Ozy, the American startup aiming to shake up the media, closes its doors amid scandal | Digital media

All the right boxes seemed to have been ticked when digital media company Ozy started. Launched in 2013 with the intention of shaking up online and audiovisual journalism, the American startup quickly gained notoriety and credit for its serious approach and diverse team.

But this weekend Ozy’s story is over, despite an early reputation that had benefited from ties to big names in broadcasting including Oprah Winfrey, former US BBC presenter Katty Kay and Jana Bennett, once among Britain’s most powerful women. television.

After embarrassing revelations last week about a false presentation to Goldman Sachs officials given by one of Ozy’s founders, the walls have collapsed. Kay, who left the BBC in June after 30 years of association to join Ozy, made the decision to resign. The organization officially closed its doors on Friday, leaving investors and contributors stunned by the size of the gap between Ozy’s projections of his own success and the audience numbers and the now-revealed realities.

The California-based company, founded by Harvard alumni and former Goldman Sachs employees Carlos Watson and Samir Rao, announced it had ceased operations, but gave no reasons. An emailed statement from Ozy’s board of directors sent on Friday called it a company with many “world-class journalists and seasoned professionals to whom we owe immense gratitude.” He said it was “with the heaviest of heart that we must announce today that we are closing the doors of Ozy.”

The move took place less than a week after the New York Times raised questions about his claims to have millions of viewers and readers, and examined his potential culpability in securities fraud. The shocking report prompted several departures outside of Kay’s and sparked an internal investigation after investors expressed concern.

On Thursday, Marc Lasry, the billionaire hedge fund who had been appointed president of Ozy last month, resigned, citing the need for someone more experienced in crisis management and investigations.

The from the New York Times The story claimed that Ozy’s COO Rao posed as a YouTube executive during a call with Goldman Sachs as he tried to raise funds.

Alex Piper, head of unscripted programming for YouTube Originals, was scheduled to participate in a Zoom call with the investment banking team, which was switched at the last minute to a conference call.

Then, according to the newspaper report, a voice claiming to be Piper’s voice continued to reassure bankers that Ozy was doing fine on YouTube. According to the report, days later, Watson apologized to Goldman Sachs, claiming that the voice actually belonged to his partner, Rao. Watson, who also presented a podcast with Kay titled When Katty Met Carlos for the BBC World Service, then attributed the bizarre incident to a mental health crisis.

“Samir is a valued colleague and close friend,” Watson said, adding, “I am proud that we stood by him as he struggled, and we are all happy to see him now thrive again.”

In a statement, then Ozy Chairman Lasry said his board had been made aware of the bogus call and supported the way he was treated. “The incident was an unfortunate one-time event, and Carlos and his team showed the kind of compassion we would all want if either of us faced a difficult situation in our own lives.”