Vice Media files for bankruptcy amidst media landscape turmoil

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.

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