Laid Off: During Mic's "Pivot to Video"
"Before then, the vibe at the office had always been very positive. I don't think it ever really recovered."
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In today’s issue, I talk to Jake Kleinman, the former gaming editor at Mic who was laid off during the millennial-focused news site’s infamous pivot to video.
By the time Jake Kleinman, the gaming editor at Mic, walked into the newsroom in the summer of 2017, he knew he was being laid off.
His managers had asked him to come in earlier than usual, a detail he still thinks about. Mic’s office took up 36,000-square-feet on the 82nd floor of One World Trade Center. Jake met with members of senior leadership in a smaller, windowless meeting room on the other side of the office. Great for privacy, but a long walk back to his desk through the bullpen.
“My boss’s boss was the one who delivered the news and he noted that I would be okay because I am ‘cool as a cucumber,’ which has stuck with me for many years.”
Jake was one of 25 people laid off at Mic at the time. In a memo to staff, founder Chris Altchek said they believed “deeply in our vision to make Mic the leader in visual journalism.” In other words, the newsroom decided to shift its resources and invest more in video, better known as a “pivot to video,” a phrase that has its own Wikipedia page.
Newsrooms started cutting writers and editors in favor of workers focused on shooting and producing content for Facebook Live. Over the course of just a few years, layoffs hit places like Vocativ, Vice, BuzzFeed, Mashable, MTV News, and Fox Sports who had banked on the “pivot to video” strategy.
It didn’t pay off, and the reliance on the platform ultimately backfired on Mic, who laid off most of its staff a little over a year later at the end of 2018. In the aftermath of the mass layoffs, Bustle Digital Group acquired Mic for about $5 million. A few months later, in March of 2019, Mic (under BDG) started hiring with a focus on branded video content. In the fall of 2022, BDG laid off 10 Mic staffers.
And, at the end of last year, BDG had another round of layoffs. Jake had worked there as an editor for six years. It was his second layoff.
Editor’s note: I worked on the tech desk at Mic from 2014 to 2016.
You said that by the time you walked into the room, you knew you were being laid off. What gave it away?
When I woke up that morning I had already received a Google Calendar invite for a meeting with my boss's boss. The first clue was that the meeting was scheduled for earlier than I usually got into the office. I texted my manager, who was on vacation, to try to find out what was happening. He replied and said he didn't know. I reached out to a few other coworkers, quickly backed up some of my work to my personal Google Drive, and headed to the office. While I was on the subway, the layoffs started, so by the time I got to work I knew what was happening. I met a coworker in the lobby who had already been laid off and we hugged. Then I went upstairs.
You described the mood as "bleak.”
By the time I had been laid off, they were probably about halfway through the entire layoff process. A lot of people were crying, and a lot of people who hadn't been laid off yet were still worried it would happen to them soon. I can't remember anything specific, but everyone was just in shock. Before then, the vibe at the office had always been very positive. I don't think it ever really recovered.
You were part of Mic's infamous "pivot to video." How did that phrase start becoming synonymous with layoffs in the media industry?
At the time, a lot of media companies were chasing Facebook Video views, which we later found out were total bullshit and inflated by Facebook. So companies like Mic laid off writers and editors so they could invest in video. It quickly became a trend. I think it stuck around in the lexicon because it was one of the first big waves of layoffs in the digital media industry, which had been booming but suddenly started to slow down once investors realized there was no real business model and online ads were sort of worthless.
But the truth is, "pivot to video" was just an excuse to lay people off, not an actual business strategy. In the decade since, the media industry has basically given up the charade. Now, they just lay off employees because of "economic headwinds," which is code for: we need to make a profit next quarter and the only way is to stop paying people. It's a more honest approach than "pivot to video," at the very least.
What reasoning did they give you during the layoff meeting? Did they mention the aforementioned pivot?
I don't remember being given a clear reason, just that the company was shifting its focus or something like that. Pretty much my whole team got cut, so it made sense on some level. I think the "pivot to video" stuff was communicated afterward to the remaining staff, and then it trickled out from there.
Why did the phrase "cool as a cucumber" stick with you all these years? Do you think it was a fair thing to bring up in the context of layoffs?
Maybe because it seemed like such a weird thing to say to someone right after firing them? In hindsight, it was also a little manipulative, right? It sort of disarmed me in the moment and kept me from losing my cool. It's probably stuck with me because, in the end, it was a compliment offered during a very difficult moment.
You met up with some coworkers at a bar afterward. Which one? What were the common themes among conversations happening at the bar hang?
I can't remember the name of the bar. The office was in the new World Trade Center building, so bar options were limited, but it was a bar with outdoor seating nearby. I went home first and we all met up a few hours later. Someone created a Facebook event titled "Pivot to getting black out drunk" and that was basically the mood. It was a fun night, but everyone was still in shock and a lot of people told me they couldn't believe I had been laid off. I couldn't believe it either. The bar had an oversized Uno set so we played a game and I blatantly cheated because I felt like I deserved to win that night. Afterward, a smaller group went to this bar in the East Village called Blue and Gold that's sort of a media hangout. I barely remember that part of the night.
Was there anything else you did besides packing up your desk before leaving the office for the last time?
During my layoff meeting, I'd asked about the rest of my team and was told who else was getting cut. So I shared that information with a few people. One of my coworkers had a VR headset at his desk and he offered to loan it to me so I packed that up too. I think I was in the office for all of 15 minutes before I went home.
Coming from media, do you feel desensitized to the potential for layoffs?
This one hit me really hard. That was the first job I really loved and the entire work environment was great. In hindsight, I was definitely drinking the Kool-Aid. Afterward, my feelings towards work definitely changed. I was laid off again last year and it wasn't any easier, but it didn't come as a shock in the same way. At this point, pretty much everyone I know in media has either been laid off or has watched a coworker get laid off. It happens like clockwork at this point.
What do you think people are, for lack of a better phrase, missing out on at an age where layoffs happen virtually? Was there anything about your IRL experience that you felt helped you process, negotiate, or network that would've been more difficult remotely?
I do think seeing a few coworkers in person helped soften the blow a bit. I'm not sure actually getting laid off in person felt any better than over Zoom, but on the plus side, at least the guy who laid me off wasn't able to immediately exit the Zoom. When I was laid off last year, the person who did it delivered the news and then bounced before I could even respond.
The biggest plus was definitely having that in-person community that was able to mobilize for drinks later that day. And after that, for a few weeks I would invite my other laid off coworkers to come over to my apartment so we could hang out and apply for jobs together. You can't get that if you work remotely.
Jake Kleinman is open to editing and writing opportunities covering TV, movies, gaming, and technology, or more general editorial strategy positions. He’s also interested in pivoting into PR, content marketing, and SEO. You can reach him on LinkedIn and X.
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