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''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company
Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...
, 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 Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
. As of February 2015, the magazine's editor-in-chief is Ellis Jones.


History

Founded by Suroosh Alvi,
Gavin McInnes Gavin Miles McInnes (; born 17 July 1970) is a Canadian writer, podcaster and far-right commentator and founder of the Proud Boys. He is the host of '' Get Off My Lawn with Gavin McInnes'', on the subscription-based streaming media platform C ...
, and Shane Smith (the latter two being childhood friends), the magazine was launched in 1994 as the ''Voice of Montreal'' with government funding. The intention of the founders was to provide work and a community service. When the editors later sought to dissolve their commitments with the original publisher, Alix Laurent, they bought him out and changed the name to ''Vice'' in 1996.
Richard Szalwinski Autodesk Media and Entertainment is a division of Autodesk which offers animation and visual effects products, and was formed by the combination of multiple acquisitions. In 2018, the company began operating as a single operating segment and repo ...
, 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 dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
, the three founders eventually regained ownership of the Vice brand, followed by closure of the stores. 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 is a human sexual activity, sex act in which one participant is ejaculated on by multiple participants. It is often portrayed in pornographic films. Bukkake videos are a relatively prevalent niche in contemporary pornographic films. Originat ...
and bodily functions. 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in November 2007: "The world is much bigger than the Lower East Side and the East Village." 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." At the commencement of 2012, an article in ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' magazine referred to the Vice company as "Vice Media", but the precise time when this title development occurred is not public knowledge. Vice acquired the fashion magazine ''
i-D ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' art director Terry Jones (i-D), Terry Jones in 1980. The ...
'' 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. 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.


Staff

* Shane Smith – Co-Founder * Suroosh Alvi – Co-Founder *Ellis Jones – Editor-in-Chief


Content


Scope

''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 Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
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, Native Americans,
Russian people , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
, people with
mental disorders A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, and people with mental disabilities. ''Vice'' also publishes an annual guide for students in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. 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.


Politics

In a March 2008 interview with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 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 Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
or Republican? I think both are horrific. And it doesn't matter anyway. Money runs America; money runs everywhere."


Website

''Vice'' founded its website as Viceland.com in 1996, as Vice.com was already owned. In 2007, it started
VBS.tv VBS.tv was an online television network owned by ''Vice Media'', and later absorbed into VICE.com. The network produced original, short-form, documentary-style video content under the auspice of VICE Films. Subject matter included humanitarian ...
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, also the host of the Vice Motherboard website at motherboard.vice.com. 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. 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.


Book

In 2007, ''Vice'' published ''The Vice Photo Book'' (), with a collection of photos of
Jaimie Warren Jaimie Warren (born 1980) is an American photographer and performance artist who is based in Brooklyn, New York. Warren is a fellow in Interdisciplinary Arts from the New York Foundation for the Arts, she is the recipient of the Baum Award for An ...
, 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.


Reputation

From its beginnings as ''Voice of Montreal'', ''Vice'' had a "reputation for provocation". In 2010, ''Vice'' was described as " gonzo journalism for the YouTube generation". 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". 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". 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.


Sexual harassment at parent company

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


Awards

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


See also

*
Creative nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...
*'' The Sacrament'', a 2013 film about fictional ''Vice'' journalists


References


Further reading

*


External links

* *
Archive of issues since 2000Motherboard websiteIMDB - Noisey distributions list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vice (Magazine) Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Cultural magazines published in the United States Vice Media Magazines published in New York City Magazines established in 1994 1994 establishments in Quebec Magazines published in Montreal Online magazines published in the United States