New weekly podcast to launch this fall from the award-winning producers and correspondents of VICE News
JUNE 24, 2020 - BROOKLYN, NY – iHeartMedia, the No. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally, and VICE Media Group, the world’s largest independent youth media company, announced today at the VICE Media Group NewFront presentation “VICE News Reports,” a new weekly investigative series covering critical news subjects from around the world. “VICE News Reports” will be co-produced by iHeartRadio and VICE News. As part of the new partnership, iHeartMedia will have a first-look option to co-produce additional podcasts based on VICE Media Group content. “VICE News Reports” will debut this fall on iHeartRadio and everywhere podcasts are available.
The year-round weekly series will feature in-depth, on-the-ground reportage, tapping into VICE’s extensive global network of diverse, award-winning journalists, offering rare access audio that brings the listener directly into the story unlike any other program. With an immersive, vérité, in the field approach, the half-hour episodes will provide unique reporting on the biggest news stories in the world and delve into underreported events beyond the 24-hour news cycle.
The series will include a mix of long and short form reports, feature stories, multiple episode series and more, all told in the signature VICE News style. Topics to be covered include exclusive reporting from the frontlines of global conflicts and civil uprisings; a deep dive into the rise of the alt-right in the states and abroad; and a multi-part investigation into the debate about arming teachers in America’s schools.
“At VICE News we provide a comprehensive look at complex news issues by reporting where others do not, and amplifying voices that are going unheard,” said Jesse Angelo, President, Global News and Entertainment, VICE Media Group. “Audio allows us to go further; the medium lets us dive into the nuance and involve the audience in intimate ways that cannot be achieved with video. We are excited to explore this even more with ‘VICE News Reports’ and iHeartRadio.”
“With today’s busy schedules, listeners are always looking for engaging content, especially on global critical topics of interest,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “We are excited to launch this new investigative series with VICE, keeping listeners up-to-date on the latest current events, while also uncovering untold truths in today’s tumultuous climate.”
In 2019, VICE expanded its audio operation under the leadership of Kate Osborn, longtime audio veteran and former producer for NPR, BBC, and Rachel Maddow. Replicating its unconventional approach to video storytelling with audio, VICE has produced award-wining and critically acclaimed audio series such as Chapo: Kingpin on Trial, Uncommitted: Iowa 2020, and The Distance: Coronavirus Dispatches.
“VICE News Reports” is a weekly VICE News and iHeartRadio Original Podcast set to debut this fall. The series will be distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network which is home to more than 750 original podcasts with over 215 million downloads each month. iHeartRadio Original Podcasts span every category from business, sports, spirituality and technology to entertainment, family, comedy and true crime – and everything in between – making iHeartRadio the largest publisher of podcast content in the world. These shows are distributed on all major podcast platforms including the iHeartRadio app, which additionally distributes more than 320,000 shows.
About VICE Media Group
VICE Media Group is the world’s largest independent youth media company. Launched in 1994, VICE has offices in 35 cities across the globe with a focus on five key businesses: VICE.com, an award-winning international network of digital content; VICE STUDIOS, a feature film and television production studio; VICE TV, an Emmy-winning international television network; a Peabody award-winning NEWS division with the most Emmy-awarded nightly news broadcast; and VIRTUE, a global, full-service creative agency with 25 offices around the world. VICE Media Group’s portfolio includes Refinery29, the leading global media and entertainment company focused on women; PULSE Films, a London-based next-generation production studio with outposts in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Berlin; i-D, a global digital and bimonthly magazine defining fashion and contemporary culture; and Garage, a digital platform and biannual publication converging the worlds of art and design.