
Vice Media files for bankruptcy amidst media landscape turmoil
By Mahmoud Bennett (Social Media Producer/Reporter)
Media Landscape
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Vice Media, a prominent digital media company that once held a valuation of $5.7 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, May 15. The company said its top lenders will provide about $225 million in credit bid for almost all of Vice’s assets and also assume significant liabilities at closing.
Vice Media, which had wooed media giants, has struggled to meet its revenue targets for several years. The company has also reportedly faced difficulties in compensating its freelance contributors.
Vice assets and liabilities are worth between $500 million and $1 billion, according to Monday’s filing.
In a prepared statement, Vice co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said the “accelerated court-supervised sale process” will strengthen the company and position it for long-term growth, “thereby safeguarding the kind of authentic journalism and content creation that makes VICE such a trusted brand for young people and such a valued partner to brands, agencies and platforms.”
The news comes amidst a series of setbacks faced by media outlets across the country. In early May, MTV News revealed its decision to shut down after a 36-year run. Weeks earlier, BuzzFeed News had also announced its departure from the media landscape.
Industry experts have attributed these recent failures to various factors, including a slowdown in advertising and increased competition from major technology companies.
Recent polling indicates media distrust is at an all time high, as well. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults believe that the news media contributes to political polarization, according to an AP-NORC poll. Additionally, almost half of AP-NORC poll respondents expressed little to no trust in the media’s ability to provide fair news coverage.
The Straight Arrow News editorial mission focuses on fact-based reporting, and its Media MissTM tool allows readers to compare coverage from other outlets and form their own opinions.
MAHMOUD BENNETT:
A MEDIA COMPANY ONCE VALUED AT ALMOST $6 BILLION HAS FILED FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY
VICE MEDIA ANNOUNCING MONDAY ITS AGREED TO SELL OFF ITS ASSETS TO SEVERAL LENDERS FOR JUST OVER 220 MILLION DOLLARS
THE COMPANY WHICH ONCE PROMISED TO UPEND MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAS MISSED ITS REVENUE TARGETS FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND WAS REPORTEDLY LEFT STRUGGLING TO PAY ITS FREELANCERS
THE NEWS FOLLOWS A BARRAGE OF SETBACKS FACING MEDIA OUTLETS AROUND THE COUNTRY
IN EARLY MAY MTV ANNOUNCED IT’LL BE SHUTTING DOWN AFTER A 36 YEAR RUN – that JUST WEEKS AFTER BUZZFEED *SIMILARLY CALLED IT QUITS*
WHILE EXPERTS ATTRIBUTE RECENT FAILURES TO REASONS RANGING FROM SLOWED-DOWN ADVERTISING TO COMPETITION WITH BIG TECH, STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS HAS ALSO REPORTED ON A GROWING SENTIMENT OF MEDIA DISTRUST:
NEARLY THREE-QUARTERS OF US ADULTS SAY THE NEWS MEDIA IS *INCREASING* POLITICAL POLARIZATION .. AS SUCH JUST UNDER HALF OF RESPONDENTS IN A RECENT AP POLL SAID THEY HAVE LITTLE TO NO TRUST IN THE MEDIA’S ABILITY TO COVER THE NEWS FAIRLY
THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS MISSION STATEMENT IS TO PROVIDE FACT-BASED REPORTING WITH BUILT IN ‘MEDIA MISS’ FEATURES SO YOU CAN SEE HOW OTHER OUTLETS ARE COVERING THE ISSUES AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF
**FOR MORE DOWN THE MIDDLE COVERAGE – HEAD OVER TO STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.COM**
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the right as only 18% of the coverage is from right leaning media. Learn moreBias Distribution
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