Vice Media to Stop Publishing Online, Will Lay Off Hundreds

(RepublicanJournal.org) – Vice Media, which has visibly struggled to stay afloat for a few years, plans to lay off hundreds more employees in yet another effort to reorganize. The company has been fighting to compete with social media outlets, which are increasingly becoming the primary news source for many consumers.

The Guardian reports that Vice Media Chief Bruce Dixon sent out a memo to its staffers to break the news. It stated that the company wanted to take a “studio model” approach moving forward, and one of the changes it had to make in that effort was to pull the plug on Vice.com.

A “studio model,” according to Data Magazine, is an approach that began in movie-making, where executives turned their creatives into interdisciplinary teams that pooled resources and transformed groups into innovative think tanks. The definition has evolved with changing trends, and its current use includes shifts in strategies to adapt to an ever-changing technological environment.

The New York Times shares that said changing trends have given social media sites like Instagram and TikTok an edge over more traditional news sources. It explains that consumers have grown to prefer these platforms, which rely on user engagement and endless streams of content to keep people entertained yet continuously scrolling. Even bigger, long-established mainstays have suffered due to the shift. The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Vox Media have also reportedly been forced to make cuts.

Vice Media’s downsizing began about five years ago when it started suffering yearly layoffs and even filing for bankruptcy at one point. The company is now a fraction of the global powerhouse it was when it first went into business over 20 years ago. At its peak, it was worth about $5.7 million.

Vice company leaders are reportedly in the process of selling the company. They promise to have more information on all fronts in the upcoming weeks.

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