Vice Media had been deemed the digital darling of independent news. It was once a booming underground network of journalists, photographers, videographers and artists. In recent years, however, Vice Media has lost its popularity.
In 2019 a report from The Wall Street Journal claimed that Vice had made a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and discussed possible collaborations between Vice and the Crown Prince to bolster the public image of Saudi Arabia. While there wasn’t much media attention on this report at the time, discussions of this controversy resurfaced in June of 2023 when Vice removed a documentary about the Crown Prince from its YouTube channel.
While this series of events may not seem to be related to the downfall of Vice Media, it is indicative of a pattern of behavior that the company has exhibited in the past decade.
Vice News was known for producing documentaries on topics like underground drug rings, a child who smoked marijuana, body farms, skaters and other taboo or niche topics. Their media mission was to “tell the stories that no one else will.“
The company was founded in 1994 and has collaborated with Max, formerly known as HBO or HBO Max, to produce cult-classic movies and publish hard-hitting articles that nobody else was willing to risk. However, a lot has changed in 30 years, including the public’s trust in independent journalism.
Former Vice employee Janus Rose tweeted out a screenshot of a statement from Vice Chief Executive Officer Bruce Dixon to all employees regarding layoffs. Dixon said that Vice Media was no longer financially viable and that their platform of vice.com would no longer publish content. Currently, their YouTube and TV channels, VICE and Vice TV, are still publishing content.
“With this strategic shift comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice. Regrettably, this means we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions,” Dixon said. “This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected.”
Vice has brought considerable awareness to underreported, often stigmatized issues. What made them a media powerhouse was that their articles were just as engaging to younger generations as their video content. Reporters were willing to take risks, and were encouraged to do so.
It is also important to consider that Vice Media encapsulated a certain aesthetic: the idea that they were raw, new and unlike the news your parents sat down to watch every night. In a sense, Vice Media was different than other outlets, but in the later years this appeal became nothing more than a marketing tactic.
In an article published by the Columbia Journalism Review in 2015, Journalist Chris Ip wrote, “Vice has mastered the mass production of authenticity for profit. But editorial standards change when your aim is not to be an entertainment company, but a trusted source of news.”
The article was published before their multi-million dollar deals Max and AWE (A Wealth of Entertainment), commenting on Vice’s polished yet gritty aesthetic. Now, many are viewing the company in the same way as Ip.
Instagram comments such as, “This why y’all bankrupt” and “Go Woke, go Broke!” flood the comment section of @vicenews, with many criticizing their lack or over-reporting on issues such as Ukraine, Palestine and and other polarizing topics. As of March 9, the Vice News Instagram page has not posted since Feb. 27.
The fall of Vice Media is upsetting because the outlet was once willing to take a stance on issues that many other publications weren’t willing to. While the reporting was debatably unbiased, the subject matter being reported on showed that their investigative skills went beyond the surface.
With these issues on the reporting itself aside, an even larger issue brought to light is a lack of respect for journalists. Whether it is a freelance or a long-term contract, writers work around the clock to deliver news to the public to stay well informed. Corporate news is slowly killing independent news, and it has been doing so for a while.