So you’re the face of a multi-billion dollar youth media brand which is the single most successful youth media company of the last 20 years. What do you do next? Cozy up to the left-wing-Obama elites, buy expensive homes, and fawn over miscreant media- mogul-turned politicians.
We’re talking about Vice Media founder Shane Smith, who sources say last year turned down a $5.5 billion acquisition from one of his largest investors, The Walt Disney Company. For the record, Heat Street would be sellers all day at $5.5 billion. Here’s why:
For Vice’s nightly news show on HBO, Mr. Smith is doing what’s billed as a series of conversations with major world leaders. This week, he conducted an interview with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It consisted of access inside Berlusconi’s estate outside Milan. There was an interesting tour of the enormous gardens, the gym, and the sauna. Then a chat with Berlusconi at his desk. No mention that a few years ago Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud, which was commuted to a year of house arrest (at this same house) or a year of work with elderly dementia patients. Il Cavalieri, or The Knight, as Berlusconi is known, chose bed pan service.
While the skilled producers of Vice’s $250 million overall deal at HBO did make sure to show Mr. Smith somewhat confusingly interacting with Berlusconi in a smattering of French, they did not feel the need to include any mention of Berlusconi’s 30 year battle against corruption charges. Nor did we hear about his conviction (later overturned) for having sex with an underage girl called “Ruby the heart-stealer,” or the infamous “bunga bunga” sex parties at his villa on Sardinia. That’s the exclusive Italian island where, coincidentally, he became close friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Smith asked Berlusconi about Putin and nodded a bit as Berlusconi said he was a good chap, and that Russia needed to be brought back to the West. It was a bit like the famous Michael Jackson sit-down in which Jackson said something like, “oh yes, i really love to share my bed with young children,” and the interviewer said, “that’s lovely Michael, tell me more.”
For the sake of balance, it was fascinating to hear Berlusconi’s quite accurate take on the rise of populist and right-wing leaders globally. And, in an era of Trump in the U.S. and perhaps Le Pen in France, Berlusconi is a good get.
Still, much of Vice’s nightly show contains explications of obscure stories from the Reuters international digest and lame two dimensional animations illustrating hot topics such as “what if animals got high?” Vice has also replaced the voice-of-god anchorman conceit with the disembodied, nasally voice of Williamsburg. This week The Champs-Élysées in Paris has apparently become the CHAMPS-eh-lee-zey mis-pronounced in voice-over like a CHAMPION.
Vice has achieved it’s singular success in the media world by convincing advertisers and media companies that it can reach young people. The company is a remarkable triumph of brand, story-telling, and Mr. Smith’s very big balls for business (though not necessarily journalism).
Much criticism of Smith and his company likely derives from envy. In this case it’s hypocrisy. Vice is a youth media company doing a poor man’s version of the evening news, filled with liberal one-sided stories and an aging hipster, brand ambassador fellating one of the world’s great scoundrels.
Vice should decide what it wants to be. People loved when it was about fisting, how to get your girlfriend to blankety-blankety on your face, and stunts such as putting Dennis Rodman in North Korea. The Rodman piece revealed more about the North Korean leadership’s hollow, farcical rule than 20 years of traditional spoon-fed TV news pieces. Now Vice seems to be more concerned with cocktail fodder for the Vanity Fair set, deals to amass top-line revenue, and a limousine liberal myopic view of the world.
The company recently said it’s raising a couple hundred million dollars more in the debt markets to go make scripted programming. To all the lenders out there who might think Vice is a good credit risk, as part of the underwriting process, go ask a young person; when is the last time you actually watched Vice?