Shane Smith - VICE

I wrote a paper on Shane Smith for my careers class....the assignment was about a media personality so here it is. NB there's swear words and some of the article titles and subject matter are pretty extreme (and not in a "radical dude!" extreme way). I didn't bother hyperlinking anything although there are sources at the bottom for stuff about him. 

Shane Smith (age 42) is co-founder of Vice Magazine and CEO of Vice Media Inc. He founded Vice Magazine in 1994 with Suroosh Alvi and Gavin McInnes. It was originally a government funded paper for Haitian Immigrants called Voice of Montreal. Eventually Shane, Suroosh, and Gavin took over, dropped the 'O' and called it Vice Magazine. In 2006 Shane starred in a television series entitled Vice Guide to Travel and in 2007 started the online video site VBS.tv.

Smith went to Carleton University where he majored in political economics and eventually travelled across Europe and traded money on the black market. He travelled back to Montreal where he met Suroosh Alvi at a family get together and they began working at Voice of Montreal together along with Gavin McInnes. In interviews Smith rarely mentions McInnes, possibly due to opinions that many would consider racist (An article entitled “I'm Not a Racist, Sexist, or Homophobe You Nigger Slut Faggot” may have something to do with that opinion).

Smith's has described his dream job similar to MTV's CEO Tom Freston. Smith says “[Freston] flies around everywhere, gets to make movies, gets to start TV shows, hang out with cool people and do whatever he wants.” Smith's job is pretty similar. He mostly stars in video series, writes miscellaneous articles, rubs shoulders with generals and spends time with Mitt Romney's cousins in Mexico.

Vice Media has largely been about shocking topics like “Vice Guide to Guide to Getting Laid”, “Vice Guide to Travel in...” series, and “The Westminster Dog Show on Acid!” as well as starting their own record label. Originally started as a magazine about fashion, music and sex Smith has steered the company to covering major world issues with a gonzo-style journalistic intent. Smith is found these days travelling the world and covering stories on everything from international arms dealing to the newest show airing on MTV entitled, Vice Guide to EVERYTHING. CNN has also picked up Vice coverage for many international news stories.

Since it's inception Vice's videos now employ half of their staff and has increasingly become well-known for the international issues presented by the many journalists. Smith realized how large his audience was (1.2 million magazine subscribers) and believes that it is his duty to inform these readers and viewers about the issues facing the world today. He says that he covers these issues primarily because he has been getting so frustrated by the countless untold stories of exploitation that people face from governments, businesses, and other people.

According to Smith he also advocates that no one should expect journalistic integrity from his company or the international news stories that he covers, however CNN believes that many of their reports “reflect a very transparent approach to journalism, where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process. We believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers [and viewers].”

Wired Magazine also is unsure of the integrity of Smith and claims that he originally started working with Voice of Montreal and falsified the intent of the magazine with Gavin McInnes to gain welfare status from the government. Also the article states that there wasn't actually a Montreal businessman that gave Vice a million dollars, contrary to Smith's claims that he did. While it is hard to distinguish what is truth and what is fiction Smith has certainly captured many as a bold and rising media personality.

Sources:

Sofex - The Business of War: http://www.vice.com/en_ca/vice-news/sofex-the-business-of-war-part-1

The Snarky Vice Squad is Ready to be Taken Seriously. Seriously.: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/15-11/ff_vice?currentPage=all

CNN Specials: Vice: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/vice/index.html

Shane Smith: http://www.vice.com/spike-spends-saturday-with/shane-smith-part-1

A Wild Man Grows Up (Just Enough): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/fashion/19upclose.htmladxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1352783584-SNlurKjySzMuSftjhDTZyw

I'm Not a Racist, Sexist or a Homophobe, You Nigger Slut Faggot:

http://takimag.com/article/im_not_a_racist_sexist_or_a_homophobe_you_nigger_slut_faggot/print#axzz2C4q0kwFG