The Messenger is counting on a sudden and dramatic advertising turnaround to survive

• The Messenger is forecasting advertising revenue will surge from $3.8 million in 2023 to more than $55 million in 2024.
• The struggling news outlet is looking for a cash infusion of $20 million for equity in the business.
• The Messenger plans to add 19 more employees to launch Messenger TV despite barely having any cash left by the end of 2023.
• The company had planned to cut 40 jobs in 2024 and furlough an additional 15 employees, but those figures have been dialed back.

The Messenger, the struggling news media startup co-founded by publishing veteran Jimmy Finkelstein, is urging potential investors to make a long-shot bet on a dramatic rebound in advertising this year.

The company is attempting to stop the cash burn that has put it in jeopardy.

CNBC has obtained an investor deck The Messenger was using as recently as late December to entice potential individuals or companies to infuse it with $20 million.

The Messenger, which started in May, launched on the idea of becoming a down-the-middle digital news juggernaut. It initially planned to hire around 550 journalists and generate over $100 million in revenue in 2024, according to The New York Times. The company ended up hiring a staff of 300 people and has since struggled financially, which has led to some recent layoffs, according to multiple reports.

The Messenger ended 2023 with a net loss of $43 million, according to the documents. The deck tells investors that with the infusion, the company plans to end 2024 profitable, with net income of $13 million.

The Messenger confirmed to CNBC that the deck was part of a "draft presentation," and said there have been "adjustments" to the numbers within the documents and that the company intends to "make $13 million and be