Jimmy Finkelstein (CSPAN screenshot)
Jimmy Finkelstein’s The Messenger, a supposedly new media platform, is getting mocked by just about everybody as it hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet. Finkelstein said he expected it to begin operations already in May, but as of now there is no website and a Google search for either the man or the company will bring you to a lot of news stories that are critical, and not in a good way.
The Messenger, a new news website is supposed to provide coverage of politics, business, entertainment and sports. But there was no explanation of how it would differ from everybody else out there doing the same thing. And it was supposed to have 175 journalists on staff by now, but apparently they have not materialized either, like the website itself.
A spokesman for The Messenger explained the situation telling The New York Post, “Like with any new media platform, it takes a period of time to index on Google, which will happen shortly.”
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And in March, the Post reported that quite a few people were mocking the new venture.
“I have no doubt in his sincerity in doing it,” one source said of Finkelstein. “Jimmy wants to matter. He’s a guy who wants to get the president on the phone.”
And also in March a company spokesman said, “The revenue will be a mix of direct advertising, programmatic and sponsorship revenue across multiple platforms. Given the wildly enthusiastic response from a number of partners, we have a high degree of confidence about reaching that number by the end of 2024.”
Jimmy Finkelstein’s The Messenger had raised $50 million and hired roughly 35 people, as of March. Its backers reportedly include Josh Harris, co-founder of the private-equity giant Apollo, James Tisch, chief executive of the financial conglomerate Loews, and Thomas Peterffy, founder and chairman of the trading platform Interactive Brokers.
Also in March, Jimmy Finkelstein told The New York Times, “I remember an era where you’d sit by the TV, when I was a kid with my family, and we’d all watch ‘60 Minutes’ together. Or we all couldn’t wait to get the next issue of Vanity Fair or whatever other magazine you were interested in. Those days are over, and the fact is, I want to help bring those days back.”
On bias in media Jimmy Finkelstein said, “I find that bias in the news is not so much what the people report, but what they don’t report. So it’s really a question of not commission, but omission.”
business reporter Scott Nover told The Wrap, “I would dunk on The Messenger but I googled the site’s name and cannot find it,” while another told the publication, “They have no idea what they are doing.”
Jimmy Finkelstein is best known for having been the owner of “The Hill,” a Washington D.C. based political newspaper popular with political insiders.
