Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Clint Gage

IGN Union @ignunion.bsky.social · Aug 25

Ziff Davis and IGN routinely decide that work done by our laid off colleagues is not important. But inevitably, that crucial work falls onto those who remain.

Not this time. Not anymore.

FROM NOW UNTIL FEBRUARY 13TH IGN CREATORS GUILD IS GOING TO... DO OUR JOB!

OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, IGN MANAGEMENT HAS GOTTEN AWAY WITH LAYING OFF OUR COWORKERS OVER AND OVER. MEANWHILE, MANY OF OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE LEFT THE COMPANY IN NO SMALL PART DUE TO BUYOUTS, OVERWORK, AND FEELING UNSUPPORTED, EACH TIME, THE COMPANY HAS REFUSED TO BACKFILL MANY ESSENTIAL ROLES, CLAIMING WE'RE ON A HIRING FREEZE, IT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET, OR THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO LESS WORK THIS TIME.

AS A RESULT, IGNCG MEMBERS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO TAKE ON MORE OF THEIR FORMER COLLEAGUES' WORKLOADS. MANY OF US NOW WORK LONGER HOURS THAN WE USED TO. A LOT OF US RARELY TAKE LUNCH BREAKS. SOME OF US DO NOT TAKE ADEQUATE TIME OFF DUE TO THERE BEING NO ONE TO PICK UP THE SLACK. OTHERS OF US ARE STUCK DOING WORK WE WERE NEVER HIRED TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UP TO THIS POINT, WE'VE ALL ACCEPTED THIS AS NORMAL, BECAUSE WE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT IGN AND THE WORK WE DO. BUT WITH SO MANY OF US STRUGGLING MORE AND MORE AS EACH NEW WAVE OF OUR COWORKERS ARE DEPRIVED OF A LIVELIHOOD, THIS CYCLE CAN'T CONTINUE. MANAGEMENT IS UNWILLING TO STOP IT, SO IT FALLS TO US.
WITH THE LAYOFFS OF EIGHT OF OUR COWORKERS, IGNCG HAS NEGOTIATED A SIX-MONTH RECALL LIST. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT, FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, IF IGN WANTS TO FILL ANY OF THOSE ELIMINATED ROLES AGAIN, THEY MUST REHIRE OUR LAID-OFF COLLEAGUES. WE WANT THEM TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THEIR JOBS BACK IF THEY WANT THEM, AND IF NOT, WE WANT THOSE ROLES BACKFILLED TO EASE THE BURDEN ON THE REST OF US.
SO STARTING TODAY, LENCE MEMBERS ARE COMMITTING TO DO OUR JOBS. NO MORE, NO LESS. WELL SHOW UP TO WORK ON TIME AND LEAVE ON TIME. WE'RE TAKING ALL OF OUR LUNCH TIME, EVERY DAY.
IF WE WORK LATE, WE WILL FIRMLY ASK FOR OUR RIGHTFULLY EARNED COMP TIME. AND IF IGN WANTS OUR LAID-OFF COWORKERS' WORK TO GET DONE, THEY'LL HAVE TO REHIRE THEM TO DO IT INSTEAD OF FOISTING IT UPON US.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT IGNCG IN ALL THIS?
SHARE THIS POST, AND TELL IGN MANAGEMENT THAT Y…

15 730 1.4K

Reposted by Clint Gage

IGN Union @ignunion.bsky.social · Aug 7

Ziff Davis just reported their "strongest quarterly revenue growth since 2021," up 9.8% to $352.2M, with gaming and entertainment up 7.5% YOY.

So why were 8 of our members and 23 members of @zdcreatorsguild.bsky.social just laid off? bit.ly/3H0Osvb

SECOND QUARTER 2025 RESULTS

Q2 2025 quarterly revenues increased 9.8% to $352.2 million compared to $320.8 million for Q2 2024.

Income from operations increased 17.2% to $33.5 million compared to $28.6 million for Q2 2024.

Net income (1) decreased to $26.3 million compared to $36.9 million for Q2 2024.

Net income per diluted share (1) decreased to $0.62 in Q2 2025 compared to $0.77 for Q2 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA (2) for the quarter increased 11.8% to $107.7 million compared to $96.3 million for Q2 2024.

Adjusted net income (2) decreased to $51.6 million compared to $53.7 million for Q2 2024.

Adjusted net income per diluted share (1)(2) (or “Adjusted diluted EPS”) for the quarter increased 5.1% to $1.24 compared to $1.18 for Q2 2024.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $57.1 million in Q2 2025 compared to $50.6 million in Q2 2024. Free cash flow (2) was $26.9 million in Q2 2025 compared to $25.1 million in Q2 2024.

Ziff Davis deployed approximately $11.4 million for current and prior year acquisitions during the quarter and $33.9 million related to share repurchases in Q2 2025.

8 190 590

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Aug 5

Thanks to @erikadams.bsky.social for the great editing on this review and every other review I've done this year. I was lucky to be on the same team with him, and whichever team gets him next will also be lucky to have him.

IGN @ign.com · Aug 5

Alien: Earth is an evolution as slick and scary as every good little Xenomorph should be.

Our review: https://bit.ly/3J2At8D

Alien: Earth review - Much like Andor’s second season from earlier in the year, Alien: Earth matches an apex of late ’70s cinema in look and feel, while blowing out the world to create a new context with which to view the franchise, even if one of the central story points might take a step too close to the absurd. Score: 9

4 22

Reposted by Clint Gage

IGN Union @ignunion.bsky.social · Aug 4

Today, IGN laid off eight extremely valuable members of our union and workforce via directive from our parent company, Ziff Davis. This, after two incredibly successful live events IGN Live and SDCC, and yet another corporate acquisition.

Please take a moment to read and share our full statement:

Today, IGN Entertainment announced that it would be laying off eight members of the IGN Creators Guild.

This is 12% of our bargaining unit, and comes just days after our sister union, the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, underwent similar layoffs impacting 15% of their members. It also comes just months after our multibillion-dollar parent company, Ziff Davis, instituted a company-wide buyout that shrunk our unit numbers, with the express intent of avoiding future layoffs. And it comes just a little over one year after three of our members were laid off almost immediately after our union went public.

The company has told us that the reason for this layoff stems from a Ziff Davis-mandate to cut costs despite several quarters in a row of year-over-year revenue increases, to which IGN Entertainment responded by coming for our members' jobs. This is perplexing to us, as we are told again and again that IGN Entertainment has had a tremendously successful year thus far thanks to their hard work. In just the last few months, our members have been absolutely essential to major events and livestreams, including San Diego ComicCon, Summer of Gaming, and IGN Live. Every single person impacted today was involved in and critical to the success of those events.

Meanwhile, IGN Entertainment continues to spend money on costly acquisitions, only to turn around and gut those companies in the same way it is cutting away at IGN itself. For instance, last year, it acquired Gamer Network, and almost immediately laid off a number of staff critical to making those sites successful. The company has not responded to the union's questions about whether its budget for future acquisitions is being reconsidered as a cost-saving measure alongside these other apparently necessary personnel cuts.

At a time when it is more necessary than ever to support its creators, IGN Entertainment is choosing to eliminate the individuals who ensure IGN remains competitive as generative AI

threatens our reach. We have been told that expert opinion pieces, original interviews, and work that leverages our staff's deep knowledge of gaming, tech, and entertainment are all essential to combating AI summarization and regurgitation of our work. Management has responded by cutting several individuals who do that exact work, as well as others whose job it is to ensure that these written and video pieces are published in a speedy manner — another component of combating AI we're told is critical.

This continued cycle of repeated, aggressive cuts to our staff and being asked to do more with less, only for management to continue to spend on new business it isn't interested in sustaining cannot continue. We will enforce our interim agreement that guarantees better severance and other protections to laid off members, as well as demand additional support for those impacted. We will continue to bargain over our first contract with the aim of enshrining even better protections against further layoffs, working conditions continuously degraded by understaffing, and the encroachment of generative AI. And we won't stop fighting to ensure IGN remains the best destination for trustworthy, original, exciting, and creative work covering video games, entertainment, and tech.

While IGN Entertainment management may not value us, we value one another and the incredible work we can do together. Behind the articles, videos, social posts, playlists, and maps of IGN are human beings, not just numbers on a spreadsheet to be pushed around when some number at the top isn't big enough. Without us, there is no IGN.

12 570 1.2K

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Jan 28

We’re going to get a couple Not 100 episodes off the ground soon, but a proper season 4 is still gonna be a minute. February is a bananas month for production!

2 1

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Jan 22

Turns out we’ve got a great emotional support cat

1 6

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Jan 16

REALLY?

1

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Jan 4

Just FaceTimed with my in-laws to help them turn closed captioning on and turns out they’re watching John Wick 2. Watched the whole catacombs sequence until Keanu talked again to confirm the subtitles were properly on and I guess I could’ve been hanging out with my in-laws this whole time.

1 4

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Dec 30

One more best of 2024 list before 2024 is actually over if your 2024 indeed has room for one more.

youtu.be/D25JAJsaiYE?...

Top 10 Movies of 2024 | A CineFix Movie List

YouTube video by CineFix - IGN Movies and TV

youtu.be

1 1 7

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Dec 23

Picking up my old electric, brushing up on the basics, shredding soon, fulfillment to follow

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Dec 22

Last episode of season 3 and I promise we don’t argue about what is and is not a Christmas movie. We do however bid a fond farewell to @asted.bsky.social who even Dan’s horrible algorithm will miss having on the show.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Die Hard Is The Sequel To The Book Seven Samurai Wrote On Action

Podcast Episode · CineFix Top 100 · 12/22/2024 · 1h 32m

podcasts.apple.com

1 9

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Dec 21

These are always fun to make, even if we have to work on them sporadically for like 3 years but happily @scottcollura.bsky.social doesn’t mind that too much.

Scott Collura @scottcollura.bsky.social · Dec 21

Just in time for the holidays, our latest mini-doc! Justice League’s Dirty Secret (They Made It The Marvel Way) youtu.be/3Cm7cjbw1JA?...

Featuring @susaneisenberg1.bsky.social @phillamarr.bsky.social #MariaCanalsBarrera #BruceTimm #AndreaRomano the late, great #KevinConroy & more! #JusticeLeague

Justice League’s Dirty Secret (They Made It The Marvel Way) | Inside Stories

YouTube video by IGN

youtu.be

3 4

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Dec 18

This is Carrots

2

Clint Gage @clintgage.bsky.social · Dec 18

I finally came over here because @thatwitchmia.bsky.social told me that @truthmagnum.bsky.social was here too but then all they gave me was cat pictures to like as a way to get to know me so that’s who I am now and here’s one of my cats I guess

1 8