Jason Mojica
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Jason Mojica (born 1974) is an American journalist, film producer, and musician. He is the co-founder and treasurer of IXNAY PAC, a
super PAC Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...
devoted to "getting Donald Trump and his cronies out of office." Previously, he was the founding editor-in-chief of
VICE News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's alternative current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice Ne ...
, and in 2013 became one of the first Americans to meet
Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
when he led the team that brought
Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...
and the
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
to
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. In November 2017, Vice Media fired Mojica after allegations made by several women that he had sexually harassed them surfaced.


Early life and education

Jason Mojica was born in
Cicero, Illinois Cicero is a town in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,268, making it the 11th-most populous municipality in Illinois. The town is named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a R ...
, in 1974. He attended
Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...
in Carbondale for one year before dropping out, although he later earned a degree in
Political Communication Political communication is the study of political messaging that is communicated, usually to the public e.g. political campaigns, speeches and political advertising, often concerning the mass media. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws f ...
from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
at the age of 34. After commencing his studies, however, Mojica explained that he never felt part of the university community: "I'm a 31-year-old male. Do you really want me living in a dorm?" Mojica said in offering an "awkward explanation" as to why he had decided to live off-campus. Mojica further described himself during his time in college as "'that grumpy man' who doesn't want students to distract others trying to learn." Mojica had originally dropped out of college to become the front man of The Fighters, a
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band he formed with high school friends. Mojica also began his own indie record label, Rocco Records, and opened his own coffee house, Jinx Cafe, and bought a video rental store. He explained that the decision to return to college was an "attempt to think inside the box and learn how to write a business letter." In 2006, Mojica and two friends
crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...
, produced and directed the documentary ''Christmas in Darfur?'' with their company, 77 International. It was one of the first feature-length
documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...
to be distributed online for free. In 2009, Mojica became a producer and correspondent for '' The Listening Post'', a weekly media review and analysis program airing on
Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...
.


Career


Rocco Entertainment Group

While he was a sophomore in high-school, Mojica started a small press that initially published photocopied
minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...
s, but later grew into a magazine publisher and record label. The company was active from 1989 to 1999.


Rocco Comics

In 1989, at the age of 15, Mojica started publishing comic books written and drawn by him and his friends under the moniker ''Rocco Comics''. The comics were predominantly in the minicomic format and printed in runs of 100 to 500. Titles included ''Hamster Man'', ''Mundane Tales'', and ''Hey Shakey Jake, Are You Out of Your Fuckin’ Crazy!?.'' Over time the circle of contributors grew to include such established underground and indie cartoonists
Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...
,
Grass Green Richard Edward "Grass" Green (May 7, 1939Social Security Death Index. – August 5, 2002) was an African American cartoonist notable for being the first black participant in both the 1960s fan art movement and the 1970s underground comics movement. ...
,
Terry Laban Terry LaBan (born July 19, 1961) is an alternative comics, alternative/underground cartoonist and newspaper comic strip artist. He is known for his comic book series ''Cud'', and his syndicated strip ''Edge City'', created with his wife, Patty La ...
, Carole Sobocinski,
Matt Feazell Matt Feazell (born 1955) is an American cartoonist from Hamtramck, Michigan, primarily working in minicomics. He is best known for his wryly humorous ''The Amazing Cynicalman'' series and the simple "stick figure" art style he uses for it. Cynic ...
,
Reed Waller Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...
, and Jim Siergy.


Rocco Publishing

In 1992, while attending Southern Illinois University, Mojica started to expand Rocco's scope beyond comics with the publication of pop culture-oriented zine called ''No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service''. In 1994, Mojica organized a team of volunteers to compile info about DIY punk bands, venues, record labels, and zines when Rocco Publishing teamed up with
Maximum Rocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and ...
to publish the third edition of resource guide ''Book Your Own Fuckin’ Life'', which has been called “the DIY publication that kept bands on the road for decades". The premiere of ''Shake!'' spoofed ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
''’s iconic first issue, swapping
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
for
Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...
on the cover and the centerfold. Mojica’s accompanying story about the ''Playboy'' empire was less-than-flattering, so when someone at the company got a hold of it and sent it to Hefner, Mojica was “sure he would either sue us or try to destroy us." Instead, the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'' reported, “Hefner loved it, despite the references to dogs and dexies, and wanted ten more copies.”


Rocco Records

In 1993, Mojica launched the midwest-centric punk rock record label, Rocco Records. The label, which predominantly released 7” vinyl EPs, released records by
88 Fingers Louie 88 Fingers Louie is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, which was formed in 1993. After disbanding in 1999, guitarist Dan Wleklinski and bassist Joe Principe formed the well-known punk rock band Rise Against. The band reunited in ...
,
The Bollweevils The Bollweevils is a punk band from Chicago. The members consist of Daryl Wilson on vocals, Joe Mizzi on bass, Ken Fitzner ("Ken Weevil") on guitar, and Pete Mumford on drums. Former members include founding bass player, Bob Skwerski, Brian Cz ...
, The Mushuganas, Apocalypse Hoboken, Cap’n Jazz, The Parasites, The Volatiles, Winepress, and Mojica's own band, The Fighters.


VICE Media

Mojica joined
VICE Media Vice Media Group LLC is a Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company. Vice Media encompasses four main business areas: Vice Studios Group (film and TV production); Vice TV (a joint venture with A&E Networks, also known as Vicelan ...
in 2011, and contributed segments for "The Vice Guide to Everything," which Mojica described as "
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
meets Jackass.... Hard hitting international news meets damaged genitals." He later produced online "
tentpole In television and motion pictures, a tentpole or tent-pole is a program or film that supports the financial performance of a film studio, television network, or cinema chain. It is an analogy for the way a strong central pole provides a stable st ...
" documentaries, including two
Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...
-winning films: ''The Vice Guide to Congo'' and ''The Rebels of Libya''.


"Basketball diplomacy" in North Korea

In March 2013, Mojica became one of the first Americans to meet reclusive North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
. Mojica and Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith are said to have had the idea of gaining access to film in
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
by appealing to Kim's reported love of
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
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 Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...
and three members of the
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' media critic David Carr wrote at the time: "Vice gained a share of infamy by getting access to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the notoriously secretive country he leads through a caper involving Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters, a stunt that drew attention, invective and clicks." According to a later article in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
,'' the "cheerful scene—billed as 'basketball diplomacy'—was soon complicated by developments in U.S.North Korean relations." After Rodman's visit, North Korea... scrapped its 1953 armistice with South Korea and threatened a preemptive nuclear attack on the United States.... What had seemed like a bold P.R. stunt by Vice now looked like cozying up to a dangerous dictator." At one point Rodman stood up at the banquet and told Kim, "Sir, you have a friend for life." ''The New Yorker'' went on to say that in the context of "recent reports of cannibalism among a starving population, those remarks and current headline on the Vice Web site that ‘North Korea has a friend in Dennis Rodman and Vice’ seem a bit, well, tasteless.” Mojica has called such criticism "sanctimonious." While in
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
, Mojica and the other members of the Vice crew attended a lavish dinner hosted by Kim. "It was the most surreal experience of my life," Mojica said. "Um... so Kim Jong Un just got the #VICEonHBO crew wasted... no really, that happened," Mojica later tweeted. The piece's on-air correspondent Ryan Duffy told the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
, "Dinner was an epic feast. Felt like about 10 courses in total. I'd say the winners were the smoked turkey and sushi, though we had the Pyongyang cold noodles earlier in the trip and that's been the runaway favorite so far." Mojica, Duffy, and the others were criticized on social media and on news sites for their tweets and comments praising the celebration, in lieu of the fact that millions of North Koreans have died of starvation. The website ''
Gawker ''Gawker'' was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month in 2015. Fo ...
'' intermingled Mojica's tweets with images of starving infants and children on the verge of death. ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' magazine commented: "Aside from the brutal slave-labor camps, the routine rape and torture of political prisoners, mass starvation extreme enough to induce episodes of cannibalism... North Korea sounds like a blast!" Shane Smith complained that a State Department official reprimanded him, saying: "We would have hoped they would have taken the food from the banquet and given it to the starving people." The trip was severely criticized by the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
, leading
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
press secretary
Jay Carney Jay Carney (born May 22, 1965) is an American public relations officer and former journalist who served as the 28th White House press secretary from 2011 to 2014. He worked as Amazon's senior vice president of global corporate affairs from 2015 t ...
to say 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." A State Department spokesperson said: "Clearly you've got the regime spending money to wine and dine foreign visitors, when they should be feeding their own people."


Launch of VICE News

After the first season of the ''Vice'' show on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
, Mojica became the founding
Editor-in-Chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
and
Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
of the company's stand-alone digital news platform,
Vice News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's alternative current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice Ne ...
. The site launched in March 2014 with coverage of the conflict and unrest in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
,
Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
,
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
, and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. One media critic noted that "the trailer for the forthcoming news channel gives a clear look at what ''Vice'' is interested in: unrest, conflict, revolution, persecution." In August 2014, Vice News became the first news organization to embed with the
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
. 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 The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
and a
National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
. Such work led the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' then-media critic David Carr, who had previously been severely critical of Vice, to write: "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." Carr wrote of the ISIS documentary in particular, "The ISIS story scans as both propaganda and remarkable journalism, some of it filmed in Syria, the most dangerous place in the world to be a reporter right now." More broadly, Carr wrote, he was "glad that someone's willing to do the important work of bearing witness, the kind that can get you killed if something goes wrong." Others were more critical, with some suggesting that in making the film about the Islamic state, Vice had colluded with a terrorist organization; lending legitimacy to those allegations was the fact that Vice refused to disclose the conditions it had agreed to get permission from ISIS to film the group. 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 he experience.. t that was a very unique case and it comes with, of course, conditions in order to get in and get out with your life. You understand you're operating under a very peculiar set of rules." Notably, "Mojica declined to elaborate when asked what 'conditions,' specifically, were agreed upon with the militants," according to a report in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
''. Kevin Sutcliffe, who headed Vice's programming in Europe, told ''The Huffington Post'' that its filmmakers "hadn't been able to travel freely during his reporting trip inside Syria and
ere Ere or ERE may refer to: * ''Environmental and Resource Economics'', a peer-reviewed academic journal * ERE Informatique, one of the first French video game companies * Ere language, an Austronesian language * Ebi Ere (born 1981), American-Nigeria ...
always accompanied by a minder from the Islamic State."


Allegations of sexual harassment and termination by Vice

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 company 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." That internal corporate investigation was prompted by investigative stories in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' examining allegations of sexual harassment regarding several senior male executives in the company. The ''
Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...
'' reported at the time: "An investigation by The New York Times has found four settlements involving allegations of sexual harassment or defamation against Vice employees, including its current president. In addition, more than two dozen other women, most in their 20s and early 30s, said they had experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct at the company — unwanted kisses, groping, lewd remarks and propositions for sex. The settlements and the many episodes of harassment the women described depict a top-down ethos of male entitlement at Vice, where women said they felt like just another party favor at an organization where partying often was an extension of the job." Several women specifically accused Mojica of such 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." Mojica responded by saying that he had been "misreading a moment" by "foolishly trying to kiss Abby." Mojica further told the newspaper, “I was quickly rebuffed, and I immediately apologized.” A second woman employed by ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'', Helen Donahue, alleged that Mojica had "grabbed her breasts and buttocks at a company holiday party", the ''Times'' reported. Mojica said that he did not "remember doing anything of the sort." The ''Times'' also reported that ''Vice'' had earlier settled a potential lawsuit "for an unknown amount" of money with Martina Veltroni, a former employee, who alleged that while he was her supervisor, Mojica "retaliated against her after they had a sexual relationship" and later "derailed her career at ''Vice.''" Attorneys for ''Vice'' originally denied the allegations against Mojica, claiming that Veltroni was attempting to “recast her consensual and desired sexual relationship with her former supervisor” into a false claim of harassment, before reversing course and settling the matter before it would ever reach court. Mojica himself admitted the sexual relationship with a subordinate, but denied that he ever "retaliated against" Veltroni. Several other women came forward to allege that Mojica, as their supervisor, dismissed their claims of sexual harassment by other men in the company, and were told they had to tolerate such behavior to keep their own jobs. A former ''Vice'' associate producer, Phoebe Barghouty, told ''The Daily Beast'', that after she complained to Mojica about incidents of sexual harassment by other men in the company directed against her, Mojica told her: "The thing about working in this industry, is that we have people going into war zones and the only people willing to do that are sociopaths. And you just have to deal with that because that's the only kind of person who can get that story." Mojica responded by making the claim that Barghouty's recollection was incorrect and inconsistent with his attitudes.


IXNAY PAC

In August 2018, Mojica, with Trace Crutchfield, co-founded IXNAY PAC, an independent expenditures-only anti-Trump
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
." During the
2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
, IXNAY launched a podcast produced by Mojica and hosted by Crutchfield. Guests have included former Trump administration official
Anthony Scaramucci Anthony Scaramucci ( ; born January 6, 1964) is an American financier and broadcaster who briefly served as the White House communications director from July 21 to July 31, 2017. Scaramucci worked at Goldman Sachs's investment banking, equitie ...
, former member of the Weather Underground
Bill Ayers William Charles Ayers (; born December 26, 1944) is an American retired professor and former militant organizer. In 1969, Ayers co-founded the far-left militant organization the Weather Underground, a revolutionary group that sought to overthr ...
, and Dead Kennedys frontman
Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...
. According to documents filed with the FEC, Mojica serves as the PAC's treasurer. As of the committee's pre-general election filing in October of 2020, the PAC had raised just over $10,000.


Filmography

2018: ''Shelter'' (Executive Producer) 2017: '' Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'' (Co-Executive Producer) 2017: ''A World in Disarray'' (Executive Producer) 2014: ''The Islamic State'' (Executive Producer) 2014: ''Last Chance High'' (Executive Producer) 2013: ''The Hermit Kingdom'' (Producer) 2012: ''Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan'' (Producer) 2011: ''North Korean Labor Camps'' (Producer) 2011: ''The VICE Guide to Congo'' (Producer) 2008: ''Christmas in Darfur?'' (Producer and Director)


Awards and nominations

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


References


External links


Jason Mojica (Official Site)

Jason Mojica on IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mojica, Jason 1974 births Living people 21st-century American journalists