21st Century Fox, formerly a unit of Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp, just made a big splash in corporate venturing.
It has reportedly acquired a 5% stake worth $70m in US-based Vice Media, a web-based news site that sends journalists into precarious situations and now apparently valued at $1.4bn.
Vice is described by the media as an insatiable source of Gonzo journalism after the much loved children’s puppet character Gonzo, who made ‘death defying’ assignments for the children’s television programme, The Muppet Show.
Vice journalist experiences drive the business, generating up to millions of web hits per assignment. Vice is most recently known for its assignment in North Korea, which sent out basketball star Dennis Rodman and members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team to film their experiences there.
Photo source: Vice Media; Vice employees and others speak to a man at Kim Il Sung University’s computer lab during their famous assignment in North Korea earlier this year.