I don't think anyone in Medium understands running a business. That's why Tony was hired. He knew they were in the red when he took the job.
Then to give $1K bonuses to editors probably didn't help.
I'm not hating on them, but running a business is not as easy as saying 1, 2, and 3.
And, then the writers who signed up for FOM, what happened here? We'll make 3 or 4 cents while others make a cent?