5 ms·

I'm not surprised. Vice media used to be about cutting-edge reporting and has devolved to fluff pieces centered around a progressive agenda.

devtul 6y ago
Last Vice thing I watched was about one of their reporters going through the process of getting a gun license and buying a firearm in Canada. Surprisingly nice reporting but still with a progressive tint to it. Spoiler: She didn't cry after shooting a firearm.
freewilly1040 6y ago
A company laying people off is not confirmation that the things you don't like about them are hurting their business. It just might have more to do with the pandemic than their politics.
- Clubber 6y ago
  Perhaps, but regarding the pandemic, I would assume the pandemic would cause people to read more digital news than before, simply because they have more time to do so. For example, video game sales have had a really great last quarter.
  - cawlin 6y ago
    I suspect many people are avoiding news plus video games act as escapism and for many a form of socializing.
  - whatok 6y ago
    Consuming more of this product does not necessarily lead to an increase in revenue.
  - ardy42 6y ago
    > Perhaps, but regarding the pandemic, I would assume the pandemic would cause people to read more digital news than before, simply because they have more time to do so. People may read more during the pandemic, but the advertisers are advertising less: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vice-media-layoffs/vice-media-lays-off-155-employees-as-coronavirus-pandemic-wipes-out-ad-revenue-idUSKBN22R2N3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vice-m...: > Vice Media lays off 155 employees as coronavirus pandemic wipes out ad revenue > ...The cuts come as the news media industry suffers from an epic drop in advertising revenue as companies cut spending amid the pandemic. > Digital media companies, including Quartz and Buzzfeed, have slashed jobs, furloughed employees and cut salaries in an effort to survive the outbreak.
  - Voloskaya 6y ago
    Vice doesn't make money from readers, they make money from advertisers, who have dramatically reduced spending since the beginning of the pandemic.
  - Taylor_OD 6y ago
    People may be reading more news but if ad sales are down because revenue is down at companies who normally buy those ads that it doesn't matter how many views their new stories are getting.
- spacephysics 6y ago
  No, but declining readership is a good mark. 10% cut before pandemic (Feb): https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-layoffs-250-employees-1203125890/ https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-layoffs-250... Vice cancelled from HBO: https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-canceled-vice-news-tonight-vice-other-networks-2019-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-canceled-vice-news-tonig... More cuts (Nov): https://www.wsj.com/articles/vice-media-to-shrink-workforce-by-as-much-as-15-as-growth-stalls-1541632597 https://www.wsj.com/articles/vice-media-to-shrink-workforce-... Many of the famous projects at vice, featuring war coverage, projects involving psychedelics and cutting edge mental health treatment among a few, are not nearly as prevalent now. Further many of the arguably top journalists to join in Vice’s history have gone (many, but not all)
  - sacks2k 6y ago
    "projects involving psychedelics and cutting edge mental health treatment among a few, are not nearly as prevalent now. Further many of the arguably top journalists to join in Vice’s history have gone (many, but not all)" These projects are why I started reading/watching Vice in the first place. I think the pandemic is going to be used by companies like Vice as an excuse for a failing business model.
  - dirtydroog 6y ago
    Disney wrote off its investment in Vice: https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/8/18537617/disney-vice-write-off-400-million https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/8/18537617/disney-vice-wri...
  - dillondoyle 6y ago
    FWIW Vice news is now on Showtime... I actually really enjoy their video reporting they do 2 15 minute stories and it's usually pretty unique and interesting reporting.
- sacks2k 6y ago
  "A company laying people off is not confirmation that the things you don't like about them are hurting their business" As already mentioned, they were going out of business long before the pandemic. The Pandemic is just an excuse for their failures. There are so many news sites dedicated to progressive content that Vice turned into. They lost their edge, competitive advantage, and I would imagine, most of their viewer base. This is why they failed.
draw_down 6y ago
This is so funny to read. Vice got its start as a depraved magazine run by junkies. Which is not meant as an insult, I enjoyed it greatly back then. But it's not some fallen paragon of virtue, ha.
throwawaysea 6y ago
I think something similar happened with Vox Media, where it started with cutting edge presentation and neutral exploration, but ultimately devolved into near total bias in story selection, sources (which research they call out versus which they leave out), and perspective. Unlike Vice they might actually be fine though, because I think Vox's readers seek out that far left bias, whereas Vice's customers were more mixed. That said, I am largely basing this based on my anecdotal experience and speculating about the overall readership of these publications.
pjc50 6y ago
All newspaper outlets have seen their advertising revenue collapse. The surviving ones will be those with external propaganda funding, unfortunately.
dawnerd 6y ago
Ah yes, cutting edge, like getting Bill and Ted cancelled at Universal Studios Hollywood... This journalist has had it out for comedy that he finds funny or offensive. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/av4z45/the-bill-and-ted-show-at-universal-studios-is-super-homophobic-and-also-racist-and-terrible https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/av4z45/the-bill-and-ted-s... Vice was never anything more than editorialized content pushing some agenda. Way early on they had some interesting stuff like the inside North Korea videos, but those days are long gone. Edit: Yes I'm still bitter over Bill and Ted being cancelled.
- Mountain_Skies 6y ago
  Wonder if that's why they've gone the direction they have for the latest Bill & Ted movie.
NullInvictus 6y ago
> used to be about cutting-edge reporting and has devolved to fluff pieces This is the hole all the big news and media houses fell into. I don't think a lot of these companies really understood what the transaction they were making when they pivoted or expanded. When an outlet like Vice peddles fluff, click-bait and controversy pieces, the transaction is not videos/articles for clicks. With those fluff pieces, Vice and others were trading away trust and reputation, which is the core product of any information business. In a time where truth and trust are desperately needed, the big media houses should have been making bank (My god, in the information age, why can't the original information businesses make money?). Instead they bankrupted their core product for quick cash because they accidentally equated their product (Trust) with what they were selling (advertisements), and that lowered the whole industry to the point where they have to share space with the likes of Infowars.

devtul 6y ago

Last Vice thing I watched was about one of their reporters going through the process of getting a gun license and buying a firearm in Canada. Surprisingly nice reporting but still with a progressive tint to it. Spoiler: She didn't cry after shooting a firearm.

freewilly1040 6y ago

A company laying people off is not confirmation that the things you don't like about them are hurting their business. It just might have more to do with the pandemic than their politics.

Clubber 6y ago
Perhaps, but regarding the pandemic, I would assume the pandemic would cause people to read more digital news than before, simply because they have more time to do so. For example, video game sales have had a really great last quarter.
- cawlin 6y ago
  I suspect many people are avoiding news plus video games act as escapism and for many a form of socializing.
- whatok 6y ago
  Consuming more of this product does not necessarily lead to an increase in revenue.
- ardy42 6y ago
  > Perhaps, but regarding the pandemic, I would assume the pandemic would cause people to read more digital news than before, simply because they have more time to do so. People may read more during the pandemic, but the advertisers are advertising less: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vice-media-layoffs/vice-media-lays-off-155-employees-as-coronavirus-pandemic-wipes-out-ad-revenue-idUSKBN22R2N3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vice-m...: > Vice Media lays off 155 employees as coronavirus pandemic wipes out ad revenue > ...The cuts come as the news media industry suffers from an epic drop in advertising revenue as companies cut spending amid the pandemic. > Digital media companies, including Quartz and Buzzfeed, have slashed jobs, furloughed employees and cut salaries in an effort to survive the outbreak.
- Voloskaya 6y ago
  Vice doesn't make money from readers, they make money from advertisers, who have dramatically reduced spending since the beginning of the pandemic.
- Taylor_OD 6y ago
  People may be reading more news but if ad sales are down because revenue is down at companies who normally buy those ads that it doesn't matter how many views their new stories are getting.
spacephysics 6y ago
No, but declining readership is a good mark. 10% cut before pandemic (Feb): https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-layoffs-250-employees-1203125890/ https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-layoffs-250... Vice cancelled from HBO: https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-canceled-vice-news-tonight-vice-other-networks-2019-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-canceled-vice-news-tonig... More cuts (Nov): https://www.wsj.com/articles/vice-media-to-shrink-workforce-by-as-much-as-15-as-growth-stalls-1541632597 https://www.wsj.com/articles/vice-media-to-shrink-workforce-... Many of the famous projects at vice, featuring war coverage, projects involving psychedelics and cutting edge mental health treatment among a few, are not nearly as prevalent now. Further many of the arguably top journalists to join in Vice’s history have gone (many, but not all)
- sacks2k 6y ago
  "projects involving psychedelics and cutting edge mental health treatment among a few, are not nearly as prevalent now. Further many of the arguably top journalists to join in Vice’s history have gone (many, but not all)" These projects are why I started reading/watching Vice in the first place. I think the pandemic is going to be used by companies like Vice as an excuse for a failing business model.
- dirtydroog 6y ago
  Disney wrote off its investment in Vice: https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/8/18537617/disney-vice-write-off-400-million https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/8/18537617/disney-vice-wri...
- dillondoyle 6y ago
  FWIW Vice news is now on Showtime... I actually really enjoy their video reporting they do 2 15 minute stories and it's usually pretty unique and interesting reporting.
sacks2k 6y ago
"A company laying people off is not confirmation that the things you don't like about them are hurting their business" As already mentioned, they were going out of business long before the pandemic. The Pandemic is just an excuse for their failures. There are so many news sites dedicated to progressive content that Vice turned into. They lost their edge, competitive advantage, and I would imagine, most of their viewer base. This is why they failed.

draw_down 6y ago

This is so funny to read. Vice got its start as a depraved magazine run by junkies. Which is not meant as an insult, I enjoyed it greatly back then. But it's not some fallen paragon of virtue, ha.

throwawaysea 6y ago

I think something similar happened with Vox Media, where it started with cutting edge presentation and neutral exploration, but ultimately devolved into near total bias in story selection, sources (which research they call out versus which they leave out), and perspective. Unlike Vice they might actually be fine though, because I think Vox's readers seek out that far left bias, whereas Vice's customers were more mixed. That said, I am largely basing this based on my anecdotal experience and speculating about the overall readership of these publications.

pjc50 6y ago

All newspaper outlets have seen their advertising revenue collapse. The surviving ones will be those with external propaganda funding, unfortunately.

dawnerd 6y ago

Ah yes, cutting edge, like getting Bill and Ted cancelled at Universal Studios Hollywood... This journalist has had it out for comedy that he finds funny or offensive. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/av4z45/the-bill-and-ted-show-at-universal-studios-is-super-homophobic-and-also-racist-and-terrible https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/av4z45/the-bill-and-ted-s... Vice was never anything more than editorialized content pushing some agenda. Way early on they had some interesting stuff like the inside North Korea videos, but those days are long gone. Edit: Yes I'm still bitter over Bill and Ted being cancelled.

Mountain_Skies 6y ago
Wonder if that's why they've gone the direction they have for the latest Bill & Ted movie.

NullInvictus 6y ago

> used to be about cutting-edge reporting and has devolved to fluff pieces This is the hole all the big news and media houses fell into. I don't think a lot of these companies really understood what the transaction they were making when they pivoted or expanded. When an outlet like Vice peddles fluff, click-bait and controversy pieces, the transaction is not videos/articles for clicks. With those fluff pieces, Vice and others were trading away trust and reputation, which is the core product of any information business. In a time where truth and trust are desperately needed, the big media houses should have been making bank (My god, in the information age, why can't the original information businesses make money?). Instead they bankrupted their core product for quick cash because they accidentally equated their product (Trust) with what they were selling (advertisements), and that lowered the whole industry to the point where they have to share space with the likes of Infowars.