Valleywag
Why is Red Herring hiring five videographers for its already launched Red Herring TV? Because the current team, led by journalist Sean Wolfe, pictured here mid-interview, quit on publisher Alex Vieux. The mass resignation was prompted by another one of Vieux's tirades, but Wolfe and his colleagues also cited erratic pay and a decline in journalistic standards. Their claim: Vieux was trying to turn the video group into a production house for promotional clips custom-made for event sponsors. Anyone thinking about taking the video gig at Red Herring TV would do well to read their resignation letter:
The video team and I are departing collectively today, April 1. Our reasons are as follows:a) With the exception of yesterday, late paychecks over the past quarter, and before, have resulted in bounced check fees, late rent fees, and other financial issues that have cost the team collectively thousands of dollars.
b) Management's failure to adequately inform the staff of late paychecks (ie, with sufficient notice to make alternate arrangements) has been consistent.
c) Utilizing video team members as assistants to interns is both demeaning, and not what they were hired to expect.
d Recent repackaging of videos as value-added bonuses to conference registration raises substantial conflict of interest issues — ie, pay-for-play, as opposed to the post-sales of rebroadcast rights, which was more ethically defensible.
e) The defaulting on dental insurance since last September has left team members owing thousands of dollars for dental treatments received during the uncovered period.
f) Promises on the part of management for additional equipment and resources have forced team members to spend out of pocket for supplies, repairs, and miscellaneous expenses which, in light of how tardy paychecks have been, have little chance of being reimbursed in a timely fashion.
g) Personal and profane attacks by the CEO against video team members for taking previously scheduled vacation time, including accusations of lying or dishonesty, threats of violence or termination, have been appreciated, and contribute to a hostile work atmosphere.
h) Ongoing financial difficulties (IRS woes, threats of eviction) have supplemented an already-challenging working atmosphere.
Finally, it appears the business is undergoing a significant change from being a media company to an events company that occasionally produces events-oriented media, typically in the form of promotion. When we were hired, individually, and collectively, it appeared that the Red Herring company was actively engaged in expanding its media reach. This fundamental change in orientation compromises journalistic ethics, and the kinds of programming we will likely be called upon to create in the near, and for the foreseeable future.
Over the past year, the video team has single-handedly constructed and manned a fully-functioning greenscreen studio, evolved live-broadcast capabilities, and produced more than 300 CEO, venture capitalist, and market leaders. We regret that this low-cost, high volume capability has not been better leveraged to realize revenue on behalf of the organization, without violating fundamental journalistic tenets.
Our resignations, collectively, and individually for Sean Wolfe, Anthony Nielsen, Ryan Velasquez, Jamie Yee, and Si Lee, are effective immediately.
The undersigned,
Sean Wolfe
Anthony Nielsen
Ryan Velasquez
Jamie Yee
Si Lee
-30-
Comments
"Utilizing video team members as assistants to interns is both demeaning, and not what they were hired to expect."
There was an episode of "The Office" where the hire a stripper for a party. When the plans fell through, Dwight put her to work doing office work.
They were getting paid for their time, and in this case, probably overpaid. If their complaint was that they weren't developing skills useful for career advancement, they might have a point, but work isn't demeaning just because it's sub-underling, and a lot of people end up doing things they weren't originally hired to do.
It seems that Red Herring is suffering because Alex Vieux has historically understood one business -- schmoozing. The fact that he doesn't understand anything outside the events business has been writ large with respect to his failures in the publishing, online media, and video businesses. God help him, because no one else appears inclined to do so.
Re: Sample032's comment: Bait and switch employer practices may be the norm for you, but the fact remains that many professionals find it troubling at best, and cause for departure in any event. To go from engineer, say, to intern-assistant might not mean much if you're in avid need of a paycheck and have low self-esteem. But in the real world, it's usually a signal to pack the briefcase, and start the car.
Sample032, I pity you.
Did Calacanis change usernames to Sample032?
@crashtestpilot: "To go from engineer, say, to intern-assistant," or from engineer to TPS report filer. I have no problem with getting paid to waste my employer's money.
It's not the duties that I have a problem with, it's the implications of those duties.
Bit of advice for those left: Do not sign anything. Anything
@sample032: Life's too short to spend it doing a job for which you are overqualified. But not too short to waste a good part of it reading VW each day.
This is really sad and really indicative of the state of the video business. The guy holding the camera is always treated like crap, and yet he is the key to broadcasting your smug face all over the net.
One of the enablers of the destruction of the video profession are people like Julia Allison who simply point a camera at themselves (while lip-syncing). When this amateur ego-ography results in a lot of traffic, the titans of industry tend to conclude that nobody needs to be paid for video content. We can also thank YouTube, for creating a billion dollar company that never paid a red cent to content producers (prior to the sale to Google). All the signs say "step on your local videographer".
And yet some artists still want to experience the joy of editing; to see the impact of well done video. Though producing video can be an art, it has as much place in today's economy as Gepetto the cobbler would have. "I can get my shoes from Vietnam, man." It's sad because the shoes don't last.
@WagCurious: Red Herring isn't indicative of anything. If you work for a crazy man, crazy things happen. End of story.
To Sample032,
Damn.
I read your comments -- I kind of get it. If an employer is paying you to do a job you are overqualified for, then no problem -- at least for you.
There are others in this world, perhaps less jaded than you appear, who feel they have something special to offer the world, and like demonstrating their skills and talents for a good wage, versus taking a paycheck, and doing work that is beneath their talents and abilities.
I agree, if you're assigned to, say, counting nuts and bolts, versus auditing the company's books and saving them significant amounts of money, it's rather easy to say, oh well, my talents weren't allocated properly, and I cost the same per hour whether I'm picking my nose, or picking risk allocations.
To my mind, your perspective turns "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" rule on its head, and smacks of a healthy volume of passive-aggression, IOW, screw the man, as long as the paycheck comes through. And don't worry about the fates of the business, your colleagues, or your career.
I was a union-forklift driver last time I felt/thought that way.
Glad I recovered.
@WagCurious: But if people are wearing shoes from Vietnam, wouldn't stepping on the local videographer hurt?
I work across the street from the Red Herring. Yesterday I happened to see this guy and others, whom I'm guessing was the rest of the video team, take down the Red Herring flag from their flag poll to put up a pirate skull and cross bones flag. I thought it was a lame April fools joke... Sucks to be Alex Vieux.
@sample032: Yeah, its a vicious circle. As the quality of products approach crap (where lim[E]=crap) and yet basic human nature stays constant (self-respect=const) the desire to make that which is not crap goes woefully unfulfilled.
OMFG, how will all of their viewers ever manage?
I sent my resume in before I read this. It actually sounds a little like my last job.
Ouch! Best of luck guys.
Oh, what a pile of sanctimonious crap. Alex Vieux has been (unsuccessfully) trying to sell those crappy promotional RH100 "interviews" for almost a year and Sean Wolfe was more than happy to oblige as long as he could call in sick twice a week and no one bothered him. Wolfe's litany of complaints are long-standing problems at Red Herring and he was more than willing to live under the Vieux regime, as long as he could come and go as he pleased and no one hassled him. So Vieux finally decided that he had wasted $250K+ on a video team that wasn't doing much and he wanted to put them to work in the sales department.
exRHer's Friends:
exRHer has no friends.
That makes sense.
Smooth Move Sean.
You may have stoked your Ego by getting the kids to follow you out, but in the process you effectively screwed your own guys & gal by eliminating the one thing the kids were working for... a Portfolio of Work and a Great Reference.
It's a shame to tarnish the great work that was done.
How does all this look on the Kids Resumes? Do they Lie and pretend they did not participate in a walk out? They should not want their names associated with this.
Why was it important to publish the Kids names? Sean, are you purposely trying to hurt the Kids that brought RHTV to life? Can you appeal to ValleyWag and clean up the post to remove the Kids Names?
Please join me in asking VW to remove the Kids Names from this post. They don't deserve the negative press.
BleedsRed,
It doesn't seem like you care about these video "Kids" too much. Your seemingly honorable pleas ring false to my ears, especially when you continually patronize them by referring to them as "Kids" in your post. I guess it shows the kind of stand-up people your organization employs. After reading your post, I can't say I wouldn't have jumped ship if I had to work with someone like you on a daily basis either (not to mention Alex Vieux).
Quick question: Does your credibility take a hit if you leave a burning ship, or if you are the lone fool holding the flag as the ship falls to the bottom of the ocean? (Call me crazy, but I assume you will be the latter).
Well BleedsRed, even if your post was mostly fluff-filled theatrics, at least your user name is right on the money. After all, Red Herring is indeed bleeding - an entire video team, journalists, staff members, funds, board members, subscribers, office space, credibility, and apparently respectable employees who speak out on its behalf.
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