PHILADELPHIA — Three sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they feared professional repercussions, have told Gawker that ABC News is not allowing Fusion staffers attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week to eat the free snacks in the ABC News tent.
According to multiple reports, Walt Disney Co. wants to sell its stake in Fusion, its joint venture with Univision. Fusion originally sought an audience of English-speaking Hispanics before pivoting to “Millennials.” The network, however, has struggled to keep pace with other ambitious editorial startups like BuzzFeed, Vice, and Vox Media.
It's like the story of rise and fall of American hubris itself: once upon a time, in the heady days of 2005, Procter & Gamble decided that consumers would not be satisfied with a mere four-blade razor. So they launched Fusion, which boasted five blades and an embedded mini-vibrator, so that American men could enjoy the closest shave in the free world and then pleasure their wives, secure in the knowledge that Osama bin Laden is a hairy bastard shivering in a cave with no sex toys or women, so there. But our shaving pride came before the fall! Now that the US economy has collapsed, all these terribly expensive five-bladed razors are, like Hummers and Steve Schwarzman's birthday party, sad symbols of a nation gone astray. But they still need to sell all these god damn $25 packs of Fusion razors! [WSJ]
