National Writers Union Condemns Vox for Laying Off Polygon Staff in Sale to Valnet

The National Writers Union condemned Vox Media on Monday, in a message of solidarity with the Vox Media Union, after a majority of Polygon staffers were laid off as the video games-focused site was sold to Valnet.

“Every website sold to Valnet is a tragedy for entertainment journalism and Internet culture, but losing the workers who make Polygon a great publication both to freelance for and to read is a particular gut punch,” the statement read. “In a precarious industry in which freelance workers simultaneously compose the majority of journalists covering entertainment and compete for vanishing assignments at lower and lower pay, Polygon has been a bastion of ethical entertainment journalism.”

The NWU and its digital media division, the Freelance Solidarity Project, especially took issue with the job cuts taking place on May Day — “an international holiday celebrating the history of the labor movement.”

“Other media conglomerates have been accused of similar abuses, and these are only the most recent layoffs in a long series of cruel cuts after Big Tech and private equity began meddling in our industry over a decade ago at the cost of our livelihoods,” the NWU and FSP continued. “Entertainment journalism is work, and all work deserves to be paid a living wage.”

The above joint statement also referenced TheWrap’s reporting about Valnet’s history with websites such as Screen Rant, Collider, CBR and MovieWeb: “Over the past decade, Valnet has made a business model out of buying up independently owned, fan-centric entertainment journalism sites, laying off large swaths of staff and replacing salaried labor with contract workers who are expected to produce large volumes of clickbait and copy work for little pay.”

The NWU’s message echoes the Writers Guild of America East’s response to the layoffs last week, who wrote, “With only a month left until the current union contract expires at Vox Media, the company yesterday announced it sold Polygon and laid off the bargaining unit at the site. It is hard to fathom management’s commitment to its workers and its readers when this marks the fifth round of layoffs in just the last six months.”

Last week’s sale also came after Valnet sued TheWrap for $64.5 million in damages over an investigative article, citing 15 current and former contributors, about the “sweatshop” working conditions for its writers.

Elsewhere, Vox Media’s Vulture, New York Magazine, Eater, Thrillist and Pop Sugar have all similarly been impacted by layoffs in the past six month.

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