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☆ Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to facilitate sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Vice Media Group, popular for websites such as Vice and Motherboard, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday to engineer its sale to a group of lenders, capping years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. The company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion, according to a court filing. Vice was among a group of fast-rising digital media ventures that once commanded rich valuations as they courted millennial audiences. It rose to prominence alongside its co-founder, Shane Smith, who built his media empire from a single Canadian magazine. In April, the company said it would cancel popular TV program "Vice News Tonight" as part of a broader restructuring that would result in job cuts across the digital media firm's global news business.

☆ Vice Media files for bankruptcy to enable sale to lenders including Soros and Fortress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Once a digital media darling, Vice Media Group on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection after years of financial troubles. Vice is one of several digital media and technology firms forced to restructure this year amid a sluggish economy and weak advertising market. To facilitate its sale, Vice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The consortium's bid includes a commitment of $20 million in cash to enable Vice's operations to continue throughout the sale process. Vice Co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said in a statement that the sale process will "strengthen the Company and position VICE for long-term growth."

☆ MTV News to shut down as Paramount slashes US workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Liam Reilly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Paramount Media Networks announced Tuesday it will shutter MTV News and slash its US workforce by 25%, bringing to an end the iconic music video network’s news division that once covered a range of issues from pop culture to politics and became a household name for Generation X and Millennial adolescents. During the ’90s, MTV News also provided an alternative to traditional cable news that appealed to young Americans. In addition to MTV News, some units in the company are being eliminated altogether, most of which are operations, a Paramount spokesperson said. CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, Gannett, Vox Media, NBC News and others have also cut their workforces in recent months. The Paramount Media Networks division is cutting staff by 25%.

☆ Vice Media Prepares to File for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jessica Toonkel | Alexander Saeedy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vice Media had recently announced it would be restructuring its news division. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesVice Media is preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as within the next several days, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would mark a major fall from grace for a once-hot media startup that was valued at $5.7 billion at its peak. Vice, whose assets include Vice News, Vice TV, Refinery29 and Motherboard, has struggled for years to find growth. The company has been looking to sell itself, but a deal hasn’t materialized, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. Its chief executive, Nancy Dubuc, departed earlier this year, and last week the company announced it would be restructuring its news division, ending its Vice World News Tonight show and shutting down the Vice World News brand.

☆ Vice Media preparing to file for bankruptcy - NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike SegarMay 1 (Reuters) - Vice Media Group, the company behind popular media websites such as Vice and Motherboard, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of its operations. "Vice Media Group has been engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives and planning. Last week, Vice Media said it will cancel popular TV program "Vice News Tonight" as part of a broader restructuring that will result in job cuts across the digital media firm's global news business, capping years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. Vice Media was among a group of fast-rising digital media ventures that once commanded rich valuations, as they courted millennial audiences. It rose to prominence alongside its provocative co-founder, Shane Smith, who built his media empire from a single Canadian magazine.

☆ Vice Media reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Vice Media Group, the company behind popular media websites such as Vice and Motherboard, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of its operations. The media firm has received interest from five companies and might consider a sale to avoid bankruptcy, the NYT report said, adding that in the event of a bankruptcy, which could happen in the coming weeks, Vice's debtholder Fortress Investment Group could end up controlling the company. "Vice Media Group has been engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives and planning. The company, its board and stakeholders continue to be focused on finding the best path for the company," the company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. Its potential bankruptcy comes as several other media and technology firms have had to downsize in recent months due to a challenging economy and a weak advertising market.

☆ Inside LinkedIn's new push to use AI tools to amplify — not replace — creators' voices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

LinkedIn sees potential for AI to amplify — not replace — creators' voices. Firmly of the view that artificial intelligence technology can augment and amplify those users' voices — not replace them — LinkedIn is eyeing opportunities in the burgeoning space. LinkedIn's collaborative articles begin with a thread generated with the help of AI, and then invite select users to contribute their perspective. Enter collaborative articles, which invited the several dozen teachers to offer up ideas like exhibiting "vulnerability" in the classroom. Think of these seminars like LinkedIn's version of Master Classes on topics like generative AI, machine learning with Python, and AI accountability.

☆ Vice Media cancels its flagship ‘Vice News Tonight’ program as it makes ‘painful’ layoffs and restructures the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Vice Media will cancel its acclaimed program “Vice News Tonight” as part of a broad restructuring that will result in painful cuts across the organization, the company said Thursday. The restructuring will have major implications on news teams at Vice Media. The company will sunset the Vice World News brand and fold its operations under the Vice News umbrella, giving the company a singular news brand. The restructuring comes as Vice Media, once the darling of the industry, explores a sale. CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, Gannett, Vox Media, NBC News, and others have also cut their workforces in recent months.

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ Fox News hosts avoided saying Tucker Carlson's name after he was fired. 'We're not talking about him,' Sean Hannity said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tucker Carlson was hardly mentioned by his former fellow Fox News hosts after he was fired Monday. Sean Hannity only mentioned Carlson to say "We're not talking about him" and that he had no details. NEW YORK (AP) — The day he was fired, Tucker Carlson was nearly invisible on the Fox News prime-time lineup that he used to dominate. "We're not talking about Tucker," Hannity said, unprompted. Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham appeared close in November 2020.

☆ The layoffs are here for those who chose to 'learn to code'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But for those who chose to "learn to code," Vox reported the wave of layoffs in 2023 is challenging that notion. "If we look at 2023 layoffs, it's software engineers who have overtaken recruiters in layoffs," Ayas told Insider. This shift also signals a change in focus for company layoffs, Ayas said. Since then, Revelio's new data suggests that nearly 5% of tech company layoffs impacted recruiters — the position that saw the most layoffs after software engineers. What started as a wave of layoffs in the tech industry has now rippled to the finance and media industries as well.

The reason this news pioneer is closingBuzzFeed’s decision to shut its news division — an innovator in digital journalism that published both prizewinning investigations and listicles designed to get clicks — drew many bittersweet tributes online. But its closure is the latest reminder that digital media start-ups, which deep-pocketed investors once valued at astronomical sums, are facing headwinds. With even tech giants struggling to navigate hurdles like a declining advertising market, smaller companies are facing potentially existential crises. BuzzFeed and its peers have also suffered from the same drop-off in online ads that is forcing sharp job cuts at Alphabet, Meta and others. BuzzFeed used one to list on the Nasdaq in late 2021 — and ended up raising just $16 million, far short of the $250 million it could have collected.

☆ The demise of BuzzFeed News marks the end of an era for digital media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

BuzzFeed News, the digital news outlet that harnessed the power of social media to take the internet by storm, is shuttering. Back then, BuzzFeed was the envy of media and its employees the cool kids of the industry. Lists and quizzes saturated social media feeds and dominated the internet. As the dinosaurs of the social media era get their lunch eaten by newcomers such as TikTok, so are the outlets that previously wielded those same platforms as their superpowers. BuzzFeed News gave BuzzFeed writ large prestige that the other content companies of the bygone era (ViralNova, Distractify, etc.)

☆ BuzzFeed to shut news unit to focus on HuffPost and cut 15% staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 20 (Reuters) - BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O) said it will shut down its news division with an aim to consolidate its news content in HuffPost and cut its workforce by 15%, sending the shares of the digital media company down 10% on Thursday. The second round of job cuts will affect 180 employees in teams including business, content, tech and admin, CEO Jonah Peretti said in an email to staff. It had previously cut 12% of its staff in December. The company said the affected News staff would be considered for open roles at the main site BuzzFeed.com and HuffPost, which it had acquired in 2020. As part of the restructuring, the company said Chief Revenue Officer Edgar Hernandez and Chief Operating Officer Christian Baesler have decided to leave.

☆ BuzzFeed Shuts Down Its Namesake News Division
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BuzzFeed is shutting down its namesake news division, which won acclaim for its journalism but fell prey to the punishing economics of digital publishing that has laid low many of its peers. Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s chief executive, said in an email to employees on Thursday that he was closing BuzzFeed News as part of a broader round of cuts at the company. About 60 people will be affected by the shuttering of the news division, some of whom will be offered jobs at other parts of the company. BuzzFeed’s decision is the latest in a series of financial setbacks faced by digital media companies. The media industry writ large has pivoted to focus on streaming, and digital advertising — a mainstay for digital publishing companies — is increasingly going to tech platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

☆ Bloomberg insiders can't be sure if Mike Bloomberg will choose an internal successor because he 'believes in stability, and then change,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sources told the FT that Bloomberg may decide to shun internal frontrunners and bring in an outsider. Bloomberg, who turned 81 in February, is worth nearly $95 billion, according to Forbes. "Only two people" run the company – Zammitt and Kliatchko – a former senior Bloomberg executive told the FT. He gave $1.7 billion to the organization last year, bringing his lifetime charitable donations to more than $14 billion, according to the site. Bloomberg didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

☆ ABC News staffers were stunned at the departures of veteran colleagues and 'outraged' about how the exits were handled
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some ABC News staff were in tears on Thursday after layoffs of respected news veterans. Kim Godwin has made positive changes as ABC News president and has faced a string of complex situations. ABC News staffers are in shock over the departure of multiple senior-level colleagues, most notably Wendy Fisher, SVP news gathering. ABC News alone lost 50 staffers on Thursday as part of the slim-down and a leadership reorganization by division President Kim Godwin. A second ABC News insider said it was unprecedented to dismiss longtime veterans in such a manner.

☆ Disney layoffs are expected to hit ABC News this week, sources say, with scores of roles to be eliminated following cuts from TV, engineering, and metaverse teams
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cuts at Disney's ABC News are coming before the end of the week, according to sources. Disney firings are expected to affect its ABC News division this week, according to two company insiders familiar with the situation. TV production and acquisition execs at Hulu, Freeform, and 20th Television were also impacted, according to a report in Deadline. Leaders will be communicating the news directly to the first group of impacted employees over the next four days. I want to thank each of you again for all your many achievements here at The Walt Disney Company.

☆ BuzzFeed Encourages Reporters to Write More Stories in Attempt to Turn Profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BuzzFeed has reduced the size of its newsroom by about 40% in the past year. BuzzFeed Inc. is encouraging its newsroom to produce more articles in an effort to boost traffic, as its news division continues to lose money and the digital publisher braces for continuing declines in revenue. BuzzFeed News Editor in Chief Karolina Waclawiak told staff at a recent meeting that increasing the news division’s volume and traffic was part of an effort to help the newsroom meet a goal of becoming profitable this year.

☆ Thomson Reuters reports higher fourth-quarter sales, profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The news and information company reported adjusted earnings of 73 cents per share. A strong dollar took 2 percentage points off the sales growth. Divestitures reduced sales growth by another 1 point. It expects first-quarter organic sales growth at the lower end of its full-year target of 5.5-6.0%. During the fourth quarter, Thomson Reuters said it would buy SurePrep LLC, a U.S.-based provider of tax automation software and services, for $500 million in cash.

☆ How Scripps News, the streaming and broadcast network formerly known as Newsy, is pivoting to anti-partisan, 'fact-based' reporting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Streaming and broadcast news network Newsy has been rebranded as Scripps News. The network formerly known as Newsy has a presence on TV stations owned by Scripps and its ION Media stations and is accessible via free over-the-air digital antenna and several streaming platforms — including Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. The company, which pulled Newsy from cable packages in 2021, boasts that Scripps News offers the only free 24/7 national news broadcast. Scripps News is also absorbing scores of executives from a national desk that fed the company's 61 local stations. Its local stations pulled in $208 million in ad revenue thanks to the midterm elections.

☆ Noah Oppenheim Steps Down as NBC News President in Leadership Reorganization
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Talal Ansari | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Noah Oppenheim was named president of NBC News in February 2017. NBC News President Noah Oppenheim is stepping down as part of a restructuring which splits up leadership of key programs in the network’s news division. Rebecca Blumenstein , a top New York Times editor, will become president of editorial at NBC News, a new role overseeing all editorial, newsgathering, “Meet the Press,” “Dateline” and NBC News Studios, said NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde.

☆ No more Newsy: The streaming and broadcast network rebrands as Scripps News under Warren Buffett-backed E.W. Scripps
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Streaming and broadcast news network Newsy is being scrapped and rebranded as Scripps News. Parent company E.W. Bellini is a San Francisco-based reporter for Newsy, the 14-year-old streaming news platform owned by E.W. Scripps News is also absorbing scores of executives from a national desk that fed the company's 61 local stations. Its local stations pulled in $208 million in ad revenue thanks to the midterm elections.

A spokesperson for the Washington Post, which Bezos bought in 2013 for $250 million, said it is not for sale. "A Bloomberg acquisition of the (Post) is not necessarily just a business decision. According to Axios, Bloomberg sees Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Bezos was interested in selling. Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reuters competes with Dow Jones and Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., a provider of financial news.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at 57 cents, 7 cents ahead of estimates. Thomson Reuters' peers include RELX Group’s (REL.L) LexisNexis, Bloomberg LP, News Corp's (NWSA.O) DowJones, and Wolters Kluwer (WLSNc.AS). Thomson Reuters holds a minority stake in the LSE, worth about $6.3 billion as of Friday. Thomson Reuters will be "quite a bit more aggressive in the next few quarters in looking at acquisitions," he said. Reporting by Ken Li and Nick Zieminski in New York Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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