According to an email to employees on Friday, seen by Reuters, Nancy Dubuc, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vice Media Group, is leaving the company after serving for five years.
Dubuc, a veteran television executive, joined Vice in 2018 as the replacement for the co-founder and former CEO, Shane Smith, who resigned from his position following an investigation by The New York Times into the company’s workplace culture.
In the email to the staff, Dubuc expressed her pride in leaving a better Vice than the one she joined. She described the company as a thriving news organization that endured significant economic challenges brought about by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and a difficult economy, all of which forced the company to pivot, refocus, and pivot again.
Dubuc’s exit coincides with a sale process initiated by a special board committee. The committee has been in negotiations with potential buyers, including Antenna, a Greek company. The board of directors acknowledged Dubuc’s contributions in a statement and announced that it would soon appoint new leadership.
During her tenure, Dubuc successfully led Vice’s original productions, including “American Gladiators” for ESPN and the scripted series “Tell Me Lies” for Hulu.
How Vice Media Group has been innovative in its business growth?
Vice Media Group was founded in 1994 by Canadian Shane Smith, Suroosh Alvi, and Gavin McInnes as a Montreal-based magazine called Voice of Montreal. In 1996, the magazine was renamed Vice and expanded its content to include music, fashion, and politics. Over the years, Vice grew to become a youth media empire with operations in more than 30 countries.
In 2006, Vice launched Vice.com, which featured its online video channel, VBS.tv, that offered alternative news and cultural content. The company also launched various other channels like Noisey for music, Motherboard for technology, and Broadly for women’s issues.
Vice’s unique storytelling style and edgy content attracted a huge following, particularly among younger audiences who were disenchanted with traditional media outlets.
In 2013, Vice attracted $70 million in funding from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The investment helped the company expand its reach and establish partnerships with major media outlets, including HBO, which agreed to produce a weekly news show called Vice. The show debuted in 2013 and was praised for its in-depth reporting on controversial topics that other media outlets were hesitant to cover.
In 2014, Vice launched a news division called Vice News, which quickly gained popularity for its in-depth and unvarnished coverage of international news and conflicts. The following year, Vice News was awarded the Peabody Award, one of the highest honors in broadcast journalism.
