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It’s a bad time to be a journo, both with a capital J and a lowercase J.
Business models for information sharing continue to change at an accelerating pace. And it has become virtually impossible for even the smartest executives at the largest traditional news organizations to keep up. Public trust in them is at an all-time low. Polls show that viewers don’t believe that information is presented in an objective manner. Partisan politics and agendas seem to be the rule rather than the exception.Everywhere you look, from newspapers to cable news to internet sites and even once-respected brands. sports illustrated We may see significant reductions or even shut down operations altogether. This is despite the fact that 2024 is shaping up to be one of the most historic years for news and information in our lifetimes.
And that seems to be going double for a media outlet that was supposed to be rewriting the way magazines did things just a few years ago.
Yes, these are sad times when investors would rather rely on protocol droids to write their content than have real people with journalism degrees saddled with six-figure student loans.
But for Buzzfeed and Vice, that’s not the half.
CNN – The digital media revolution is over.
Its two leaders, Vice Media and BuzzFeed, are in a frenzied exit, surrendering much of their online empires as they seek to protect what remains of their core assets. The former digital media darlings who once threatened to upend entire industries and usher in a new era of news distribution and monetization are now simply trying to survive in whatever form they can.
As they retreat, the large newsroom once filled with rows of journalists now turns off its lights and closes its doors. BuzzFeed, already slimmed down after several waves of layoffs, announced this week that it will cut an additional 16% of its workforce in a “planned strategic restructuring” to cut costs. And Vice Media announced Thursday that it will stop publishing on its website and lay off hundreds of staff as it pivots to a more studio-like business.
“It’s shocking to see a group of journalists who have had such a profound impact on the world lose their jobs in this way,” one junior media executive told me about the ugly situation. …
Both Vice Media and BuzzFeed are industry-wide alter egos and have served as two of the most high-profile trailblazers, paving the (brief) path for other digital-first startups. At some point, these media outlets made splashy hires and threatened further disruption while creating fear in their traditional media competitors, each worth billions of dollars.
They’re having a hard time keeping their heads above water right now.
As we know, the demise of Vice Media is a particularly hard pill to swallow. … [T]The atmosphere inside Vice Media was tense.
As rumors spread about the outlet’s fate, staff were struggling to work, with one staffer saying it was “like watching a violinist play inside the sinking Titanic”.
It’s a really hard pill to swallow. A fresh, unique and original metaphor played by a violinist as the Titanic sinks. It’s enough to make you wonder what the guys at Vice Media would come up with if only a few small, ineffective changes were made. Will they burn off some mental calories and come up with something new, or will they go straight to their deck chairs? I think we can make an educated guess. And AI comes up with similar clichés, only faster and cheaper.
However, I don’t want it to seem like I’m happy about this. It is my policy to never invite the bad karma of celebrating the end of someone’s career, unless the person directly tried to put my employer out of business. And it takes a much more cynical person than me to remember that when blue-collar jobs were closing down a few years ago, a common refrain in the corporate media was “you should learn to code.” would be necessary. No, I’m not happy about this, I’m sad about it. After all, these companies aren’t Deadspin.
Because if Buzzfeed and Vice go out of business, where will all the worthless clickbait links go? Do you regret clicking on them by mistake? However, it is probably intended to trick her into revealing her password. Do sensational headlines call for actual content worth reading? Should we continue to live without the worst content on the internet? That means we’ll see the day without some of these gems Imagine that. In no particular order, the worst of the worst. Please do not click any of these links. Finally, please say thank you to me.
From Buzzfeed:
And vice:
It’s a complete mystery how these white-hot, can’t-miss, must-read content brands fail to make connections in the marketplace of ideas. It’s as if Americans are tired of clicking through humorless garbage that has no redeeming value and is completely devoid of any compelling reason for being. Go figure.
As much as I’m reading the deputy staff spewing out lazy and obvious platitudes, let’s add another word. It has long been said that no one went bankrupt by underestimating the intelligence of the American people. And that has always been true. At least until the last few months. It is now becoming very clear that the Internet is beginning to fulfill its original promise as a true meritocracy. A place where good content always exists and viewers and brash trash die a gruesome death sooner or later. And Buzzfeed and Vice have done their part to prove that true by becoming two more sites doomed to become the ash heap of history while Barstool continues to grow exponentially. I did. Brick by brick.
Jiffy image.
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