remains.
| dredmorbius wrote:
| Bysshe!
| minimaxir wrote:
| To get a sense of impact the original NYT reporting did, the
| first article revealing Ozy's shenanigans was posted on Sunday.
| (HN discussion then:
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28666350 )
|
| It took _5 days_ from publishing to a complete company shutdown.
| janmo wrote:
| Every day brought its toll of new revelations. And I guess it
| far from over.
|
| "18-hour days and panic attacks: Former Ozy staffers allege an
| abusive environment" -
| https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/ozy-work-culture/in...
|
| "How troubled media firm Ozy was 'saved' from Fyre Festival-
| style exposure in 2019 after heat wave canceled Central Park
| event" - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10043157/Ozy-
| saved-...
| [deleted]
| larsiusprime wrote:
| I wonder if the company was internally on the brink of collapse
| for a long time, but could perpetually keep faking it as long
| as they could keep funding coming in? And then the NYTimes
| popped the veneer and forced an immediate collapse? Or is that
| totally off base.
| ilamont wrote:
| It sounds like the COO may be charged with fraud. The "mental
| health" claim will not shield him. Or, the feds will try to flip
| him.
|
| Beware of charismatic CEOs spinning big tales.
| dredmorbius wrote:
| "Going off the rails on a crazy train" would also be infringing
| on an earlier similarly-named media franchise. Tots derivative.
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(page generated 2021-10-01 23:01 UTC)