If you haven’t heard VICE magazine’s MTV show, The VICE Guide to Everything , debuts tonight. The show follows VICE co-creator Shane Smith and his cohorts on trips around the globe, exploring politics and culture on a street level — think a traveling The Daily Show with a dash of Jackass. Tune in to MTV tonight at 11/10c to catch the big premiere, but in the meantime check out a brief history of other print publications that made the jump to television.
The Fashionista Diaries
The Fashionista Diaries, an original reality TV series which aired on SOAPNet in 2007, followed six assistants in the world of fashion who were competing for a full-time job — including Andrew Kanakis and Rachel Jacoby, who began the show working at Jane Magazine, and then moved on to CosmoGIRL! after it folded.
MADtv
Mad Magazine lent its name, iconic logo, and Spy vs. Spy cartoons to a sketch comedy show called MADtv, which debuted in October of 1995. However the show, which was produced by Quincy Jones, had no editorial or stylistic connection with the magazine. Mad, the magazine, has much deeper roots, having been founded in 1952. It is still in print, having been cut back to six issues per year while MADtv was canceled in 2008. An animated Mad premiered on Cartoon Network this past September.
I’m From Rolling Stone
Well into the reality TV craze of the 2000s, MTV aired a 10-episode season of a show called I’m From Rolling Stone in January 2007. The premise was to take six twenty-somethings who wanted to be music writers for the prestigious magazine and have them duke it out for one spot on the air. Krishtine de Leon, a music magazine editor from San Francisco, ended being named the winner by Jann Wenner, Joe Levy, and other RS senior editors.
National Geographic Channel
Never mind a show, National Geographic had enough video to show viewers it could justify an entire channel. National Geographic published its first issue in October of 1888, but the society didn’t make its TV debut until 1997, when the National Geographic Channel launched in the UK, Europe and Australia, hosting informative, nonfiction content similar to The Discovery Channel and The History Channel. The subscription channel came to the US in January of 2001.
The Onion News Network
Anyone familiar with the satirical publication The Onion has probably seen clips online from The Onion News Network. The Onion has been in print since 1988, and it website launched in 1996. What you might not know is that the “Network” has been picked up as a news show by IFC, and begins airing January 21st. Not to be outdone in the fake news department, Comedy Central has a pilot for The Onion Sports Network.
Running In Heels
Running In Heels, which debuted on the Style Network in 2009, follows the lives of the staff of Marie Claire Magazine through the eyes of three new interns. It only lasted for one season.
Stylista
Stylista was a fashion-themed competition series that premiered on the CW in 2008 and ran for only one season; it featured both Anne Slowey (fashion news director) and Joe Zee (creative director) from Elle Magazine. The 11 contestants were competing for a paid editorial position at Elle, a paid lease on an apartment in Manhattan, and a clothing allowance at H&M, all for one year, valued at $100,000.
Tabloid Wars
Tabloid Wars, a reality series which aired on Bravo back in 2006, followed reporters and editors from the New York Daily News, and plenty of soundbites from editor-in-chief Michael Cooke. While the fly in the newsroom docudrama was well-received by critics, the show did not return for a second season.