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The Guardian - UK

Business

Mark Sweney

‘Like Icarus – now everyone is burnt’: how Vice and BuzzFeed fell to earth

Vice BuzzFeed Shane Smith United States Jonah Peretti BuzzFeed News Facebook Disney Rupert Murdoch United Kingdom

BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti (centre) celebrates the publisher’s Nasdaq public listing with team members in 2021. — BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti (centre) celebrates the publisher’s Nasdaq public listing with team members in 2021. Photograph: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BuzzFeed Inc.

Just over a decade ago Rupert Murdoch endorsed what appeared to be a glittering future for Vice, firing off a tweet after an impromptu visit to the media upstart’s Brooklyn offices and a drink in a nearby bar with the outspoken co-founder Shane Smith.

“Who’s heard of VICE media?” the Australian media mogul posted from his car on the way home from the 2012 visit, which resulted in a $70m (£55m) investment. “Wild, interesting effort to interest millennials who don’t read or watch established media. Global success.”

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