Category Archives: Vice Media

Vice Media to lay off hundreds of workers and stop publishing on its site

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Memo sent by Bruce Dixon, the Vice Media chief, talks of transition to ‘studio model’ as employees term move ‘very upsetting’

Vice plans to lay off hundreds of employees next week and stop publishing on Vice.com, according to a memo sent to staffers by Bruce Dixon, the Vice Media chief.

On Friday, Dixon confirmed that “several hundred” staffers would be laid off and that the brand “will no longer publish content on vice.com”. He said the company is transitioning to a “studio model”.

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Thursday briefing: Vice took millions from Saudi Arabia – but has its deal backfired?

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In today’s newsletter: As the upstart media company faces bankruptcy, it has developed strong ties with the country, leaving some to question what compromises companies are willing to make to do business

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It’s hard to put into words the transformation that Saudi Arabia has undergone in the past six years.

Mohammed bin Salman, commonly referred to as MBS, was appointed the crown prince in 2017 and is now the de facto ruler of the kingdom. There have been notable reforms under his new regime. Women are allowed to drive; the guardian system – under which men have legal powers over women – has been relaxed; and cinemas reopened after 35 years.

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Vice blocked news stories that could offend Saudi Arabia, insiders say

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Exclusive: Media company recently signed lucrative deal with Saudi government-controlled MBC Group

Vice has repeatedly blocked news stories that could offend the Saudi government, leaving its reporters unsure if they are still able to report freely on the kingdom’s human rights abuses, sources have said.

The media company recently signed a lucrative partnership deal with the MBC Group, a media company controlled by the Saudi government, to establish a joint venture in the Middle Eastern country. Of the 29 jobs currently advertised on Vice’s careers page, 20 are based in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.

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Vice files for bankruptcy protection amid cut-price sale to consortium

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Digital publisher and owner of Vice News and Vice TV was once valued at $6bn but has agreed sale for $225m

Vice, the once high-flying media startup that reached a peak valuation of nearly $6bn (£5bn), has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US as the digital publisher engineers a cut-price sale to a group of lenders.

The company, whose assets include Vice News, Motherboard, Refinery29 and Vice TV, has agreed a sale to a consortium that includes Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital for $225m in the form of a credit bid for its assets as well as assuming Vice’s “significant liabilities”.

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Cambodia condemns Vice for edited photos of Khmer Rouge victims smiling

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Colourised images from Tuol Sleng prison during 1970s genocide were manipulated, media group says

Cambodia has condemned images published by Vice media group that featured victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide, colourised and with some apparently edited to add smiles to their faces.

The artist Matt Loughrey modified images taken at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where thousands of people were tortured and interrogated before they were sent on to the killing fields of Choeung Ek.

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