Home » James Pumphrey Is Out At Donut Media As Private Equity Continues To Scare Off Talent

James Pumphrey Is Out At Donut Media As Private Equity Continues To Scare Off Talent

Donut Pumphrey Out
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I have to give immense credit to YouTube influencer/video host James Pumphrey for the way he’s played his departure from Donut Media. Not since the disappearance of the Lindbergh baby have so many random people been invested in the whereabouts of, let’s face it, a minor celebrity. He’s gone and, with it, Donut Media becomes something else.

‘Minor celebrity’ isn’t a knock here. Becoming famous for doing things on YouTube was only just starting to become a thing when Pumphrey started his “Up to Speed” series for Donut Media. The channel had already existed for a couple of years and had found minor success, but the roman candle enthusiasm of Pumphrey and his internet-pitch-perfect delivery made Donut Media what it is.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

And now, after almost a decade, Pumphrey is gone and starting his own channel.

“Donut has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I’m very proud of what the team and I were able to do over the last nine years, grateful for all of the opportunities I was given and thankful for the people I’ve been able to work with,” said Pumphrey. “I’m excited to see what my friends do with the brand I love and look forward to what they have in store. I’ve been working on a new project with Donut’s former CCO Jesse Wood and I’m stoked to share that with the world.”

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Pumphrey is the latest in a long series of hosts who have quit their channels shortly after those channels were sold. As I wrote earlier:

While some of the individual situations between CarThrottle, Hoongian, and Donut Media are a little different, they all follow a pattern that Tiernan describes quite succinctly:

  • Passionate creatives build company, experience huge growth in YouTube/Insta expansion era.
  • Original owners sell for reasons, new money comes in.
  • Company gets resold or restructured, cuts costs, squeezes creative, and loses sight of what makes content good in the first place.
  • Lacking any true “moat” people leave to start something new.

That is likely what happened here, but I have to credit Donut Media’s new-ish parent company Recurrent with at least recognizing that just letting stars leave and pretending like it didn’t happen until those stars make their own videos is a terrible strategy.

Instead, I got an email yesterday from a PR firm representing Donut Media/Recurrent with an embargo offer: Don’t write about this until their big press push and we’ll give you quotes.

Curious, I agreed, and I got the quote above from Pumphrey and another quote from new Editor-in-Chief Nolan Sykes, who will be familiar to anyone who follows the channel closely.

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“I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve been working on. We’re going deep into drag racing, we shot a video in a single take which I’m super proud of, and we have a new build coming that I’ve never seen anyone do on Youtube,” said Sykes in the statement. “We’ve been pretty busy. I want to thank James for the years of mentorship and for all the laughs; we had a great, great time. I wish him and his new channel well. I intend to hold to the tenets that got Donut where it is today; and to continue celebrating car culture and the people that make it happen.”

There’s also a planned AMA over on the Donut Media subreddit later today, where most of the posts seem to be pining for the days of yore.

I don’t know if this is quite a win-win for everyone, but Donut Media at least gets to try and maintain some goodwill from its audience and, at the same time, Pumphrey gets a boost for his new channel, which was formed Jesse Wood and, I’m assuming, some other ex-Donut talent.

The new venture is called Speeed and is, so far as I can tell, a YouTube channel. If you want to understand the allure of Pumphrey, his channel with no content already has more YouTube subs than our channel.

As I’ve said before, I think this is more proof that the private equity era of media, as with other things, hasn’t been super successful. The biggest reasons seem to be that the people who buy these properties don’t genuinely care about the content/subject and undervalue the talent.

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When “Up to Speed” started taking off I remember a lot of the 1st gen YouTube video creators getting upset, mostly because the content was mostly footage ‘borrowed’ from other people without any sort of permission. Before Instagram and TikTok made remixing videos more popular, a lot of professionals looked down their noses at Donut Media for this.

In doing so, I think a lot of these people missed what the future of Internet content was going to be. Donut Media may have stretched the concept of “fair use” a bit, but the mix of found footage and strong talent like Pumphrey was a sign of what was to come.

Donut Media pivoted more towards original content and pumped out some of the most popular car videos on web. It’s quite possible that Donut Media could do that again and find more talent, though the company now finds itself in the position that existing channels found themselves in a decade ago.

Can Donut Media, now the established player, outperform the nimble upstart? Can it do this now that the nimble upstart is someone they made a star? The internet isn’t zero-sum and both can exist simultaneously. Whether or not Donut will continue to flourish without the same talent is an open question.

Update: James has published his farewell video:

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Vanillasludge
Vanillasludge
3 months ago

Private equity turns interesting things to shit.

Why?

For the simple reason that people who’s only life interest is money are boring mother fuckers.

Chad K
Chad K
3 months ago

I just want to know where Nolan is going.

The World of Vee
The World of Vee
3 months ago
Reply to  Chad K

Nowhere, he was just named EIC of Donut

ReverendDC
ReverendDC
3 months ago

We need a wagon YouTube channel. All wagons all the time. There, venture capitalists, I’ll take my $500 million now.

Angry Bob
Angry Bob
3 months ago

Here’s a video from Doug DeMuro about why this keeps happening, and why it’s likely a good thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQX11KLYvZU

Along with Martin, Dutch Gunderson, Lana and Sally Decker
Along with Martin, Dutch Gunderson, Lana and Sally Decker
3 months ago

Having worked at a company that dealt with the PE cycle Donut is dealing with, and now working a company that would love to get some VC/PE investment, I can tell you that one some level these guys lucked out getting in when they did, even if it did eventually lead to them leaving, because the whole VC/PE environment has changed.

Angel investors are now where the VC people wre, VC is where PE was, and PE has become the . The days of speculation are over. We’ve pitched numerous times with very conservative subscription, revenue, and growth goals, and we are told time and again that they’ll talk to us once we’re meeting those goals, but not before. At that point we wouldn’t need the investors anymore because the purpose of them is the “prime the pump” so to speak. They’re not even pretending to being looking to do anything more than come in, use revenue to pay to bring in their people, and slowly dismantle.

Ben
Ben
3 months ago

In doing so, I think a lot of these people missed what the future of Internet content was going to be. Donut Media may have stretched the concept of “fair use” a bit, but the mix of found footage and strong talent like Pumphrey was a sign of what was to come.

Interesting stance from a content creator. I wonder if you would be so blase if it were your content they were ripping off.

I get that TikTok in particular has made it socially acceptable to ignore copyright (one of many sins they have to answer for), but given that some of my favorite content creators have basically stopped because they were tired of other people profiting off their work while giving them nothing back has made me a bit less tolerant of this behavior. As has the fact that channels which stretch the definition of fair use tend to be lazy, low-effort affairs. I don’t watch Donut so I’m not sure if that applies here, but it doesn’t recommend them to me.

sentinelTk
sentinelTk
3 months ago
Reply to  Matt Hardigree

And in a fun bit of karma, Autopian unveiled their “we broke a million dollar overlander” before they had a chance to edit and post the video!

Ryan L
Ryan L
3 months ago
Reply to  Ben

Its only going to get worse with AI. it’s one thing when it’s another human, it’s a whole different ball game when it’s a corporation using a industrial scale bot. Have to imagine a lot of video content going the substack route and locking up behind subscriptions.

Theotherotter
Theotherotter
3 months ago

This Excessively Superlative style of PR-speak is a real turnoff. Everyone is ‘so excited’ about so many things, it’s a wonder they don’t just burst. Everything you can see is great, super, and so on. Blech.

Black Peter
Black Peter
3 months ago
Reply to  Theotherotter

Severance packages are key in these situations, as is not burning bridges

Theotherotter
Theotherotter
3 months ago
Reply to  Black Peter

In larger companies, there are corporate communications people who write these kinds of things – I wonder if that was the case here.

Black Peter
Black Peter
3 months ago
Reply to  Theotherotter

Also true.. Also probably outsourced so literally the same person has written all of them..

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
3 months ago

I just need to never see one of these for Throttle House

Scott Ross
Scott Ross
3 months ago

Reminds a little of when Yammie Noob fired Spite. Yammie put on camera that he was letting Spite go and Spite looking like he was dehydrated from crying got to pitch his old channel (which blew up to 100k in no time).

Tim Farrell
Tim Farrell
3 months ago

Nothing new here, this has been going on in the tech industry for years. Private Equity gets on a board and then buys out company, loads it with debt while also srtipping it to the bone to boost valuation, key folks leave and eauity firm sells out a shell of the company to some suckers or it just fails after the life has been sucked out of it. Now its moved into the realm of influencers and youtubers.

Brooks Fancher
Brooks Fancher
3 months ago

James was not the big draw for me. It was really Zach. While I had watched a few donut visa before, it was not until Zach started doing Money Pit that I started watching regularly. It was something mostgearheads could relate to. A guy in his garage/driveway working on his car.

Sorry James but I am more interested in the build videos.

Black Peter
Black Peter
3 months ago
Reply to  Brooks Fancher

I grew to appreciate him and went back in the history of older videos. He’s an acquired taste I guess? I mean I can’t stand Doug DeMouro, I have thankfully avoided his stupid voice and smug face for a solid two years.

Ryan B
Ryan B
3 months ago
Reply to  Black Peter

He seems to have gotten more smug. Demuro’s channel now features more of him interacting with other people and it’s a tough to watch.

ChefCJ
ChefCJ
3 months ago
Reply to  Ryan B

Doug was a great writer, and I loved reading his stuff. But after the first video of his I watched where he spent a solid five minutes talking about a door handle, I couldn’t nope out of his content fast enough.

Brooks Fancher
Brooks Fancher
3 months ago
Reply to  ChefCJ

Never really took to Dougs video content either.

Brooks Fancher
Brooks Fancher
3 months ago
Reply to  Black Peter

Oh, I don’t hate James, but he alone could not get me to sub the the Donut YouTube channel.

It took Zach for that to happen.

Sklooner
Sklooner
3 months ago

This happens to a lot of successful businesses, they become popular thereby valuable and get sold, the new owners try to recoup their investment by cutting costs and changing things, usually the things that made it good. I keep thinking of local restaurants and bakeries where once they sold somebody messed with the recipes to save money or cut the hours or staff and suddenly for some unknown reason it isnt popular anymore

Nsane In The MembraNe
Nsane In The MembraNe
3 months ago

Private equity is the opposite of the Midas touch. Everything it comes into contact with turns into a steaming pile of shit. It’s end stage capitalism at its absolute worst.

Lew Schiller
Lew Schiller
3 months ago

But if they can manage to squeeze out a profit the carnage is worth the effort.
Apparently.

Nsane In The MembraNe
Nsane In The MembraNe
3 months ago
Reply to  Lew Schiller

If the line goes up any and all carnage is perfectly acceptable!

“Some of you may die, but that’s a sacrifice I am willing to make”-Lord Farquaad/private equity ghouls

Lew Schiller
Lew Schiller
3 months ago

One word: MBA

Nsane In The MembraNe
Nsane In The MembraNe
3 months ago
Reply to  Lew Schiller

Short for Morally Bankrupt Asshole?

MY LEG!
MY LEG!
3 months ago

I’ve always said MBA = Mediocre Business Acumen because those who would pay/go into debt for another year of schooling to be taught “line go down bad, line go up good, make line go up” does not have the requisite intuition to get the organzation in on the Next Big Thing.

This also works for the more self-aware and cynical logic I’ve seen behind getting an MBA: the private-sector bureaucrat/apparatchik who wants to punch a clock and doesn’t care what stupid party line they’ve got to chant to go up in the organization.

Last edited 3 months ago by MY LEG!
The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago

The Sadim touch? (I’m sure this is already a thing…)

Sid Bridge
Sid Bridge
3 months ago

I’ve noticed a disturbing playbook of private equity business strategy for content creation where they attempt to put fresh paint on old content and repurpose it at a much greater cadence in an attempt to monetize faster by spamming whatever algorithm is the target.

I’m just kind of curious what private equity firms are doing this.

I’ve had experience with private equity firms who are a force of good – either as activist investors, looking to use capital to push businesses into more sustainable or fair practices or as straight-up investors, giving the acquired business the tools it needs to reach the next level or do right by their customers. However, I’ve also seen the opposite – and that’s what we tend to talk about the most. Private equity jumping in, stripping away as much as possible while still raking in the same income, return that money to investors, selling and moving on.

I’m at least a little optimistic that the personalities who brought success to companies like donut will make a strong statement to private equity going forward that it’s better to be the “good guy” investor – bring in enough capital to lure the best personalities and watch the income grow. Otherwise content creation is still enough like the wild west that people can leave and start their own rival businesses.

Oh, and I realize a lot of you are about to dump on me for providing any defense of private equity, but used properly, it really should be a source of positive change. Sadly not everyone uses it properly.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

I am the biggest hater of PE I know after having been personally screwed by the very firm mentioned in this article, and I still get what you’re saying. Good-faith investing like you describe needs to be the rule, not the exception, and in media, it’s absolutely been the latter.

Last edited 3 months ago by Stef Schrader
Grayvee280
Grayvee280
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Give’m what for Stef!

Add to that, your articles were the best they had over there at the site that will not be named.

Last edited 3 months ago by Grayvee280
Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  Grayvee280

Eh, name ’em. Other sites’ names are not a cuss word.

(Also, awww, man. Thanks so much.)

Last edited 3 months ago by Stef Schrader
getstoney VII
getstoney VII
3 months ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

Hey, Shark Tank got us the Squatty Potty. That’s gotta count for a something or “two.”

(badumbump)

Alexk98
Alexk98
3 months ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

There’s certainly a bias in the media in that we hear about the PE failures, but nobody wants to read an article about the success. On the flip side of that, it seems PE firms are stuck in the before times when interest rates were nearly zero, and investment capital for a firm came at the cost of a rounding error, not the 5-15% that’s mandatory nowadays. The higher rates are more than enough to quickly sink a struggling restructured company with thin margins.

Nowadays, leveraged buyouts with short term focused leadership are *ALWAYS* doomed to fail, and are clear attempts at a quick and dirty ROI for a firm, with the acquired company doomed to crash and burn. Good faith investing can happen, but it seems to be exclusive to small shareholder activist investors these days, rather than leveraged buyout shenanigans. Seems like the only acquisitions that actually works are larger companies buying out smaller ones and making them a subsidiary, which is great in practice until you remember how Monopolies form.

Last edited 3 months ago by Alexk98
Peter d
Peter d
3 months ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

There are good and bad Private Equity buyers. The good ones invest in the businesses and work hard to retain and recruit the best talent and leverage their expertise and networks, the bad ones, well, they do things like this. In the whole Private Equity sponsored business invest more and become more productive under their ownership. Steven Kaplan is probably the best person researching this field you can google his work or just go to this presentation he gave to the SEC: https://www.sec.gov/files/kaplan-iac-presentation.pdf

Lucas Zaffuto
Lucas Zaffuto
3 months ago

In theory Donut is everything I wanted to see in a channel about cars. In reality, I just can’t stand James’ persona. He’s just too boisterous and annoying for me.

A. Barth
A. Barth
3 months ago
Reply to  Lucas Zaffuto

Agreed – if he just talks, he’s fine. But the SHOUT EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME really becomes off-putting.

Squirrelmaster
Squirrelmaster
3 months ago
Reply to  Lucas Zaffuto

Agreed as well. I consume a fair amount of car content on YouTube, but I don’t think I’ve watched more than a few seconds of any of James’ stuff because his delivery is just intolerable.

LTDScott
LTDScott
3 months ago
Reply to  Lucas Zaffuto

Having met him in person I can say that’s a media persona. He was pretty quiet.

Chronometric
Chronometric
3 months ago

So you could say that Pumphrey’s departure has left a hole at Donut Media?

Andrew Wyman
Andrew Wyman
3 months ago
Reply to  Chronometric

Take your donut and get out!

Hillbilly Ocean
Hillbilly Ocean
3 months ago
Reply to  Chronometric

*shakes fist “

Paul B
Paul B
3 months ago
Reply to  Chronometric

So he’s now a Timbit.

Chronometric
Chronometric
3 months ago
Reply to  Paul B

Dunkin calls them Munchkins.

The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
3 months ago
Reply to  Paul B

I love Tim Horton’s but I can’t bring myself to order Timbits. I’m sure they are great, but I can’t help but hearing “Timbits” as “Tim’s bits.” I’m not saying donut hole is a appealing name for a snack, but I’d much rather eat a donut hole than Tim’s bits.

Last edited 3 months ago by The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
Lew Schiller
Lew Schiller
3 months ago

You might also avoid Beaver Nuggets at Buc-ees
except they’re awesome

Last edited 3 months ago by Lew Schiller
Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
3 months ago
Reply to  Lew Schiller

Makes me glad I don’t live in Texas or Florida or Alabama or…

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

We get Tim’s Bits in TX now, too. I need to try them someday and see if they’re on par with the northern versions.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago

I love sticking Tim’s bits in my mouth

Hugh Crawford
Hugh Crawford
3 months ago

Makes me glad I’m not a Canadian.
Oh, wait, I could get the healthcare and just stay out of Tim Hortons.

MY LEG!
MY LEG!
3 months ago
Reply to  Chronometric

Don’t know why I’m reminded of this but there’s a busted cutscene in an NFS game where after tackling the player (you) and handcuffing him (you), the FBI agents (me) throw a donut at him (again, you).

sentinelTk
sentinelTk
3 months ago

What? No mention of Pomphrey’s appearance on How I Met Your Mother?! This site is shameful…..

LTDScott
LTDScott
3 months ago
Reply to  sentinelTk

Yeah, he was a legit actor before doing Donut full time.

ChefCJ
ChefCJ
3 months ago
Reply to  LTDScott

I don’t know that ‘legit’ is the right word

LTDScott
LTDScott
3 months ago
Reply to  ChefCJ

He has an IMDB page, but then again that’s a low bar because even I have an IMDB page.

Mantis Toboggan, MD
Mantis Toboggan, MD
3 months ago
Reply to  sentinelTk

I believe I saw that he has a writing credit for a ’00s era weed movie called, if I’m remembering it correctly, “Your Highness”.

sentinelTk
sentinelTk
3 months ago

That tracks….

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago

A Nolan-led Donut could be pretty good if they let him cook. He seems like a pretty good dude.

I just hope Recurrent actually gave him more pay with the title change.

A. Barth
A. Barth
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

He does seem like a good dude. I am not familiar with his entire professional background, but I hope they made him EIC because he legitimately has the chops and not because he’s essentially the last one standing.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  A. Barth

From everyone I know who’s met the guy, he’s a solid dude and I think he probably earned it. He’s clearly passionate about the subject matter, he’s got the institutional knowledge of having been there since before Recurrent bought the channel, and he’s got chill vibes on camera that seem relatable.

Black Peter
Black Peter
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Watching the “Real Mechanics Stuff” formally just “real mechanics react to…” videos has shown the transition from Sandro and Ms. A being guests, to being hosts and bringing Radical_Steph along too.

Segador
Segador
3 months ago

James is amazing AND has one of those faces that says “I enjoy large quantities of alcohol”

Nsane In The MembraNe
Nsane In The MembraNe
3 months ago
Reply to  Segador

If I recall correctly he had some pretty serious health issues and had to stop drinking

Black Peter
Black Peter
3 months ago

heart issues IIRC

Dinklesmith
Dinklesmith
3 months ago
Reply to  Segador

He had a heart attack a few years back and had to radically change his lifestyle. He’s dropped a ton of weight and looks a lot healthier than he used to

Segador
Segador
3 months ago
Reply to  Dinklesmith

So glad to hear he’s healthy and made the changes he needed to

Steve Balistreri
Steve Balistreri
3 months ago

James was my favorite thing about Donut. His videos could be super informative but done with a great, irreverent sense of humor. Donut still has some great talent working for them so I hope they survive their recent losses.

The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
3 months ago

I’m curious if there is anyone else here who has never heard of Donut Media aside from stories about them being bought out? Who are these people and what do they do?

I live under a metaphorical rock, but I’m somewhat surprised I literally have never heard of them since I’ve seen several stories in multiple media outlets about them being bought.

Last edited 3 months ago by The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
NC Miata NA
NC Miata NA
3 months ago

I understand they make YouTube videos from reading these stories but I find the overwhelming majority of YouTube content (automotive or otherwise) unappealing so I’m under a similar rock.

Last edited 3 months ago by NC Miata NA
Angrycat Meowmeow
Angrycat Meowmeow
3 months ago

I’ve heard of them but only watched a few videos. It seems like the more production value and money that goes into a YT vid the less I care for it It seemed like a decent channel, but it’s just not the type of stuff I look for on YT.

Lockleaf
Lockleaf
3 months ago

This basically resembles how I view youtube. With small exception, I watch channels that are really just one dude in a garage building a custom car of some kind, almost all of those channels are edited by the same guy filming himself.

Angrycat Meowmeow
Angrycat Meowmeow
3 months ago
Reply to  Lockleaf

Superfast Matt enters the chat

Thirdmort
Thirdmort
3 months ago

Certified Good Enough

Lockleaf
Lockleaf
3 months ago

He’s fine, but my favorite channels are Fitzees Fabrications, Halfass Kustoms, Rat Rods for Africa, and Alchemy Motorsports (shameless plug)

Last edited 3 months ago by Lockleaf
SarlaccRoadster
SarlaccRoadster
3 months ago
Reply to  Lockleaf

I think good production and polished videos made by talented people can be absolutely amazing. You should watch any FortNine video, if (when?) there was an Oscar for YouTube videos Ryan & co. would win every year, by a mile.

Lockleaf
Lockleaf
3 months ago

They certainly can be amazing. But I do not subscribe to a single one of them. None of them, including FortNine which I have watched, create a desire to see whats next. FortNine I watch when I have a question and they come up as an option to get an answer, but I don’t eagerly pursue their next video.

Rod Millington
Rod Millington
3 months ago
Reply to  Lockleaf

Coming up on M539 Restorations.

Rod Millington
Rod Millington
3 months ago

One of the only channels that consistently puts out high production stuff but keeps it similar to when they started is Mighty Car Mods. I think it’s because they still run such a small team and do so much stuff themselves all the time. It’s always amazed me that they can put out high quality build content and then drop a two-hour long feature film with epic production.

Steve Balistreri
Steve Balistreri
3 months ago

They have lots of great videos. Some are a bit clickbaitey but that comes with Youtube. The “up to speed” series are definitely recommended viewing. Very informative while still being funny.

The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
3 months ago

Thanks. I’ll check out the up to speed series.

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
3 months ago

Here’s a fun tip: When you’re watching an Up To Speed entry, pull up the Wikipedia page for whatever car he’s talking about. Specifically, try to find the version of the Wiki article dated around the time the Donut video was uploaded.

You’ll often find that Pumphrey’s recounting of a car’s history follows the wording of the Wikipedia pages pretty closely. Now, plagiarism is a serious accusation so I won’t say the script writers copied and pasted entire sections of Wikipedia. But it was a wild trip to see Pumphrey’s narration come so close to following Wiki.

If I recall, some people did accuse Donut of just copying Wikipedia, so later entries of Up To Speed do have way better scripts.

Last edited 3 months ago by Mercedes Streeter
Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago

lmao wow

Lockleaf
Lockleaf
3 months ago

Whether they really copied wikipedia or not, Up to Speed is what completely turned me off to Donut Media. I watched 3 or 4 of them and each one had inaccurate information in it. I felt that if they couldn’t even be bothered to fact check, nothing they said was of value to me.

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
3 months ago
Reply to  Lockleaf

I watched 3 or 4 of them and each one had inaccurate information in it.

I noticed the same thing, too. Eventually started watching just to see how many things I could figure out were incorrect.

Remember dear readers, Wikipedia is a great source for general information, but do not use it as an actual source!

Last edited 3 months ago by Mercedes Streeter
The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago

I’ve told many students before (when I taught) that Wikipedia is great to find the primary sources you’ll actually want to cite. Occasionally, for a really out-there physics or maths concept, the Wiki page is good and accurate, but if it’s accurate they’ll point you to the APL or Nature article and you should just go down that rabbit hole (or better yet: a review article by a trusted expert in the field).

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
3 months ago
Reply to  The Schrat

That’s good advice. The sources cited on a Wikipedia page are often better than the Wikipedia page itself. I’ve found so much good information on many vehicles by skipping straight to the bottom of the page and flipping through each source.

It’s the stuff that isn’t cited that gets incorrect, and fast. The way I see it, if a statement of fact on a Wiki page does not have a proper citation, there’s a high chance it isn’t true.

I do a lot of research using the Internet Archive and Google Books. The latter is a fairly decent repository of old magazines.

GreatFallsGreen
GreatFallsGreen
3 months ago

I haven’t watched a lot of Donut’s content but this is something I notice about more than a few channels. The narration just feels like “changing the work a little” from what’s on the Wikipedia page. Often it’s an informational type of video like “Here’s why __ failed” which I don’t watch a ton of because there’s nothing to it I don’t already know and they’re mostly pictures and b-roll stitched together, not like a walkaround. But it leaves something to be desired as far as actually being informative to others.

But I feel that way with a lot of videos, even ones that ones centered on “quirks”…it seems to just leave it at “they’re so crazy!” and not any further detail on the feature and reason why it is the way that it is.

Scott Ross
Scott Ross
3 months ago

Someones been pulling a Black Flags Matter (Darian Gilliam)

Last edited 3 months ago by Scott Ross
Ryan L
Ryan L
3 months ago

I work at a DVD production house. We did videos for a guy that would shoot sunsets and sunrises of national parks and then just narrate wikipedia over the footage basically. He sold a decent amount of them to tourists at gift shops and online.

The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago

They were a plucky youtube car/comedy channel with some great videos; I particularly liked the Moneypit series, where a guy named Zach Jobe would work on an old enthusiast vehicle — installing or rebuilding some component — with the ostensible question of ‘is it worth it?’ The first series with an NA Miata was a delight. They also did a series called High/Low where two identical cars would get the same upgrade, but the parts were either cheap crap or the top of the line stuff, which led to fun comparisons.

Eventually they moved to “we bought this cheap crap off Temu and let’s see if it’s any good”, which I figure is an inexpensive way to get content out there and I bet that’s the influence of the PE firm right there.

Last edited 3 months ago by The Schrat
Dudeoutwest
Dudeoutwest
3 months ago
Reply to  The Schrat

Jobe’s over on BigTIme now. He’s got his 240SX resurrected and they’ve got a project bike and a project cabover semi as their current fleet.

The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago
Reply to  Dudeoutwest

I am unreasonably excited to watch that

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  The Schrat

I hate those Temu/Wish/etc. videos so much. The first ones were funny to prove a point. Now it just feels like folks are doing the equivalent of Shein hauls for car geeks, and I hate it. It’s just wasteful. The less we can promote buying cheap garbage from terrible companies that’s just going to break, the better off we’ll all be as a society.

The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

I think I similarly watched some of the early ones, but the rise of those videos on Donut — along with ‘____ reacts’ videos — corresponded with me no longer watching their channel at all.

Last edited 3 months ago by The Schrat
A. Barth
A. Barth
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

“We bought cheap junk. Spoiler: it’s junk. Don’t buy it unless you like junk.”

Agreed – that leans a bit too much toward the fluffier side of journalism.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  A. Barth

I think there’s a place for tests that find cheap things that work, but the likelihood of that being drop-shipped from an anonymous company on Temu is very little.

The spectacle of Here’s Just How Junky This Stuff Is wears off after the first video, and by then, we get it.

Aaron
Aaron
3 months ago
Reply to  The Schrat

They’ve got a good series right now where they’re building an old Ford Ranger into a Baja truck. That’s the kind of car content I want to see. Creative and informative builds, thoughtful reviews, and well produced challenges/road trips.

Segador
Segador
3 months ago

They have 8 million subs on Youtube and have been huge in the car media space for years, so yes, people know who they are.

The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
3 months ago
Reply to  Segador

Yeah I assumed they must be reasonably popular based on all the attention their buyout has received.

I actually watch a fair amount of youtube car content so I’m surprised I haven’t come across them yet.

Mitch
Mitch
3 months ago

I’m sure you’re not alone.

I’m a huge fan of YouTube, and I watch it in the same way many people watch television. Most of the content I consume comes from YouTube. I regularly sub and un-sub from various streaming platforms because I get to see the shows I want and then I move on. YouTube however, is the one I always keep current. While in the context of YouTube Donut is a massive player, it’s not surprising that people who perhaps aren’t active on the platform wouldn’t know them.

Like a lot of creators Donut really blew up during the pandemic. They were already established well before then, but I think they benefitted from people having extra free viewing hours a lot.

 Who are these people and what do they do?

At the core of it, they were just like it said on the tin: “Donut Media”. They were an automotive focused media company. The first video I ever recall seeing from them was a sponsored video with Nissan where they worked with Car Throttle to make a cool video with a cargo van set up to do donuts. I think the YouTube videos started out more as a portfolio than anything, and then they started to get a lot of views.. Mainly around the “Up to Speed” series recommended in the article. “Wheelhouse”, and “Hi/Low” were also very popular. The core to the success of Up to Speed was most certainly Pumphrey. He’s a wild, eccentric personality that really seemed to resonate with younger millennial/gen Z viewers. Informative videos about the history of a car model, a manufacturer, a racing legend, or some other similar topic, full of stupid absurd humor, flashy editing, charming animations, and of course, Pumphrey’s great delivery and timing. It’s funny, because at their core, the stories themselves are on par with like a high-school level research paper, but the delivery is able to elevate it into something really enjoyable.

They quickly grew, adding more hosts, more shows, more cars, merchandizing and everything else a ballooning media empire tends to offer.

Over the last year or so the content has changed a lot, and we’re seeing the creatives flee en masse.

The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
The Stig's Misanthropic Cousin
3 months ago
Reply to  Mitch

I actually watch a lot of youtube videos as background noise while I work; I generally watch automotive, aviation, or financial content. After watching a few Donut Media videos, I think it is interesting the Youtube algorithm never brought any of their videos to my attention, but I’m not surprised. They have a different character than I am used to seeing. The first thing I noticed was Pumphrey’s style; he is definitely loud and energetic, which I perceive as a bit annoying. The videos in general seem a bit more about style and energy than substance (I’m not trying to be critical of their content – this is just my initial impression).

I’m not sure if it is a generational thing (I’m an older millenial/Xennial) or if it is just a personality thing but I don’t think I’d like their content. It’s not for me, although it is great that a lot of people enjoy it.

Honestly, I’m a little creeped out that the Youtube algorithm is so accurate at determining which content I would likely enjoy. I’ve never been concerned about data collection/privacy issues, but this changes my opinions somewhat.

Gilbert Wham
Gilbert Wham
3 months ago

Nope. I, too, resemble that remark. But I only used YouTube to play music and watch HEMA fights. I’d rather read articles than watch videos.

The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago
Reply to  Gilbert Wham

Now you don’t even have to drive to your local salle if you want to watch people double out constantly.

Last edited 3 months ago by The Schrat
Gilbert Wham
Gilbert Wham
3 months ago
Reply to  The Schrat

Hah. I resemble THAT remark too

Dudeoutwest
Dudeoutwest
3 months ago

65yo heavy consumer of Donut and similar sites. They’re mostly about having fun with vehicles. I like the Hi/Lo where they build one vehicle with expensive parts and another with cheap parts, then compare their functionality.

They’re car dorks, just like us and their content is both informative and hilarious.

I’m over on BigTime now and will probably sub to Pumphrey’s new gig. They’re not the pompous auto journalists of the past. They’re idiots like us doing cool things with cars, but in a less apocalyptic way than Roadkill, for example.

getstoney VII
getstoney VII
3 months ago

I’ve only watched YT recently for trying to lean how to stop my Firestick from auto-rebooting to the home screen if it’s paused on anything for more than a few minutes.

Turns out there isn’t any way to do that. That’s what I get for going cheap on a TV, I guess.

Anyway, I have no clue who any of these YT car people are. It took about four minutes of watching that Doug guy to know that the genre is not my bag. Fine by me. 🙂

Vic Vinegar
Vic Vinegar
3 months ago

I didn’t know they existed until they were featured in Forza Horizon. Otherwise I’ve only seen them mentioned here. No interest in watching YouTubers for the most part besides occasionally a guy like Chris Fix.

Ryan L
Ryan L
3 months ago

I think its an age thing. I’m older and I only really watch youtube for wrenching videos and occasional reviews…folks like chrisfix and project farm.

I have never once watched a donut media production but I’d guess they have basically the same strategy as most I’ve come across.

Purchase some sort of semi rare, high performance project car that’s just out of reach for most like a jdm skyline or a totaled viper/z06 and use it for a content gimp for a year or two fixing it up with sponsor parts… perhaps a crescendo of a SEMA reveal at some point?

10001010
10001010
3 months ago

So, hypothetically speaking, if the company I work for could possibly be being sold to private equity, should I be concerned? o.O

Parsko
Parsko
3 months ago
Reply to  10001010

LOL, absolutely.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  10001010

Yes. Prepare that resume and start looking now.

10001010
10001010
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

I already started. Part of me wants to ride it all the way to the end just to see how it turns out but another part of me thinks I’ve already stayed too long.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  10001010

Noooooot worth it. Get that backup plan lined up and ready to go. It’s easier to get a job while you’re employed than it is when you’re not.

Last edited 3 months ago by Stef Schrader
Andrew Wyman
Andrew Wyman
3 months ago
Reply to  10001010

Yep. Media in all forms is dealing with this. Video games, video content, and of course websites. If private equity is moving in, it’s most likely to make their company the most money, and they don’t care about anything else. Certainly not you.

Hillbilly Ocean
Hillbilly Ocean
3 months ago
Reply to  Andrew Wyman

Not just media. Every industry is dealing with the scumbags that are private equity and venture capital. They’re leeches.

SarlaccRoadster
SarlaccRoadster
3 months ago

See the recent articles here on Recaro and BBS

LTDScott
LTDScott
3 months ago
Reply to  10001010

My last employer was purchased by a private equity firm after the original individual owner died. After working 15 years at the company they basically slashed my pay by 50%. I walked soon afterwards.

10001010
10001010
3 months ago
Reply to  LTDScott

I’ve been here 14 years now and still enjoy the work that I do which is the only reason I even considered sticking around but I know it’s time to go.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  10001010

Don’t make my mistake of preemptively jumping ship with nowhere to go, but it’s definitely time to start (quietly) looking.

10001010
10001010
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Oh I ain’t leaving without somewhere to go first or I’d already be gone months ago. If nothing else I’m going to make them release me so I can claim unemployment.

Beto O'Kitty
Beto O'Kitty
3 months ago

I’m thinking that this sounds a lot like what happened to Jalopnik when they were bought by Telemundo. Profit over product!

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  Beto O'Kitty

It was Univision, and honestly, between them and Recurrent, I think it might be a toss-up as to who sucked more?

Univision at least offered buyouts, I guess, but our union was the one who forced them to do buyouts as opposed to layoffs. Recurrent bought up a bunch of media outlets like they were baked with Mom’s credit card, then started surprising us with layoffs, and there was no union to push back, either. (Unionize Recurrent, like, yesterday.)

Univision’s spending spree on media companies at least had fewer overlaps in beats between all its outlets, suggesting a semblance of forethought that it didn’t continue once we were there. I call them the deadbeat dad of corporate overlords for a reason. They get an extra negative for killing off AV Club’s Undercover series, which only just now returned (with Gwar, of course) after someone bought it off of the Herb. That series made love Gwar! Truly unwashed-butthole behavior that deserves to be covered in fake blood devoured by a giant on-stage animatronic space schlong on Univision’s part, but I digress.

Both had poor corporate-level leadership that didn’t seem to understand what they bought and seemed way too susceptible to trends over having a concrete plan (the bizarre Facebook video push at Univision that screwed over nearly every journalism outlet in existence, Recurrent proposing NFTs that thankfully never happened — stuff like that).

It felt impossible to get ahead at both. We had an interim editorial lead over all the sites at Univision who was great, but was not paid for the more intense job she was doing nor was she offered the permanent role, and we all suspected that sexism played a huge part in that. Then there was my move to a senior staff writer role over at Recurrent that didn’t come with the bump in pay that’d put it on par with similar senior writer roles at competing publications in the same niche. I know my editor fought for it to no avail, promising that we’d try again at EOY. That didn’t ultimately matter because the goshdarned rat-fornicators at Recurrent decided to surprise the whole network with mass layoffs despite months of assurances that it was done making cuts after Mel shut down.

Neither were Great Hill Partners bad, though, but that’s the only nice thing I have to say for either one.

Last edited 3 months ago by Stef Schrader
Otter
Otter
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Thanks for the glimpse behind the curtain, and sorry to everyone who got caught in the billionaire-funded shitshow that blew up not just Jalopnik but a bunch of other great sites. As a Jezebel/Jalopnik reader I thought there was no other audience overlap besides me until the wonderful crossover week.

The Schrat
The Schrat
3 months ago
Reply to  Otter

There are dozens of us… DOZENS!

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  The Schrat

Quite a few! I was glad to see Jez get sold to a company that’s hopefully treating it better. (World’s lowest bar.) I just wish a similar sale would happen for Jalopnik already.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Pardon the no-longer-editable typos. Rage-posted on my phone from the toilet during MY morning dump. Also, I remembered wrong—that editorial lead was offered the job, but it was a ridiculously lowball pay offer, and it was definitely a pattern: https://wwd.com/business-news/media/turmoil-at-gizmodo-media-group-as-staff-protest-departure-of-top-editor-10862792/

That definitely influenced my decision to take the buyout, even though in hindsight, I should have stayed and kept quietly looking for a new job while employed: that feeling that I could never actually get ahead for structural, network-wide, out-of-Jalop’s-power reasons, plus the lack of trust in Univision’s ability to sell the site to anywhere worth a damn. Holy crap, I hate being proven right on that last one. Man, screw Univision. All my homies hate Univision. Absolute garbage-tier corporate overlords.

Last edited 3 months ago by Stef Schrader
Rippstik
Rippstik
3 months ago

I figured it was only a matter of time before Pumphrey walked. Still wild to see.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
3 months ago

The only Donut stuff I watch anymore is RMS when they have Angelina, Sandro, or Steph on. I am keeping up with BigTime, though, as I generally like up&coming, less polished, channels

10001010
10001010
3 months ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

Same, but to be fair those have always been my favorite videos of theirs.

B L
B L
3 months ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

RMS is excellent. Angelina and Sandro are great together.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
3 months ago
Reply to  B L

Those two are a legit comedy duo. If I lived in the area, I would seriously pay to audit one of Angelina’s classes purely for the entertainment value

Anoos
Anoos
3 months ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

Why would Sandro and Angelina stay? They don’t even do builds, they just comment on youtube videos sitting at a table. They could do that anywhere and probably make a lot more than they’re going to get as someone’s employee (or contract worker).

There’s no barrier to entry on youtube. You don’t need any financial backing to get up and running. Just grab your phone and sign in. I’m shocked it took any of them this long to jump ship even if working conditions were good.

Paul B
Paul B
3 months ago
Reply to  Anoos

I think a youtube channel of them both working on a car with some of the students from the school Angelina teaches at would be fun.

Student: I think I’ll do this

Sandro: No, man, you can’t do that! It’ll be all f’d up.

Angelina, half giggling, explains the why not and the right way to do it.

Anoos
Anoos
3 months ago
Reply to  Paul B

I’d rather watch her and Sandro comment on videos. I wasn’t complaining about the format, just saying it’s cheap and simple to do that anywhere.

Ben
Ben
3 months ago
Reply to  Anoos

There’s no barrier to entry on youtube.

There’s no barrier to posting content. There’s a huge barrier to being successful enough to make a living at it. YouTube has more content than anyone could possibly watch in a lifetime and the algorithm is fickle. Even well-established channels struggle to stay relevant. It’s why you see so many creators getting burned out. The most successful are able to hire staff to take some of the load, but if you’re not making pay-an-extra-full-time-salary money from your videos that isn’t an option.

Anoos
Anoos
3 months ago
Reply to  Ben

Yes, but at this point they are known enough to bring viewers with them. They’ve also seen the production and probably know someone well enough to teach them to feed the algorithm as a side gig.

Check out the viewer numbers on BigTime videos vs Donut. They’ve only been on their own for a few weeks, but their views are matching (and often crushing) Donuts views for videos posted the same day.

The most important thing to feed the algorithm is a thumbnail with a big stupid grinning face.

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