Vice Uses Staff as Saudi Arabia Focus Group

Vice wants to know what its employees think of Saudi Arabia’s image.

In a message posted Wednesday to one of Vice’s internal Slack channels, Frederik Lauridsen—whose LinkedIn lists him as Director of Operations for Vice Media Group in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa—wrote that he hoped staff at the youth-focused news organization would help in “gathering some information on associations and perceptions people around the world have about Saudi Arabia.”

“Please help us out and take our survey,” he said, punctuating the message with a heart emoji. Defector Media first reported the internal survey on Wednesday.

The survey, titled “Image of Saudi Arabia,” queried how staffers view the kingdom, “what associations come to mind when mentioning the country,” if they could list 3-4 facts about the country or its people, and how “you think people in your country perceive Saudi Arabia.”

Furthermore, the survey asked what it would take for Vice employees to consider relocating to or visiting Saudi Arabia. “Please finish the sentence. I would consider moving and working in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, if…,” it queried. “Please finish the sentence. I would visit Saudi Arabia and its capital, Riyadh, if….”

Wednesday’s message, according to insiders, was shared in a Vice “workspace” primarily used by the business side, but several of the site’s journalists confirmed they saw it and were taken aback. Vice did not return a request for comment on this story.

The bizarre internal survey demonstrates an at-times unusual relationship between the global news organization and top Saudi entities—ties that have occasionally made some of the outlet’s journalists uncomfortable. (Despite the company’s controversial connections to Saudi Arabia, Vice’s reporters have maintained a steady flow of critical reporting about the regime.)

NY Times, LA Times Owner Ditch Saudi Festival Over Khashoggi’s Disappearance

The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2018, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and former Vice Media Executive Chairman Shane Smith discussed a joint venture between the media company and the Saudi government.

For years, Saudi Arabia attempted to gain a greater foothold in American media and entertainment. Saudi Research & Marketing Group, a Riyadh-based media and publishing company with close ties to the regime, has invested heavily in Penske Media, the entertainment media powerhouse that owns The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Variety, and several other major entertainment media brands.

But the 2018 assassination of Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul sparked nearly universal condemnation from media organizations across the U.S., causing many to re-evaluate their relationships with companies with direct ties to the Saudi regime. For example, CNN, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and other media organizations canceled appearances by their top journalists at Saudi-sponsored events, and talent agency Endeavor backed out of a massive planned partnership with the kingdom.

Vice has also produced documentaries for a Saudi government-controlled company. And earlier this year, Vice opened a business-focused office in the Saudi capital city Riyadh in an effort that was “driven by our mission to champion young voices.”

The company also told The Hollywood Reporter that it was partnering with the Saudi Research & Marketing Group to establish a training program for Saudi creatives. Vice had previously put the partnership with SRMG under review following the Khashoggi slaying.

The Saudi initiatives come as Vice attempts to make its business more appealing as it maneuvers behind the scenes to go public via a special purpose acquisitions company (SPAC), the increasingly popular shell companies many major digital-media organizations are using to go public while avoiding burdensome regulations.

Also on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the media company plans a major editorial shift toward “videos and other forms of visual storytelling.” Some journalists were alarmed at the announcement that the company plans to reduce the number of text articles on Vice properties including Vice.com, Refinery29, and i-D by 40 to 50 percent—a plan that was not widely known to many of the organization’s digital staffers before the move was announced in the Times.

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