Medium cuts 50 jobs, calls ad-driven media a "broken-system"

Medium, the San Francisco-based online publishing company created by one of the co-founders of Twitter, will be laying off 50 employees from sales, support, and other business functions, CEO Ev Williams announced on Wednesday in a notice to readers.As part of the layoffs, , the company will also close offices in New York and Washington, DC.In the notice, Williams blamed the concept of “ad-driven media on the Internet” as the root of the company’s shortcomings:Upon further reflection, it’s clear that the broken system is ad-driven media on the internet."It simply doesn’t serve people. In fact, it’s not designed to. The vast majority of articles, videos, and other “content” we all consume on a daily basis is paid for — directly or indirectly — by corporations who are funding it in order to advance their goals. And it is measured, amplified, and rewarded based on its ability to do that. Period. As a result, we get…well, what we get. And it’s getting worse," he wrote.Williams said the company would be changing its business model, though details were left unexplained. "It is too soon to say exactly what this will look like. This strategy is more focused but also less proven," said Williams.