Vice Creator Shane Smith Lives for Absurdity | Adweek Vice
Creator Shane Smith Lives for Absurdity | Adweek  Vice CEO
Punches Back at Critics of North Korea Trip  Shane Smith
discusses new HBO show  Photo: Elizabeth Lippman   Who Shane
Smith Age 43 New gig Host of new HBO newsmagazine, Vice
Continuing gig Co-founder, CEO, Vice Media   How did the idea
come about?  What’s the new Vice show going to cover, generally,
and how? The tagline is “The absurdity of the modern condition.”
In more of a documentary format rather than a news format.
Telling stories that are interesting and sometimes tragic and
sometimes crazy and hopefully entertaining. Child suicide
bombers of the Taliban. The Philippines, where kids are making
guns by hand and using them to assassinate politicians. North
Korea’s defectors.  You’re a youth brand and you’re making money
online. Why bother with TV at all? We make premium video
content. HBO is the gold standard of TV today. If we can be a
success on HBO, that’s just another step in our evol