The Fall of VICE Magazine (PATREON BONUS CLIP)

Vice Magazine: “Cool to Lame” and the Rise/Fall Narrative

The speakers discuss Vice Magazine’s rise and fall, arguing that it went from genuinely “cool” youth/culture journalism to something they see as increasingly lame, exploitative, and institutionally self-serving.

“Cool to lame” trajectory

• One contributor says they personally mocked Vice the most because it transitioned from a distinctive, edgy culture brand to something mainstream.
• They recall Vice being widely present in places like Montreal and feeling like a skateboarding/counterculture magazine.
• Another contributor frames it as Vice shifting from observing weird culture to trying to normalize it, which they claim made the content less genuinely strange and more like other blogs.

Corporate/production hypocrisy

Multiple anecdotes emphasize Vice’s internal contradictions—making grand claims about creativity while filming content in corporate settings.

• One story describes a boardroom where a promotional video claimed Vice was making content that “can’t be created in a boardroom,” while attendees were literally in a boardroom watching it.

Rogers and money as the turning point

The discussion notes that Rogers paid roughly $300 million, which they connect to Vice’s decline.

• They describe a period where Vice used a large media deal involving Canadian government money to produce content.
• Sometimes output was small, yet it was treated like a “tax game,” implying the business model began replacing culture-making.

Stealing/replicating viral content

A key accusation is that Vice leaned heavily on scraping and repackaging viral videos/articles without proper attribution.

• The speakers describe it as “their version” of trends after others went viral.
• They argue this was more brazen at the time than it is now.

Hiring culture and internal dysfunction

Several contributors relay “postmortem” style lists from former staff describing workplace behavior and leadership dysfunction.

• Drug-fueled or ethically questionable stories (e.g., cocaine/poppers).
• Chaotic leadership and absurd management practices.
• Allegations that content was adjusted based on traffic drops (e.g., “if traffic dipped, do weird gay stuff”).
• References to HR/management characters and bizarre directives.

Political/cultural context (“Trump wall”)

One contributor argues Vice’s vibe broke down further as politics hardened:

• They claim Vice stayed cool around the time of the Rogers deal (about 2014).
• After the Trump era, they argue the brand deteriorated due to counter-signal politics and an increasingly sensational, scandal-oriented (including sexual scandal) content strategy.

Normalizing previously “weird” themes

The group claims Vice’s early “inside a weird world” approach became content that insists:

• “There’s actually nothing weird about this.”
• They argue this reduced originality and increased conformity to broader internet trends.

Comparison to TMZ / scolding culture

Toward the end, they compare Vice’s later moral tone to TMZ, describing both as part of a “morality police” / scolding-parapolitical media ecosystem.

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Presenters / Contributors

• Mike Salana
• Shane Smith
• Ryan Long (mentioned as a co-host/connection: “Crown the Town with Ryan Long”)
• Gavin McKinnis
• Dave (mentioned in passing as “I don’t know, Dave.”)
• Perez Hilton
• Gloria Steinem (mentioned in an anecdote)
• Harvey Weinstein (mentioned in an HR-related joke)