Latest in digital media

Vice Media Group has announced the closing of its Refinery29 acquisition and changes to its top management team. The Vice-Refinery deal, worth a reported $400 million, is one of several examples lately of consolidation in the digital media sector, as Facebook and Google continue to pose a stiff challenge in the…

Many of those affected by BuzzFeed’s latest round of layoffs have been taking to Twitter this morning to share the unhappy news. The company confirmed Wednesday it planned to lay off 15% of its workforce, or about 200 people, including many news staffers. In a memo to employees on Wednesday, co-founder and CEO Jonah Pe…

Jack Ma, the former English teacher who built one of the world’s most influential e-commerce businesses, said he will step down as Alibaba’s executive chairman next week to focus on philanthropy, the New York Times reported. Alibaba transformed how the Chinese people shop and make purchases, and made Ma the richest…

Digital media company Vox Media said it would lay off about 50 employees at three of its publications and in its video team, citing “industry changes.” Chief Executive Jim Bankoff announced the job cuts, which amount to 5% of the company’s workforce, in a memo to staff today. The job losses hit its Racked, Curbed and…

Marc Lieberman has been named studio president at Above Average, a digital-first entertainment company that creates and distributes comedy programming. In the newly created role, Lieberman will oversee creative development and production of original programming, as well as content distribution deals. Prior to his…