“Pre-internet, such people would have been confined to relaying their theories on the phone and in the mail. But thanks to the internet, it’s simple to develop a following.”— Paul Mulshine, nj.com
“In an internal email to staff obtained by Variety, CEO Nancy Dubuc stated that although the digital side of VICE accounts for 50% of headcount costs, it only brings in 21% of their revenue. As a result, the layoffs primarily affect the digital teams, and account for more than 5% of their total staff…”— Dan Gentile, sfgate.com
“The founders said that they have decided to forego salaries, have made salary cuts for other executives, and have sought assistance from the federal government, but that those were not enough to save the company.”— Lauren Kaori Gurley, vice.com
“It increasingly feels like a matter of when, and not if, you will suffer layoffs in this industry. It's a spectral hand just at the back of your neck every single day. And it doesn't matter how hard you work or how talented you are.”— Tyler McCall, twitter.com
“At least 10 staffers and contributors for Bustle, the online women’s publication, were laid off or cut Thursday — the latest sign of distress in the digital media space as companies try to find paths to profitable growth.”— Todd Spangler, variety.com
“I think media is still a great business, if you run it like a damn business.”— Jim VandeHei, nytimes.com
“Much of the site’s sizable quiz traffic comes from amateur quizzes created for free by members of the user-generated content hub BuzzFeed Community.”— Jenny G. Zhang, slate.com
“Considering you’re the kind of person who took the time out of your work day to write an article about Nancy Pelosi’s coat, you definitely don’t have what it takes to make it out there.”— Carrie Wittmer, thebelladonnacomedy.com
“To make up for some of the loss in manpower, BuzzFeed will lean more heavily on unpaid contributors and editorial fellows to make quizzes, sources said. This year, BuzzFeed will resurrect a fellowships program, but in an expanded form. Fellowships will last 12 months instead of three, and the number…”— Max Willens, digiday.com
“The restructuring we are undertaking will reduce our costs and improve our operating model so we can thrive and control our own destiny, without ever needing to raise funding again. These changes will allow us to be the clear winner in the market as the economics of digital media continue to improve…”— Jonah Peretti, recode.net
“[talking on the phone] And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over…”— Mike Judge, Milton Waddams, Stephen Root, imdb.com
“We're gonna be getting rid of these people here….First, Mr. Samir Naga... Naga... Naga...Not gonna work here anymore, anyway.”— Mike Judge, Bob Porter, Paul Willson, imdb.com
“There’s a strong likelihood that the redesign of our application will be disruptive to our business in the short term, and we don’t yet know how the behavior of our community will change when they begin to use our updated application.”— Evan Spiegel, variety.com
“There will be reductions among editors and some other departures from around the newsroom in coming weeks and months. That is a difficult process for us all. We do intend to monitor this transition closely and ensure that we not only maintain but in many areas improve the editing that is critical to…”— Dean Baquet, Joseph Kahn, deadline.com