Jason Mojica

Jason Mojica (born 1974) is an award-winning American journalist, film producer, and musician. He was the founding editor-in-chief of VICE News, and in 2013 became one of the first Americans to meet Kim Jong Un when he led the team that brought Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters to North Korea.

Jason Mojica was born in Cicero, Illinois in 1974. He attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale for one year before dropping out, although he later earned a degree in Political Communication from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

In 1989, when Mojica was 15 years-old, he started the small press publishing company, Rocco Comics. The company later grew to publish zines including the DIY resource guide Book Your Own Fuckin' Life (with Maximumrocknroll), and eventually became the punk rock record label, Rocco Records. The label released records by Mojica's own band, The Fighters, as well as The Bollweevils, 88 Fingers Louie, The Mushuganas, The Parasites, Winepress, and Apocalypse Hoboken.

In 2006 Mojica and a group of his friends crowdfunded, produced and directed the documentary Christmas in Darfur? It was one of the first feature-length documentaries to be distributed online for free.

Mojica moved to London in 2009, and became a producer and correspondent on The Listening Post, a weekly media review and analysis program airing on Al Jazeera English.

Mojica joined VICE Media in 2011, producing "tentpole" documentaries for the web, including two Webby Award-winning films: The Vice Guide to Congo, and The Rebels of Libya. In 2012 he became a producer on the debut season of the company's eponymous HBO show, VICE.

"Basketball Diplomacy" in North Korea

In March, 2013 Mojica became one of the first Americans to meet the reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Mojica and VICE Media founder Shane Smith are said to have come up with the idea of gaining access to film in North Korea by appealing to Kim Jong Un's reported love of basketball by proposing "a goodwill game of basketball with North Korea's national team." The VICE crew brought with them 5-time NBA Champion Dennis Rodman, and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters. While in Pyongyang, the VICE crew attended a lavish dinner hosted by Kim Jong Un, and attended by Kim's uncle Jang Song Thaek, who Kim would later have killed by firing squad. "It was the most surreal experience of my life," Mojica said. The trip was criticized by the Obama administration, with White House press secretary Jay Carney saying that, "Instead of spending money on celebrity sporting events to entertain the elites of that country, the North Korean regime should focus on the well-being of its own people who have been starved, imprisoned, and denied their human rights."

Launch of VICE News

After the first season of the VICE show on HBO, Mojica became the founding Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer of the company's stand-alone digital news platform, VICE News. The site launched in March 2014 with coverage of the conflict and unrest in Crimea, South Sudan, and Venezuela. In August, 2014, VICE News became the first news organization to embed with the Islamic State. The resulting documentary, The Islamic State received worldwide news coverage, has been viewed more than 13 million times online, and won a 2014 Peabody Award and a National Magazine Award. The launch of VICE News under Mojica inspired New York Times media critic David Carr, who had famously sparred with VICE founder Shane Smith to issue a mea culpa: "Being the crusty old-media scold felt good at the time, but recent events suggest that Vice is deadly serious about doing real news that people, yes, even young people, will actually watch." Others were more critical, with some suggesting that in making a film about the Islamic State, VICE had colluded with a terrorist organization. At a panel discussion at NYU, Mojica said, "I can certainly say that there is no collusion between Vice News and the Islamic State as much as there is a bit of sparring and each of us probably trying to get something different out of [the experience].”

Firing for Sexual Harassment

In November 2017, Vice Media formally suspended Mojica pending an investigation of allegations into sexual harassment made against him by several past and current employees. The following month, Mojica was terminated after an internal investigation.The company said in a memo sent to employees: "Vice Media fired three employees for behavior ranging from verbal and sexual harassment to other behavior that is inconsistent with our policies, our values, and the way in which we believe colleagues should work together.”

The internal corporate investigation was prompted by an investigative story in The New York Times examining allegations of sexual harassment regarding several senior male executives in the company, among them Mojica. Several witnesses accused Mojica of misconduct.The Times' expose reported, for example, that "Abby Ellis, a former Vice journalist, said that in 2013 Mr. Mojica... tried to kiss her against her will. She said that she yelled at him and hit him with an umbrella multiple times. She said that she faced other unwanted advances from Mr. Mojica after the incident. Ms. Ellis said that after the episode she felt that their relationship soured and that she was missing out on newsroom opportunities."

2016: Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards - Selfie Soldiers

2016: National Magazine Award - Selfie Soldiers

2015: National Magazine Award - The Islamic State

2015; News & Documentary Emmy Award (Nominee, Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine) - Russian Roulette, The Invasion of Ukraine

2015; News & Documentary Emmy Award (Nominee, Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine) - Outstanding Interview, "The Architect"

2014: Peabody Award - Last Chance High

2014: Peabody Award - The Islamic State

2014: IDA Award (Nominee, Best Short Form Series) - Last Chance High

2014: IDA Award (Nominee, Best Short Form Series) - The Islamic State

2013: Webby Award (Online Film & Video: News & Politics, Series) - VICE News

2013: Webby Award, People's Choice (Online Film & Video: News & Politics, Series) - VICE News

2012: Webby Award (Online Film & Video: Documentary, Individual Episode) - The Rebels of Libya

2012: Webby Award (News and Politics: Individual Episode) - The VICE Guide to Congo