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☆ I'm an HR executive that was just laid off from Vox Media. I've been preparing for this since my first day on the job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Last Friday, I was informed that I was being laid off from my position at Vox Media. Today is my last day as executive director of talent and development for Vox.com after one year at the company. "What's the difference between the life I'm experiencing now and the one I want to have? It's about what kind of life I'm trying to live. At the end of the day, there is no job that's 100% secure because companies exist to thrive and drive profits.

☆ Doctors and Nurses Forced to Give Four Months Notice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Employees at Concentra must give 120 days' notice before they quit, Bloomberg reported. Doctors, nurses and physicians assistants have received threats of hefty fines for leaving early, according to Bloomberg. The FTC has proposed a rule banning noncompete clauses, which also affect Concentra workers, per Bloomberg. But as noncompete clauses and other restrictive measures become popular among corporations, regulators are firing up an effort to halt them all together. By ending this practice, the FTC's proposed rule would promote greater dynamism, innovation, and healthy competition," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in the release.

☆ Mega-publisher Dotdash Meredith cuts 7% of its workforce, citing weakened ad market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

It’s the latest example in a brutal wave of layoffs that have consumed the media and technology industries. In making the job cuts at Dotdash Meredith, which will impact 274 employees, CEO Neil Vogel cited the poor economic terrain the company is trying to navigate. In recent months, the media and technology sectors have taken a battering as advertisers tighten spending amid economic uncertainty. CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, Vox Media, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Gannett and other news organizations have cut their workforces in recent months. Google said it had made the decision to eliminate 6% of its workforce, which translates to approximately 12,000 jobs.

☆ Vox Media is in talks to raise $200 million as it considers asset sales and acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Private equity giant CVC Capital is discussing a $200 million investment into Vox Media. Vox Media, which owns New York magazine, Recode, The Verge and more, recently laid off more than 100 staffers. Both CVC Capital and Group Black had talks aimed at acquiring the digital media company, according to reports. Vox Media, the digital media venture that houses assets including New York magazine, The Verge, Eater, and SB Nation, is looking to raise around $200 million, according to two people familiar with talks. The sources said they believe Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff wants to use the money to acquire new assets while also potentially putting some Vox Media properties on the block.

☆ Washington Post begins layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Washington Post on Tuesday became the latest media company to conduct layoffs, people familiar with the matter said, a move that publisher Fred Ryan had indicated last month the newspaper would take in early 2023. But The Post said at the time of Ryan’s announcement that it anticipated the layoffs being in the “single digit percentage” of its workforce. The Post also stressed the layoffs would ultimately not result in a “net reduction” of its workforce as it would invest in other areas. Ryan’s December announcement about future layoffs prompted fury inside the Post newsroom, nearly a dozen employees at The Post told CNN at the time. “The mood is really grim,” one staffer had told CNN.

☆ Dotdash Meredith's CEO explains why its $2.7 billion acquisition of Meredith has been tough as the ad industry gets creamed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

CEO Neil Vogel said an ad market slowdown and culture challenges have been hard. IAC-owned Dotdash Meredith is about a year into its $2.7 billion acquisition of magazine giant Meredith, and a rough ad market has made the transition to become a big player for advertisers tough. "The market is hard," said Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith. Dotdash Meredith owns more than 40 brands including People, The Spruce, and Food & Wine. At the same time, the ad market soured last year as advertisers reigned in spending.

☆ Reddit just hired its first-ever CRO. He tells Insider how Reddit's ad sales team quintupled since 2020, and why a bad economy won't keep it from hiring more this year.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Media companies are cutting staff, but Reddit is still hiring in ad sales. Since massively re-organizing its ads sales team over two years ago and hiring Pinterest exec Harold Klaje to be VP of ads, the size of that team has quintupled, he said. Because of the growth of the ad sales team, Klaje has been promoted to be Reddit's first-ever CRO. Redditors are notoriously protective of their privacy, so Reddit never let advertisers target individual users. He added that Reddit is still hiring and its sales team will expand in 2023, though he declined to say by how much.

☆ Here are the companies that have laid off employees this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Tech firms went on a hiring spree. “Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to employees. The crypto brokerage announced in early January that it’s cutting 950 people – almost one in five employees in its workforce. Departments from human resources to the company’s Amazon (AMZN) Stores will be affected. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to employees.

☆ Thousands join rightist rally against Spanish government
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] People protest against the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at Cibeles Square in Madrid, Spain, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Susana VeraMADRID, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Thousands of people packed into central Madrid on Saturday to protest against the Socialist government and accuse it of undermining the constitution, in a rally backed by rightist parties. Protesters massed in the Plaza de Cibeles in front of City Hall, waved Spanish flags, called on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to resign and shouted out "traitor". Around 200km (120 miles) away in the northwestern city of Valladolid, Sanchez told a Socialist rally that the protesters in Madrid were defending a "uniform" and therefore "discriminatory" Spain. Its recent decision to replace the crime of sedition with a lesser crime was opposed on the right.

☆ Media Companies Cut Jobs as They Brace for Advertising Slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | Joseph De Avila | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

News publishers across the U.S. are trimming staff, as a challenging economic environment is leading advertisers to pull back on spending. Vox Media, the publisher of New York Magazine, Curbed and SB Nation, on Friday told employees it would lay off approximately 7% of its staff, which people familiar with the matter said amounted to about 130 people losing their jobs. The cuts at Vox come as other media companies, including Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. and BuzzFeed Inc., are resorting to layoffs.

☆ Vox Media to lay off 7% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Vox Media, the publisher of news websites such as Vox and The Verge, in addition to New York magazine, will lay off 7% of its workforce, chief executive Jim Bankoff said in a Friday morning memo to staff. The union representing Vox Media employees said it was “furious” over the announcement. The media and technology sectors have been battered in recent months as advertisers tighten spending amid broader economic uncertainty. Alphabet said it had made the decision to eliminate 6% of its workforce, which translates to approximately 12,000 jobs. Bankoff said the tough economy had forced Vox Media to focus on its core business.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's $10 million in investment in Semafor will be held in custody until authorities decide its fate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried invested $10 million in news startup Semafor, according to the New York Times. But the scale of Bankman-Fried's investment was unknown until Wednesday's New York Times report. His $10 million investment was part of an initial funding round that raised a total of $25 million. Smith also has maintained that SBF's investment didn't give him any tangible shares in Semafor thanks to its dual-class ownership. If Bankman-Fried's stake had been converted to equity, then he would have been entitled to a single-digit minority stake, according to the Financial Times.

☆ FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

They're currently scrutinizing former FTX engineer Nishad Singh, people familiar with the matter said. Singh first met Sam Bankman-Fried through the now-disgraced FTX founder's younger brother Gabe, who he was high school friends with. "[Former FTX chief technology officer] Gary [Wang] is scared, Nishad is ashamed and guilty," Bankman-Fried said. "It hit [Singh] hard. Read more: Everything we know about Nishad Singh, the 27-year-old former FTX exec who had an 8% stake in the crypto exchange

☆ BuzzFeed's $300M purchase of Complex promised to grow both brands, but insiders say strategies have clashed and Complex's culture is being 'completely gutted'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Complex insiders worry that the cuts threaten their brand's culture and future. Clashing video strategies as some fear Complex culture is being 'completely gutted'Kevin Hart appeared on Complex's "Hot Ones" series. Before joining with BuzzFeed, Complex's then-CEO Rich Antoniello had conversations with Vice Media and Vox Media. But Complex insiders felt especially aggrieved when, this fall, BuzzFeed announced a global expansion for ComplexCon. To Complex insiders, BuzzFeed's plan to take the event to Australia, Europe, and Asia simultaneously was unrealistic and under-resourced.

☆ Democrats Hold the Senate, and Liberal Justices Suddenly Get Old
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( James Taranto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A “red wave” wasn’t the only election result that failed to materialize in November. Neither was there a surge of anonymously sourced stories to the effect that Joe Biden is too old and feeble to seek a second term. Instead, on Nov. 19, the eve of his birthday, the New York Times published a piece with the headline “President Biden Is Turning 80. Experts Say Age Is More Than a Number.” The Times cited one of those “10 experts in aging” in assuring its readers that “the life expectancy for the average white, 80-year-old man is another eight years.”But only two days after the election, journalists began calling for two considerably younger officeholders—Justices Sonia Sotomayor , 68, and Elena Kagan , 62—to step down. Dylan Matthews of Vox, a website that caters to left-of-center middle-aged millennials, tweeted on Nov. 10: “Assuming Dems hold the Senate, this is a good time for Kagan and Sotomayor to retire.”

☆ Everything we know about Nishad Singh, the 27-year-old former FTX exec who had an 8% stake in the crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nishad Singh was FTX's Director of Engineering and had a 7.8% stake in the crypto exchange. Singh received a $543 million loan from Alameda Research, per bankruptcy filings. Singh was FTX's director of engineering, and had a 7.8% stake in the company. Singh's nearly 8% stake, which also included FTX subsidiary FTX.US, was worth about $572 million in March of this year. A year after Singh became FTX's director of engineering, he became a steady donor for the Democratic Party.

☆ Complex insiders say owner BuzzFeed has shed key talent, failed to invest in core content, and threatens to dilute the hip culture brand: 'The BuzzFeed ethos does not get it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Clashing video strategies as some fear Complex culture is being 'completely gutted'Kevin Hart appeared on Complex's "Hot Ones" series. Before joining with BuzzFeed, Complex's then-CEO Rich Antoniello had conversations with Vice Media and Vox Media. Rubbing salt in the wound, Complex insiders said they felt their brand was scrappier and more culturally relevant than BuzzFeed, which many consider past its prime. But Complex insiders felt especially aggrieved when, this fall, BuzzFeed announced a global expansion for ComplexCon. To Complex insiders, BuzzFeed's plan to take the event to Australia, Europe, and Asia simultaneously was unrealistic and under-resourced.

☆ Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, is cooperating with prosecutors. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FTX cofounder Gary Wang was a critical player during the rise and fall of SBF's crypto empire . Throughout his time at FTX, Wang maintained a limited online presence and steered clear of media interviews, leaving the limelight to his cofounder, Sam Bankman-Fried. But at FTX, Wang was a somewhat reclusive figure, per reports. Fraud charges and guilty pleaUnlike his cofounder, Wang has largely disappeared from view since he was fired from FTX after the company's implosion. "All of the sudden that snapped into he was leaving that day, back to the US and implicitly mostly stopped working," Bankman-Fried told the news outlet.

☆ Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX cofounder Gary Wang was a critical player during the rise and fall of SBF's crypto empire . Wang also served as FTX's former chief technology officer but kept a low profile. Wang served as the chief technology officer at FTX until the exchange collapsed in mid-November. Wang later became the chief technology officer at FTX, establishing himself as a key member of the crypto empire's inner circle. Fraud charges and guilty pleaUnlike his cofounder, Wang has largely disappeared from view since he was fired from FTX after the company's implosion.

Elon Musk announced that he would step down as the CEO of Twitter. "Should I step down as head of Twitter?," Musk tweeted on Sunday afternoon. The search was already ongoing before Musk's poll on whether he would step down, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources. Musk's search for a new Twitter CEO comes amid criticisms and concerns from Tesla shareholders and analysts that he is spreading himself too thin. Musk is also the CEO of Tesla, which share price has fallen 61% this year so far.

☆ Morningstar shares 2 trades they say will deliver 7% yearly returns over the next decade, even after accounting for inflation — and breaks down why the 60/40 portfolio strategy is starting to look att
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But the sell-offs have put both asset classes in a better position to succeed for the long-term, Straehl said in a recent note. While communication services stocks have largely sold off this year, the sector is now the most attractive in the market, Straehl said. The Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX) provides exposure to the communications services sector. The second trade Straehl said will deliver 7% real returns over the next 10 years is emerging market stocks. The stocks are in a more favorable place valuation-wise than developed market stocks, Straehl said.

☆ Who is Ryan Salame, the FTX exec, Republican mega-donor, and New England restaurateur who blew the whistle on FTX?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ryan Salame, FTX Digital Market's Co-CEO, tipped off regulators about what was going on at the exchange. Days before disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Co-CEO Salame tipped off regulators on alleged malfeasance at the once-$32 billion crypto empire. Bankman-Fried notoriously told a Vox reporter "fuck regulators....they make everything worse" shortly after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection last month. "I always thought he was a great leader," Childs, who hasn't seen Salame since highschool, told The Berkshire Eagle. He purchased six pieces of real estate in the area to the tune of $6 million, according to The Berkshire Eagle.

☆ Elon Musk is tweeting about basically everything — apart from the poll where users said he should give up control of Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk polled Twitter users on Sunday about whether he should give up control of the company. Musk, who has run the site since buying it in late October, said he'd abide by the results of the poll. "Should I step down as head of Twitter?," Musk had tweeted. Shortly after posting the poll, Musk tweeted: "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it." Some users and activist groups say there has been a rise in hate speech on the platform since Musk took over.

☆ After Twitter users voted to oust Elon Musk as CEO, he wants to change how polls work
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —When Elon Musk polled Twitter users about whether to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account, he quickly followed through on the majority’s wish to do so. But since a clear majority of Twitter users voted for Musk to step down as Twitter CEO in another poll on Sunday, Musk has remained conspicuously (and uncharacteristically) silent. After one Twitter user said, “Blue subscribers should be the only ones that can vote in policy related polls,” Musk responded, “Good point. There is no successor.”CNBC reported Tuesday that Musk is “actively searching” for a new Twitter CEO, citing anonymous sources. The most obvious potential candidates for a new Twitter CEO are the Musk lieutenants who have been helping to run the company since his takeover.

☆ Analysis: The Twitter CEO is conspicuously quiet after users vote for him to step down amid chaotic policy changes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In fact, Musk spent most of Monday conspicuously quiet, refraining from tweeting for a remarkable 18-hour period. In one Sunday night tweet, Musk wrote, “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. Musk last month said he would “find somebody else to run Twitter” and that he expected to “reduce” his time there. The electric automaker bore the brunt of more bad news related to Musk’s Twitter obsession on Monday. As the saying goes, Vox populi, Vox dei.

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