Vice Media joined the ongoing liberal media bloodbath as its website is set to shut down and lay off hundreds of staffers.
The CEOs of Vice, Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, announced Thursday the website will shut down and hundreds of staffers have been laid off. They said the company is looking to partner with media companies to distribute their content as they “fully transition” into a studio model, according to a memo.
Vice News ended a number of its shows at the end of its production cycle, which resulted in hundreds of layoffs. Vice Media ended its show, “Vice News Tonight,” in April due to restructuring plans that would lead to job cuts at the company, CNN reported.
“To be clear, Vice News is not going away,” Dixon and Lokhandwala wrote. “Vice will continue to produce digital news, as well as Vice News documentaries, both series and films, for FAST Channels, streaming services and other partners.”
In a memo to staff, Vice CEO Bruce Dixon announces hundreds of layoffs and that the company will no longer publish on Vice dot com. He also says VMG is in advanced talks to sell Refinery29. pic.twitter.com/Xc9tl8uoYE
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 22, 2024
He said it is “no longer cost effective” to distribute its content digitally, according to the memo.
“As part of this shift, we will no longer publish content on vice.com, instead putting more emphasis on our social channels as we accelerate our discussions with partners to take our content to where it will be viewed most broadly,” he wrote. (RELATED: LA Times Implodes As Dozens Are Laid Off, Millions In Revenue Flushed Down The Toilet)
Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2023 after several years of turnover and financial troubles among its leadership. Fortress Investment Group and Monroe Capital jointly took over Vice with Soros Fund Management (SFM) in a $350 million deal.
The company is restructuring its corporate organization by shrinking the business lines from five to two, according to the memo, posted by Variety. The two new business lines that will oversee Vice are Publishing, News and Creative services and Studios, Television, and Distribution.
Vice’s digital entertainment website, Refinery 29, will continue to operate as a “standalone diversified digital publishing business,” his announcement said.
“The transition to two dedicated LOBs will help us work more effectively towards our shared creative and business goals, better align our people and resources, and allow us to capitalize on the unique opportunities that lie ahead,” the memo reads. “The combined business units provide a more cohesive, collaborative and focused structure that will enable us to better amplify our content across multiple products and distribution opportunities. It will also allow us to streamline our overall corporate infrastructure, reducing overhead across the business. The transition will not happen overnight. The leaders of each LOB will follow up with further information about their go-forward plans.”
This is the latest hit in the current liberal media bloodbath taking place. NowThis laid off half of its editorial staff in mid-February as part of a “broader initiative to realign our resources and structure to ensure a long-term sustainable business in the evolving media landscape.” The Intercept announced it would lay off 15 staffers, including its Editor-in-Chief Roger Hodge.
CNN and NPR faced massive layoffs at the end of 2022 due to drops in profitability and in CNN’s case, record-low ratings. Digital outlets including Gannett and USA Today also faced massive job cuts.