Disney erased FiveThirtyEight
a day ago
- #Data Journalism
- #Media Business
- #Digital Preservation
- Disney has erased the FiveThirtyEight archive after a decade of mismanagement.
- Around 200,000 person-hours of work over 10 years were deleted when ABC News removed the site.
- The author reflects on missed opportunities, including Disney's refusal to implement a paywall that could have made the site profitable.
- FiveThirtyEight's journey included periods under the New York Times and ESPN/ABC, with existential uncertainty under Disney.
- Disney's neglect led to the site's eventual shutdown in 2025, despite its popularity and traffic.
- The author has moved on to Silver Bulletin, recreating models and content with a subscription-based model.
- Efforts to acquire the remaining IP from Disney were rebuffed, leaving the archive largely lost.