Group Chat Three former contributors demystify Vice Media's legendary origin storyĪround this time, a young TV production assistant named Joe Francis came up with a novel idea: take the guerilla video aesthetic popularized by unscripted programs like COPS, and add a whole lotta gratuitous nudity.Ī fixture of late-night-TV commercial breaks and pre-Google porn searches, Francis' Girls Gone Wild operation hocked low-budget VHS tapes and DVDs of attractive young women on spring break doffing their tops and engaging in other risque activities for leering cameramen.