Vice Plans Mass Layoffs, Stops Web Publishing
Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon on Thursday in a memo informed employees of hundreds of layoffs and the end of publishing content on the company's flagship website, Vice.com â effectively ending its independent news operations....
Facts
- Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon on Thursday in a memo informed employees of hundreds of layoffs and the end of publishing content on the company's flagship website, Vice.com — effectively ending its independent news operations.1
- Dixon's memo said it's 'no longer cost-effective' to distribute digital content, and Vice will 'look to partner with established media companies' to distribute content in the future.1
- Previously, Vice in May filed for bankruptcy and was then sold to New York-based Fortress Investment Group for $350M.2
- Vice, which in 2017 was valued at $5.7B, attempted to cut costs by canceling Vice News Tonight, a popular program, and by going through several rounds of job cuts.3
- Despite its financial problems, Vice often won prestigious journalism awards, including sharing the first-ever Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting in 2020. Last week, Vice won the Polk Award for television reporting.4
- Vice isn't alone in its struggle against financial challenges. Last month, startup news outlet The Messenger shut down, and Business Insider and BuzzFeed have cut jobs or have said they're planning to in the near future.4
Sources: 1Washington Post, 2Al Jazeera, 3Fortune and 4CNN.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by WSJ.com. Another flashy digital media content producer is on the cusp of disappearing forever. Vice's demise further proves that a business model reliant on appealing to a young audience and increased digital ad revenue can't succeed. These cuts could push Vice back to profitability and it'll be interesting to see the approach it takes.
- Narrative B, as provided by Defector. This wasn't a failure of Vice's business model, it was yet another example of what happens when private equity overlords try to use a journalistic entity as their private piggy bank. Owners who are dedicated to strong journalism over trying to get rich off the backs of digital content creators could make a go of it, and benefit society, even in today's difficult media environment.
