Another Prominent Left-Leaning News Site Bites the Dust

News outlet Splinter is going out of business, the site’s parent company announced on Thursday.

The left-leaning publication’s failure to bring in readers contributed to the decision to shutter the site, according to a memo to staff seen by The Daily Beast.

Paul Maidment, the editorial director of G/O Media, the company that owns and operates Splinter, said the young site had produced “outstanding journalism and great scoops.”

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But the outlet, which has been highly critical of President Donald Trump, wasn’t able to crack the code to capturing eyeballs in the saturated and highly competitive news business.

“Given that reality, the leadership team made the difficult decision to cease operation of Splinter and redistribute the headcount to the other sites to increase the impact the editorial department can have overall,” Maidment said in the staff memo.

While Maidment said there would be “no reduction of G/O Media’s editorial workforce as a result of this decision,” staffers have already reported losing their jobs.

We did something unique and wonderful at Splinter. We were funny and fearless and unashamedly left-wing and we had the right enemies and we told all the right people to fuck off and we did it all while under immense corporate pressure. It was a great website.

— Jack Mirkinson (@jackmirkinson) October 10, 2019

“We did something unique and wonderful at Splinter. We were funny and fearless and unashamedly left-wing and we had the right enemies and we told all the right people to f–k off and we did it all while under immense corporate pressure. It was a great website,” eulogized deputy editor Mirkinson in a tweet announcing his outlet’s demise.

Splinter was known for its unapologetically brash approach to covering Trump and conservatives.

Blaring headlines, such as “Trump Administration’s Newest Plan Is to Let School Kids Go Hungry,” let readers know the site held little regard for the appearance of objectivity.

G/O Media is a major player in the industry, which counts Jezebel, The Onion and Deadspin among its digital properties. Most if not all of G/O Media’s sites have a progressive point of view.

While many news sites have struggled since the burst of the digital media bubble, Splinter is the second major progressive outlet to shut down in as many months.

MORE: ThinkProgress Shuts Down

In September, ThinkProgress, a top progressive website operated by the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress, closed up shop after a 15 year run.

The Center for American Progress tried and failed to sell off ThinkProgress after years of operating in the red.

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