CNN throws in the towel on Casey Neistat and Beme

Almost two years ago, CNN made a blockbuster move to bring in one of YouTube's biggest stars with the dream of making a next-generation news outlet for young people.

On Thursday, CNN announced that it's throwing in the towel on that effort. The company is parting ways with Casey Neistat and folding Beme, the digital operation he had been running with his co-founder, Matt Hackett. 

CNN, like most TV-based media companies, has been feverishly working to develop its digital side. Its Great Big Story video venture has found some success with social-friendly content. 

Beme, however, never materialized. The closure, first reported to BuzzFeed News, highlights just how optimistic many old media companies became about digital news and video efforts directed at young internet users, only to see a variety of experiments fail.  Read more...