I don’t know who’s telling the truth about the Liberal refugee plan.

On the one hand, there’s Paul McLeod, BuzzFeed‘s political editor, who published an article on November 25, 2015, titled “Someone Gave The Media A Bunch Of False Info About Canada’s Syrian Refugee Plan.” McLeod takes issue with a CBC report by Rosemary Barton that, days before the Liberals revealed their official refugee plan, stated “unaccompanied men seeking asylum will not be part of the (refugee) program.”

McLeod quotes an anonymous senior Liberal member who “said they don’t know where the information came from, but they suspect it was from someone who did not have their best interests at heart. In other words, someone trying to screw them.”

There’s one word being interpreted and responded to differently in the Liberal government’s Syrian refugee plan: “prioritize.”

Other reports also counter the CBC reports on the claim to exclude single male Syrian refugees. As a Vice article states:

Initial reports had suggested that the government would not be allowing in any unattached single men in under the program, unless they are a sexual minority.

Government officials confirmed Tuesday that wouldn’t be the case. While the government will “prioritize” families, women at risk, LGBTQ minorities, and those who are accompanying elderly parents, it will not be disqualifying any would-be refugee on the basis of gender.

The Toronto Star also made this clear: “Officials say [the plan] does not preclude men — including gay men and single men accompanying their parents — from admission.”

Leigh Stein’s boyfriend Jason threw her against the refrigerator and didn’t believe she was hurt until she showed him the bruises. They had moved to New Mexico together so she could write her book while he worked—it was the most romantic plan she had ever heard. She recounted her relationship in a BuzzFeed story about how she investigated Jason’s arrest for a stabbing incident 11 days before his death in a motorcycle accident. “I thought I’d be able to draw a clear, straight line between our visit, his crime and the accident,” she wrote, “and then the story of our lives together would finally make sense.” In the comments section, many women shared their own stories of abuse.

Stein’s story is evidence that personal journalism, which is increasingly accessible online, allows writers to explore important topics such as mental health and domestic violence in a way that has a powerful effect on readers. They’re like getting hooked on someone else’s pain. While critics of first-person narratives say they are self-indulgent and get published only when they tell a painful story, the articles resonate with readers.

Personal journalism has always been around, says BuzzFeed Canada’s Lauren Strapagiel, but the difference now is that there is so much more content out there—people can always find an experience that speaks to them. “People are going to ask for it and go looking for it, and people are going to write to meet that need.”

In an August Vice story about surviving Hurricane Katrina and living with the guilt, Megan Koester took readers through her evacuation to the present, describing how lucky she is compared to those who didn’t escape. A January piece on The Huffington Post blog by Abby King was written in the form of an apology to her children for divorcing their father: “I will forever feel guilty that we broke your home and world apart.”

These articles give readers going through the same experiences validation by showing that other people feel the same way. “On a fundamental level, we connect with stories that have a strong human component,” says Craig Silverman, Buzzfeed Canada’s editor. “From a strategic perspective, first-person stories can do well online—people share them if it’s an experience that they can relate to.”

The Huffington Post opened a Canadian office in 2011, and blog, which publishes many first-person pieces, now has 5,000 contributors. Blogs editor Sadiya Ansari says the posts contribute to the public conversation from the perspective of an individual. Although personal narratives are found most notably on the Living and Parents pages, they are in every section—even on the Business page. A tale of a woman’s miscarriage on Huffpost Parents attracted a lot of readers, and Ansari can see why: “It’s very powerful in first person because it wasn’t about what miscarriage looks like from the outside.”

But some people see these pieces as self-indulgent and an easy out for writers. Janice Tibbetts, a journalism instructor at Carleton University, says she has nothing against first-person narratives and doesn’t call herself a critic of them, but doesn’t see much growth in them for a journalist. “It’s the kind of thing I don’t see as a skill that takes a lot of time to develop.” This is the main reason she doesn’t allow her first-year students to use the first person. Writing about yourself can simply be “the path of least resistance.”

In an article attacking first-person journalism in September, Laura Bennett, a senior editor at Slate, argued that websites such as xoJane, Buzzfeed Ideas and Gawker are turning any thought or experience a writer has into a meaningless article. But, she noted, personal stories are often the only way for young journalists to get a response from publications. And the ones that gain traction are those that describe something terrible that a writer had to go through.

For freelance journalists, the personal essay is a quick way to make some cash—no research or fact-checking required. Writers who can’t afford to spend much time on each of their stories in order to make enough money to survive know they need to give a good pitch or they won’t be published. The stories that grab attention are ones about sad and painful events. Bennett quoted Jia Tolentino, Jezebel’s features editor, who says, “Writers feel like the best thing they have to offer is the worst thing that ever happened to them.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton Nolan, who wrote “The ‘Writing About Yourself’ Trap” on Gawker, wants journalists to remember that getting published doesn’t have to mean writing “sexy, salacious, crazy, wild, demeaning, shocking, depressing or self-glorifying stories.”

Despite the critics, websites find value in these stories, under the right circumstances. Souzan Michael, associate digital editor of Fashion Magazine’s online site, says she carefully decides when a first-person story will speak to a topic better than it can be told otherwise. She wants stories that are true and relatable, which can only be done “by being yourself.”

After all, first-person narratives use something we do all the time—storytelling about ourselves—to explore difficult and uncomfortable subjects. Good journalism, in other words.

Coming soon to a television near you: drugs, multicultural robots and foreign places.

A year ago, Rogers announced a three-year $100 million content, studio and distribution partnership with Vice Media to produce daily news and long-form content like documentaries on food, fashion, technology and sports. Yesterday, this become a reality as the official trailer for the 24-hour specialty channel Viceland was released.

Set to launch in winter 2016 on TV, mobile and online, many are hailing Viceland as the way to bring millennials back to broadcast journalism and television viewing. The content is catering specifically to Generation Y, with variety shows like Gaycation with Ellen Page and Ian Daniel, a food show “Huang’s World,” a music show “Noisey” and a sports show “Vice World of Sports” among many others.

But, to put it bluntly, will it succeed?

“It feels like most channels are just a collection of shows,” said Spike Jonze, writer, director and overseer of the development of the channel in a press release.

 We wanted VICELAND to be different, to feel like everything on there has a reason to exist and a strong point of view. Our mission with the channel is not that different from what our mission is as a company: it’s us trying to understand the world we live in by producing pieces about things we’re curious about, or confused about, or that we think are funny. And if it doesn’t have a strong point of view then it shouldn’t be on this channel.

The other element of this channel is the re-imaging of television advertising. Representatives of Vice have voiced a desire to change the way TV is monetized through the practice of native advertising, as already seen in their digital video content.

However, the launch of a specialty TV channel, at a time when millennials are increasingly turning away from it, seems to be a risky endeavor. The popularity of Netflix says so at least, where you watch what you like without without advertisements.

At the same time, there is an argument to be made about quality content. It seems that, along with other broadcast publishers like Netflix, HBO and now Vice, there is a move to make content king again in a world increasingly distracted by everything social media. The popularity of figures like Jon Stewart and John Oliver–in comparison to anchors of broadcast news, for instance–illustrates the different way millennials consume news, a trend that Viceland seems to encapsulate.

There’s also a question as to whether the Vice audience is a niche audience and, if so, whether it’s big enough to sustain this channel on a daily basis.

So, for now, welcome to Viceland. It’s edgy and different and true to the Vice brand. Whether it’s a success like its origins is something time will test in the next couple of months.

Vice Media Inc. has teamed up with Rogers Communications Inc. to create a Canadian studio and TV channel. The $100 million joint venture will include a Vice Canada studio based in Toronto, producing a news channel that will sync with mobile and online content.

Vice has been working its way into young adults’ minds since its inception in Montreal in 1994. Starting out as a monthly magazine, it has expanded internationally, now operating in over 30 countries and valued at $2.5 billion. Rogers has made a smart move buying into an organization with the main purpose of engaging the 18- to 34-year-old demographic—one that will grow to half of the Canadian population in less than a decade, according to Rogers CEO Guy Laurence.

Vice CEO Shane Smith has said that he wants to “build the next CNN, the next ESPN.” To some, this may seem a little confusing coming from a news organization that still talks “half the time about rare denim and sneakers.” Last year, Gawker’s Hamilton Nolan called Vice out on selling their counterculture manifesto to the world’s mainstream corporations, all from the starting place of “a humble magazine about doing heroin and having sex (on heroin).” With moves like this partnership with Rogers, it seems they are far-gone from their humble beginnings as an indie magazine made to combat conventional news.

It’s true, Vice’s content is sleazy at times. From their food offshoot Munchies featuring weed edibles as a new culinary art, to news pieces on drugs, sex, violence and random viral videos—it’s easy to castoff Vice as a news source fringing on the line between journalism and sensationalism. Their audience is often divided from those who love video series like “People Who Just Had Sex” (where they interview couples before and after they’ve had sex) to those who would rather get the harder-hitting journalistic pieces like their recent critique on rehab clinics in Southern California.

Yet we can look at the success of BuzzFeed as a prime example of this kind of journalism working and thriving online. Sure the site may attract young audiences with snappy, easy-to-read quizzes, listicles and photo series, but readers can also find well-written investigative features.

Vice’s online description states the magazine is an “ever-expanding galaxy of immersive, investigative, uncomfortable and occasionally uncouth journalism.” The organization is a threat to more traditional news outlets by throwing out the idea that the journalist isn’t a character in the story. Vice’s voice is loud and clear in its content, particularly in the seedier pieces. But for every survey about how often men fake orgasms, there’s a piece of tenacious reporting, such as the documentaries on North Korea and bridal kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan and And it’s not like these journalistic pieces are being ignored—both videos have a combined total of more than six million views.

This partnership with Rogers reflects the changing landscape of Canadian media, where Canadians are actively seeking innovative media outlets, even if they have to pay a membership fee. We wrote about an example of this last month with Ricochet, the new independent bilingual news site that got its start from crowdfunding and aims to offer a counter to the large, all-encompassing news groups like CBC or the Globe and Mail.

Vice got its start as being the cool new kid on the block, the one to take news in a direction that is engaging for youth wanting their news to reflect who they are and what they are passionate about. But when these independent sites gain traction, it’s inevitable that some day they may become mainstream. It’s the same with music, there is always a fight to avoid selling out, keeping the original fans happy but at the same time continuing to grow and prosper. As the journalism world keeps changing, we must remember to keep the focus on quality over capital, and this all stems from leadership. Vice already has an audience, now it is up Smith and management to keep their audience engaged with stories of high journalistic quality. Gen Y likes to learn too, you know.

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Thanks to The Stream Team for the featured image.