Washington: The dynamic and fast-growing digital media company Vice that gained a wide following with young readers, said in a statement, it will no longer publish on its flagship website and is eliminating hundreds of jobs.
Millennial-focused and known for its lifestyle content and edgy news, Vice had been among the rising stars of a new breed of digital media companies but struggled as advertising revenues shrank. The move is the latest of depressing news for the struggling media industry in United States (US), which witnessed BuzzFeed News close up shop last year after twelve years in business.
Chief Executive of Vice Media Group Bruce Dixon told employees in a memo that with this strategic shift comes the need to realign the resources and streamline overall operations of the outlet. Regrettably, this means that Vice will be reducing its workforce, eliminating several hundred jobs.
Dixon said it is no longer cost-effective for the group to distribute its digital content the way it had done previously. Moving ahead, the company will look to partner with established media outlets to distribute its digital content on their international platforms, as it fully transitions to a studio model. Employees hit by the layoffs will be formally notified early next week.
Challenges for digital media companies
Many digital media companies have been unable to convert enthusiasm for their brand into the kinds of revenues that investors had projected.
The tightening of credit conditions in 2023 and a slowdown in the online advertising market made the situation increasingly challenging for relatively new media companies like Vice.
Vice was founded in 1994 as a Canadian magazine and grew into an online media group with television operations and news websites.
