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Vice (magazine)

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Vice
The Syria Issue (November 2012)
Editor-in-chiefEllis Jones
CategoriesLifestyle
FrequencyQuarterly
Circulation900,000 (worldwide)
80,000 (UK)[1]
PublisherVice Media
Founder
FoundedMontreal, Canada
First issueOctober 1994; 30 years ago (1994-10) (as Voice of Montreal)
Based inNew York City, United States
Websitevice.com
ISSN1077-6788
OCLC30856250 (Online Computer Library Center)

Vice (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine,[2] and its founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, which consists of divisions including the printed magazine as well as a website, broadcast news unit, a film production company, a record label, and a publishing imprint. As of February 2015, the magazine's editor-in-chief is Ellis Jones.[3][4]

On 15 May 2023, Vice Media formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as part of a possible sale to a consortium of lenders including Fortress Investment Group, which will, alongside Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, invest $225 million as a credit bid for nearly all of its assets.[5] In February 2024, CEO Bruce Dixon announced additional layoffs and that the website Vice.com will no longer publish content.[6][7][8] The print magazine returned in September 2024.[9][10]

History

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The precursor to Vice magazine was founded in October 1994 in Montreal under the name Voice (later Voice of Montreal), by Interimages Communications. It was a spin-off of the English-language portion of the Revue Images, a multicultural publication founded in the early 1990s by Dominique Ollivier with Alix Laurent,[11] under the name Voice of Montreal.[12] Issue no. 1 lists Laurent and Ollivier as publishers, with Suroosh Y. Alvi as editor and Gavin McInnes as assistant editor, with Shane Smith joining the magazine's staff later.[13][14][15][16] The magazine was established under a job creation program of the Quebec government to allow social welfare recipients to gain work experience. It focused on Montreal's alternative cultural scene, including music, art, trends and drug culture, to compete with the already established Montreal Mirror. During the 1990s, Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal/Mile-End neighbourhood was home to a burgeoning subculture with the advent of collectives such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Dummies Theatre, Bran Van 3000 and later Arcade Fire.[17][18] Alvi, McInnes and Smith bought out the publisher and changed the magazine's name to Vice in 1996.[19][20]

Richard Szalwinski, a Canadian software millionaire, acquired the magazine and relocated the operation to New York City in the late 1990s. Following the relocation, the magazine quickly developed a reputation for provocative and politically incorrect content. Under Szalwinski's ownership, a few retail stores were opened in New York City and customers could purchase fashion items that were advertised in the magazine. However, due to the end of the dot-com bubble, the three founders eventually regained ownership of the Vice brand, followed by closure of the stores.[16]

The British edition of Vice was launched in 2002 and Andy Capper was its first editor. Capper explained in an interview shortly after the UK debut that the publication's remit was to cover "the things we're meant to be ashamed of", and articles were published on topics such as bukkake and bodily functions.[21]

By the end of 2007, 13 foreign editions of Vice magazine were published, the Vice independent record label was functional, and the online video channel VBS.com had 184,000 unique viewers from the U.S. during the month of August. The media company was still based in New York City, but the magazine began featuring articles on topics that were considered more serious, such as armed conflict in Iraq, than previous content. Alvi explained to The New York Times in November 2007: "The world is much bigger than the Lower East Side and the East Village."[16]

McInnes left the publication in 2008, citing "creative differences" as the primary issue. In an email communication dated 23 January, McInnes explained: "I no longer have anything to do with Vice or VBS or DOs & DON'Ts or any of that. It's a long story but we've all agreed to leave it at 'creative differences,' so please don't ask me about it."[22]

At the commencement of 2012, an article in Forbes magazine referred to the Vice company as "Vice Media", but the precise time when this title development occurred is not public knowledge.[23] Vice acquired the fashion magazine i-D in December 2012 and, by February 2013, Vice produced 24 global editions of the magazine, with a global circulation of 1,147,000 (100,000 in the UK). By this stage, Alex Miller had replaced Capper as the editor-in-chief of the UK edition. Furthermore, Vice consisted of 800 worldwide employees, including 100 in London, and around 3,500 freelancers also produced content for the company.[21]

In February 2015, Vice Media named Ellis Jones editor-in-chief of Vice magazine and former UK editor-in-chief, Alex Miller, was appointed to the position of global head of content.[24]

In 2018, the magazine switched to a quarterly publication schedule, though issues still generally explored a single theme.[25] The publication was put on hiatus in 2019.[9]

In 2023, Vice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's lenders—Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital—agreed to purchase the company for $225 million.[26] In February 2024, The New York Times highlighted that "over the past half-decade, Vice has had near annual layoffs and mounting losses, and has filed for bankruptcy, making it the poster child for the battered digital-media industry" and that while "some observers hoped its new owners [...] would reinvest" in the company, Fortress Investment Group has instead "decided to make sweeping cuts".[8]

In September 2024, Vice Media relaunched its print magazine and will publish issues quarterly. The company has a goal of reaching 20,000 subscribers within a year.[9]

Staff

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Content

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Scope

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Vice magazine includes the work of journalists, columnists, fiction writers, graphic artists and cartoonists, and photographers. Both Vice's online and magazine content has shifted from dealing mostly with independent arts and pop cultural matters to covering more serious news topics. Due to the large array of contributors and the fact that often writers will only submit a small number of articles with the publication, Vice's content varies dramatically and its political and cultural stance is often unclear or contradictory. Articles on the site feature a range of subjects, often things not covered as by mainstream media. The magazine's editors have championed the immersionist school of journalism, which has been passed to other properties of Vice Media such as the documentary television show Balls Deep on the Viceland Channel. This style of journalism is regarded as something of a DIY antithesis to the methods practiced by mainstream news outlets, and has published an entire issue of articles written in accordance with this ethos. Entire issues of the magazine have also been dedicated to the concerns of Iraqi people,[30] Native Americans,[31] Russian people,[32] people with mental disorders,[33] and people with mental disabilities.[34] Vice also publishes an annual guide for students in the United Kingdom.[35]

In 2007, a Vice announcement was published on the Internet:

After umpteen years of putting out what amounted to a reference book every month, we started to get bored with it. Besides, too many other magazines have ripped it and started doing their own lame take on themes. So we're going to do some issues, starting now, that have whatever we feel like putting in them.[36]

Politics

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In a March 2008 interview with The Guardian, Smith was asked about the magazine's political allegiances and he stated, "We're not trying to say anything politically in a paradigmatic left/right way… We don't do that because we don't believe in either side. Are my politics Democrat or Republican? I think both are horrific. And it doesn't matter anyway. Money runs America; money runs everywhere."[37]

Website

[edit]
"Noisey" redirects here. For the concept, see Noise. For the TV series, see Noisey (TV series).
Vice.com
OwnerVice Media
URLvice.com
Launched2011; 13 years ago (2011)
Current statusActive

Vice founded its website as Viceland.com in 1996, as Vice.com was already owned. In 2007, it started VBS.tv as a domain, which prioritized videos over print, and had a number of shows for free such as The Vice Guide to Travel. In 2011, Viceland.com and VBS.tv were combined into Vice.com,[38] also the host of the Vice Motherboard website at motherboard.vice.com.[39]

In 2012, Vice Media was created as the parent company for Vice magazine and other properties including Vice News on HBO and the Vice.com website.[40] The company has since expanded and diversified to include a network of online channels, including Munchies.tv, Motherboard.tv, Noisey.com, Thu.mp, and Broadly.[41]

On 22 February 2024, Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon announced "several hundred" additional layoffs as the company restructures,[6] and that the website Vice.com would no longer publish content.[6][7]

Book

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  • In 2007, Vice published The Vice Photo Book (ISBN 1576874109),[42][43] with a collection of photos of Jaimie Warren, Jerry Hsu, Michael Rababy and Patrick O’Dell. The book is divided in five parts: "Vice Photographers", "Vice's Photojournalism", "Vice Fashion", and the final two sections are a collage of previously published VICE photos. The book also contains interviews with some of the photographers.
  • Jill Abramson: Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts. Simon & Schuster, New York 2019, (ISBN 978-1-5011-2320-7), S. 42–61, 147–181, 346–369 (= Chapter 2, 6 and 11).

Reputation

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From its beginnings as Voice of Montreal, Vice had a "reputation for provocation".[44] In 2010, Vice was described as "gonzo journalism for the YouTube generation".[45] As the magazine grew into a broader media brand, it struggled with "how to distance itself from its crude past, yet hold on to enough of that reputation to cement, and grow, its authority with its core audience".[46] Nevertheless, the magazine has continued to face controversy. In 2013, the magazine retracted parts of a fashion spread entitled 'Last Words' which depicted "female writers killing themselves".[47][46] Also in 2013, Vice again gained unwelcome attention when the then-editor of the magazine joined millionaire software mogul John McAfee as he evaded authorities to avoid being questioned about a murder case.[44]

Sexual harassment at parent company

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Main article: Vice Media § Sexual harassment

In the late 2017, multiple stories were published citing allegations of sexual misconduct and a general "boys club" culture at Vice magazine's parent company, Vice Media.[48][49][4]

Awards

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  • Wins
    • ASME Reader's Choice Best Cover Contest for "Best Travel and Adventure" for June 2017 issue[50]
    • ASME Reader's Choice Best Cover Contest for "Most Delicious" for March 2016 issue[51]
    • ASME Anthology of Best American Magazine Writing for "Fixing the System" interview, 2016[52]
    • ASME Reader's Choice Award for New and Politics Cover, 2015[53]
    • ASME Reader's Choice Award for Business and Tech Cover, 2015[54]
    • Ranked number 9 on Ad Age Magazine A-list (first free publication to be recognized), 2010[55]
  • Nominations
    • GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding Magazine Article for "On the Run", 2017[56]
    • ASME Single Topic Issue for the Prison Issue, 2016[57]
    • ASME Feature Photography for "Deep-Fried America on a Stick", 2014[58]
    • ASME General Excellence for July, November and December issues, 2012[59]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Horan, Tom (15 July 2006). "From chic to cheek". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Online magazine Vice closes Montreal office". Montreal. 22 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ Sterne, Peter (11 February 2015). "Vice E.I.C. Rocco Castoro out at Vice". Capital New York. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b Jarvey, Natalie (23 December 2017). "Vice Media Settled With 4 Women Over Sexual Harassment, Defamation". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  5. ^ Whittock, Jesse (15 May 2023). "Vice Media Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Spangler, Todd (22 February 2024). "Vice Will Cease Publishing on Vice.com and Lay Off 'Several Hundred' Staffers, CEO Says". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b Saeedy, Alexander; Bruell, Alexandra (22 February 2024). "Vice Media to Stop Publishing on Vice.com, Plans to Cut Hundreds of Jobs". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b Mullin, Benjamin (22 February 2024). "Vice's New Owners Prepare to Slash What's Left of Its Work Force". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Stenberg, Mark (24 September 2024). "Vice Debuts Subscription Product and Relaunches Magazine". Adweek. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  10. ^ Kharas, Kevin Lee (24 September 2024). "VICE Magazine Is Coming Back". Vice.
  11. ^ "Revue Images (selected issues)". Internet Archive.
  12. ^ "Notons principalement la disparition du volet anglophone de notre magazine. Cette séparation (signe des temps?) n'a pour but que la création d'une publication soeur: VOICE OF MONTREAL, qui a vu le jour en octobre dernier. Ce divorce à l'amiable devenait nécessaire pour permettre plus de liberté aux deux groupes linguistiques et pour assurer une meilleure représentativité." Boisclair, Denis (November 1994). "Le nouvel Images s'améliore !". Revue Images. 4 (1): 1.
  13. ^ "Voice of Montreal Magazine V01 N01". Voice. Vol. 01, no. 01. Montreal: Interimages Communications. November 1994. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Ex Heroin Addict Turned Media Mogul, Outlook – BBC World Service". BBC. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  15. ^ "How Shane Smith Built Vice Into a $2.5 Billion Empire". Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Robert Levine (19 November 2007). "A Guerrilla Video Site Meets MTV". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  17. ^ Kelly, Brendan. "Vice ... and alternative anglos". montrealgazette.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  18. ^ Kelly, Brendan. "Quebec culture, the solitudes and the theatre of the absurd". montrealgazette.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  19. ^ Jeff Bercovici (3 January 2012). "Vice's Shane Smith on What's Wrong With Canada, Facebook and Occupy Wall Street". Forbes. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  20. ^ "On leaving Images Interculturelles" Alvi, Suroosh (2003). texts The Vice guide to sex and drugs and rock and roll. Warner Books. p. 5. ISBN 9780446692816.
  21. ^ a b Andrew Pugh (28 February 2013). "'Maybe we've grown up': Ten years on, how Vice magazine got serious". Press Gazette. Progressive Media International. Archived from the original on 23 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  22. ^ Pareene (23 January 2008). "Co-Founder Gavin McInnes Finally Leaves 'Vice'". Gawker. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  23. ^ Jeff Bercovici (3 January 2012). "Tom Freston's $1 Billion Revenge: Ex-Viacom Chief Helps Vice Become the Next MTV". Forbes. Forbes, LLC. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  24. ^ Baird, Dugald (12 February 2015). "Vice announces new global head of content and editor-in-chief". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  25. ^ "VICE Magazine's Dystopia and Utopia Issue is Now Online - VICE". Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  26. ^ Silberling, Amanda (15 May 2023). "After a 29-year run, Vice files for bankruptcy". Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  27. ^ Warren, James (22 February 2017). "Shane Smith sees a 'perfect storm' coming for the press". Poynter. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  28. ^ Arkin, Daniel (13 March 2018). "Vice Media's brash CEO resigns, A+E Networks chief steps up". NBC News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  29. ^ Battan, Carrie (1 April 2015). "Is Vice Getting Nice?". Daily Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  30. ^ "The Iraq Issue". Vice. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  31. ^ "The Native Issue". Vice. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  32. ^ "The Russia Issue". Vice. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  33. ^ "The Mentally Ill Issue". Vice. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  34. ^ "The Special Issue". Vice. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  35. ^ "Student Guide". Vice. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  36. ^ "Dear Vice Readers!". Vice. 11 April 2007. Archived from the original on 23 August 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  37. ^ Wilkinson, Carl (30 March 2008). "The Vice Squad". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  38. ^ Castoro, Rocco (15 September 2011). "Finally, All Our Crap Is in One Place". Vice. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  39. ^ "About Motherboard". Vice Media. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  40. ^ Gardner, Eriq (12 April 2013). "Vice's Shane Smith and Tom Freston on Sending Dennis Rodman to North Korea for HBO". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  41. ^ "Broadly – About". Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  42. ^ Pearson, Jesse (2007). The Vice Photo Book. New York, NY: Vice Books. p. 263. ISBN 978-1576874103.
  43. ^ "The Vice Photo Book". Vice. 14 December 2007. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  44. ^ a b Widdicombe, Lizzie (1 April 2013). "The Bad-Boy Brand". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  45. ^ Williams, Alex (16 August 2010). "Up Close With Shane Smith". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  46. ^ a b Ip, Chris (6 July 2015). "The cult of Vice". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  47. ^ "'Last Words': A Statement from VICE". Vice. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  48. ^ Steel, Emily (23 December 2017). "At Vice, Cutting-Edge Media and Allegations of Old-School Sexual Harassment". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  49. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (23 December 2017). "Vice Media Admits 'We Failed' to Curb Sexual Harassment at Company". Variety. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  50. ^ "ASME Best Cover Contest 2018 Winners & Finalists | ASME". www.magazine.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  51. ^ "Best Cover Contest 2017 Winners & Finalists | ASME". www.magazine.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  52. ^ "Best American Magazine Writing | ASME". www.magazine.org. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  53. ^ "Best Cover Contest 2015 Winners & Finalists | ASME". www.magazine.org. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  54. ^ "Best Cover Contest 2015 Winners & Finalists | ASME". www.magazine.org. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  55. ^ "Magazine A-List 2010 - AdAge". adage.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  56. ^ "Moonlight, The OA, and Frank Ocean Among GLAAD Media Awards Nominees". Vulture. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  57. ^ "Ellies 2016 Finalists Announced | ASME". www.magazine.org. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  58. ^ "National Magazine Awards 2014 Finalists Announced | ASME". www.magazine.org. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  59. ^ "National Magazine Awards 2012 Finalists Announced | ASME". www.magazine.org. 3 April 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.

Further reading

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[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vice Media.

Motherboard website

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