''Vice News Tonight'' is an American
news program
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either video production, produced local programming, ...
currently broadcast on
Vice on TV
Vice (formerly known as Viceland and also known as Vice TV) is an American basic cable television channel that launched on December 2, 2019, replacing H2 on most multichannel television providers in the United States. It is a part of the Vicela ...
and originally broadcast on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
as the channel's first-ever daily series,
premiering October 2016. HBO cancelled the series after three seasons, ending September 2019. The program was relaunched in 2020 on the
Vice on TV
Vice (formerly known as Viceland and also known as Vice TV) is an American basic cable television channel that launched on December 2, 2019, replacing H2 on most multichannel television providers in the United States. It is a part of the Vicela ...
network.
Development
Josh Tyrangiel
Josh Tyrangiel is an American journalist. He was previously the deputy managing editor of ''TIME'' magazine and an editor at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.Stephanie Clifford (November 17, 2009"Josh Tyrangiel Named Editor of BusinessWeek"/ref> In Ju ...
, ''Vice'' executive vice-president for news content said that the idea came in an effort to try to engage viewers, and not simply to summarize the news. He said that the purpose is "actually placing stories in context and understanding them in a timely way (is) where the great value is," and that ''Vice'' is focused on "trying to build a long-term relationship with viewers that's focused on how the world works."
Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president for HBO, said that the show came about because HBO "
anted
Anted is the name of the coins issued by Antedios
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homepages.rpi.edu was an ancient k ...
the show to be a good fit for viewers looking for a traditional experience, as well as for those millennials who prefer to get their content on a tablet or a smartphone and want a more interactive experience."
History
In August 2017, ''Vice News Tonight'' received attention after its coverage of the
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
, entitled ''Charlottesville: Race and Terror'', went viral after HBO's decision to put the entirety of the episode for free for all to view on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
's
Brian Stelter
Brian Patrick Stelter (born September 3, 1985) is an American journalist best known as the former chief media correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN program '' Reliable Sources'', roles he held from 2013 to 2022. Stelter is also a former medi ...
declared the coverage to be ''Vice News Tonights "breakout moment." The segment earned ''Vice News Tonight'' a 2017
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
for News coverage.
On June 10, 2019, HBO announced it would be cancelling ''Vice News Tonight'' and severing its seven–year partnership with Vice Media. In mid-August 2019, Viceland (now
Vice on TV
Vice (formerly known as Viceland and also known as Vice TV) is an American basic cable television channel that launched on December 2, 2019, replacing H2 on most multichannel television providers in the United States. It is a part of the Vicela ...
), a basic cable network joint venture between
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 ...
and
A&E Networks
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...
, announced it was picking up ''Vice News Tonight''. It premiered on March 4, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will run an hour instead of the half-hour length while on HBO.
Format
In a statement,
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 ...
said that ''Vice News Tonight'' is a news program with "no ads, no anchors, and no censors."
A typical episode uses a mix of voiceovers, graphics and video packages to dive into national and global news, technology, the environment, economics, and pop culture. The program is devoted to the idea of not using on-air
news anchors.
Episodes can be modified hours before airtime to accommodate more-newsworthy segments, and the show can go live if necessary.
Release and accessibility
Each episode is available on
Vice News
Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice News was create ...
' website one week after it premieres.
Episodes during time the show was on HBO were available on
HBO Go
HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media p ...
and
HBO Now
HBO Now (formally named HBO from July 2020) was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on ...
the day after they aired. The show has also designed with touch-screen capabilities, so viewers watching on HBO's digital platforms can pull up related documents, graphs and charts within episodes.
In Canada, the series debuted on October 10, 2016 with broadcasts on
Viceland
Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...
, and moved to
MuchMusic
Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults.
MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
after Viceland shut down.
In Australia, the series is broadcast on
SBS Viceland
SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...
.
Reception
In a review of the first episode, Mike Hale of ''
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 ...
'' said the show was "new, but no game changer", saying "As hackneyed, shallow and formulaic as network newscasts can be, they still offer something in terms of immediacy and comprehensiveness that ''Vice News Tonight'', as it is currently constituted, can’t pretend to compete with. If you like the ''Vice'' sensibility, though, you might enjoy the show’s capsule version of it. Just don’t expect the news to be new."
Maureen Ryan of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said that "if nothing else, it’s good to know that two organizations with deep pockets are coming together in a major effort to help keep citizens — and especially younger Americans — informed... Between HBO and the Internet, one hopes the best of the organization’s reporters will see their work reach a much broader audience."
Daniel Fienberg of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' said that "In its best moments, ''Vice News Tonight'' felt like a string of little amuse-bouches to whet appetites for full meals available online. In its lesser moments, it felt like ''
Full Frontal'' or ''
Last Week Tonight
A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by Shoemaking, shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cas ...
'' without the jokes and, honestly, with less on-air depth. I think there's probably value in ''Vice News Tonight'' as almost a newsletter or digest point-of-entry into the absurd amount of content that the Vice empire generates every day. Even though those newsletters feel old-fashioned on the surface, all the cool media kids have their own and it would be just like the forward-thinking Vice to package theirs in the format of an equally old-fashioned newscast. We'll see if ''Vice News Tonight'' evolves into more than that.
In a more critical review, Brian Lowry of
CNNMoney
CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's ''Fortune'' and ''Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of Time ...
said "While Vice has promised a sort-of reinvention of the staid nightly news format, what it delivered merely played like ''
Short Attention Span Theater
''Short Attention Span Theater'' (often abbreviated to ''SAST'') is an American clip show in which the hosts presented short segments of stand-up comedy acts and scenes from films airing on HBO and Cinemax. It aired from 1989 until 1994.
''SAST' ...
''... The half-hour would have benefited from fewer stories allowed a bit more room to breathe... There's no point in the pay channel doing me-too news, given its premium pedigree. Yet while the mix will surely evolve, ''Vice News Tonight's'' template offers a difference, yes, but at least initially, one without much distinction."
References
External links
*
*
{{VICE Media
2010s American television news shows
2020s American television news shows
2016 American television series debuts
English-language television shows
HBO original programming
Viceland original programming
Vice Media
American television series revived after cancellation