New York: Vice Media, which has traditionally catered to younger audiences, has announced that it will cease operations on its flagship website and lay off hundreds of employees. This latest announcement dealt another blow to the struggling media industry.
Vice was bought by New York-based Fortress Investment Group for $350 million. The media outlet filed for bankruptcy in May before the sale. News outlet Vice has failed to turn its future around, despite a series of cost-cutting measures, including job cuts and the cancellation of its Vice News Tonight show, mirroring the broader struggles of the industry in the digital age.
Vice Media Group CEO Bruce Dixon said in a memo widely shared online that Vice will stop publishing content on Vice.com and transition to partnerships with other media companies. “With this strategic shift comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice,” Dixon said. He also mentioned in the memo that the company would swap to a studio model.
“Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions,” Dixon added. Further information regarding the reductions is anticipated to be disclosed next week. The youth-oriented brand announced in January that it would merge its music website, Pitchfork Media, with GQ Magazine, marking the end of another staple of alternative culture from the 2000s.
There have been hundreds of job losses in the media industry in the past year alone, causing both traditional and digital media outlets to struggle to find a viable business model. During this time, Vice’s downfall is a clear indication of media outlets’ struggles.
Both BuzzFeed News and Jezebel, Vice’s opponents, which blended irreverent and serious content, were shut down last year, while both Vox Media and Condé Nast laid off employees. Downfalls continued into 2024 with Messenger closing down and TechCrunch, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal announcing layoffs.
According to the Pew Research Center, United States’ newsroom employments declined by a quarter between 2008 and 2021, as print advertising earnings dried up alongside the transition to digital content.
As a print magazine founded in 1994, Vice later evolved into a multimedia company offering original digital content as well as several offshoot channels after relocating to New York. As a result of its success in 2017, the media group was valued at $5.7 billion.
RELATED | Big firms pull ads from X after Musk’s antisemitic remark
