Vice Media, a one-time digital journalism sensation, will no longer publish stories and other content on its website, according to a memo sent to staff yesterday, Bloomberg News reported. The company, which emerged from bankruptcy court protection last year, is restructuring its business once again. Vice will transition to a studio model, distributing its content, including news, on other media platforms, with an emphasis on social media. “It is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously,” Chief Executive Officer Bruce Dixon said in the memo. The company is continuing with plans to sell its female-focused website Refinery 29. Additional layoffs will occur, with employees notified in coming weeks. The business, which began as an alternative music and culture magazine in Montreal in the 1990s, raised capital from high-profile investors such as Walt Disney Co. and Fox Corp. before running into a slowdown in digital advertising spending. At its peak it was valued at $5.7 billion.
