Billionaire and TD Ameritrade founder Bill Ricketts pulled the plug on local news blogs DNAinfo and Gothamist late Thursday, a week after the New York-based newsrooms voted to unionize. “DNAinfo is, at the end of the day, a business, and businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure,” Ricketts said in a statement posted on the sites. Ricketts founded DNAinfo in 2009, but the progress made at the digital-news company “hasn’t been sufficient to support” itself financially, he said. DNAinfo bought Gothamist in March. DNAinfo cited the recent union vote in a statement, according to the New York Times: “The decision by the editorial team to unionize is simply another competitive obstacle making it harder for the business to be financially successful.” The sites attracted more than 9 million visitors a month, and included Gothamist operations in Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles. About 155 employees were laid off.
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From:: Stock Market News