vice of a generation. most reporters don't drop acid or bring dennis rodman behind enemy lines. but then they don't work at vice, the viral video powerhouse that's reinventing the news. and his thumbs guided our movie choices for over 40 years. and earned a star on the walk of fame. tonight, we remember roger fame. tonight, we remember roger ebert, the movie man.

whether you're camera shy or not, there's a part of everyone that longs for the spotlight, being lauded for hipness or brains or special talent. and as technology has revolutionized our ability to communicate with each other, it's also allowed us to celebrate ourselves through boastful tweets, humble brags,

status updates and photos. even if no one is around to snap the shutter. we go for a closeup on selfy nation. >> reporter: celebrities do it. even oscar winners and former first ladies do it. we all do it. and not always well. >> i'm recording a video. the selfy, the digital self portrait is the corner stone of our social networking age. here's eminem at the louvre. bieber in the hospital and rhianna just about everywhere. she shared selfies with her 6.2 instagram followers. >> celebrities have a very high need for approval and ego

boosts. that's probably the reason they chose to go into that field is because they have that applause hunger. twitter even devotes a day to it. #selfysaturday. and facebook and instagram may be promoting a generation of self-involv self-involved nation. ♪ now a selfy looking cute ♪ . >> when you're sending out photos of yourself, your message is look at me, look at many. admire me. and the message is also vote for me, give me approval. give me either the thumb's up on facebook or a little hearts on instagram. >> reporter: one study looked at

college students and found narcissistic rates have risen at the same rate as obesity. >> i don't friend people i don't know. >> reporter: grace bristol and her 15-year-old friends will tell you they take hundreds of selfies every year. teen girls are five times more likely than boys to share selfies. >> i think it's kind of competitive and a popularity issue, too. it's not bad. i feel like it could hurt people's feelings, like, it's really kind of who can post more photos. who has more friends, who has more likes. >> exactly. >> but does that make us a selfish culture, do you think? what does that say about us? >> i think it's just a fun thing you can do with your friends. >> reporter: of course, not everyone thinks selfies are the down fall of civilization. self-portrait chur is considered a form of self-examination. why are we fascinated by ourselves. >> i think it's the truth. your eyes are the window to your

soul, you know? and as a portrait photographer, when i study someone, i can see whether they're a frowner or a smiler by the way their fringeles lie on their face. >> reporter: nigel is a globe trotting photographer who has worked with the most beautiful models on the planet. he made a name for himself on "america's top model" and now hosts oxygen's "the face." nigel sees se s selfies as the e therapeutthey are p putic. >> if you feel better about yourself, you look better. if people feel insecure, they don't have confidence, they don't like the way they look in a picture, you know, it can really bring themselves down. >> reporter: but selfies can go awhy. poor writing, poor framing or just poor taste. >> what kind of a selfy shocks? some are like that. they're, like, exhibitionist

self y i. >> it's all about what you're trying to say. are you trying to get a date or just purely to say here i am, or is it to send to your mother. to say here's my new hair cut or just to look cool in a picture. >> how do you feel the guy in his workout clothes going like this? >> i'm not a fan of people taking selfies with your shirts off. guys out there you may think it works. don't do it. don't do it. >> so many people do the duck face. why do they do that? >> they're sucking in their cheeks. they look at the picture and they just don't get it. >> you're saying don't pose? >> posing is the worst. it's not about the pose. it's about you. there's a reason why you look great in a picture or you look great in real life. it's called the essence of who you are. and a pose is not you. >> reporter: where's the line between being confident and being narcissistic? >> it's not about feeling that you're better than the next person. it's just when you look at the

picture, you're like, that's me and i'm happy. >> reporter: nigel says you start with what's on your mind. not the lock on your face. >> why are you saying this. >> reporter: i want to say look, i'm in this cool place with nigel. >> there you go. >> that was actually good. i forget to look at the lens. . >> you you feel that muscle tighten? bam. we went on location with nigel's wife, a former model. >> what does this say? >> i love this location for several reasons. the graffiti works for me. it's very gritty. it juxtaposes with perhaps this lovely jacket you're wearing or chrissy's coat. >> your wife the model.

>> not to mention, this lit up building. >> spontaneity is the final secret. >> one, two, three. it doesn't just make good selfies, it's the spice of life. i'm juju chang in new york. >> escorting dennis rodman to north korea? just another day for the reporters at vice. [ male announcer ] at his current pace, bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone

who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. it's just common sense.

cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself. and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. see if america's most prescribed ed treatment is right for you.

our largest selection of lobster entrees, like lobster lover's dream or new grilled lobster and lobster tacos. come in now and sea food differently. now, buy one lobsterfest entree and get one 1/2 off with a coupon at redlobster.com.

anyone who spent a night end browsing youtube, the world of viral videos is strange and fascinating, one that draws not only millions of clicks but shapes millions of opinions ability what's popular and important in our culture. new media powerhouse vice knows that. and and corralling the web's wild side is all a part of their master plan to revolutionize the news business. if you've ever clicked on a video report showing colombian beast y beastiality. >> we're trying to figure out which of these guys, both 14, has [ bleep ] more donkeys. >> if you seek out instructions

how to cook your own napalm or wonder what it's like to attend the westminster dog show on acid. >> that dog is crazy. >> reporter: chances are, you helped one of the vice videos go viral. and if you like your foreign correspondents to get drunk on a train and then shoot at mutant bores among radioactive ruins, then you're definitely familiar with vice founder shane smith. when did you know this wasn't just a little rinky dink thing? you've got more than we do. >> reporter: smith took over a free magazine in canada called "voice of montreal." >> no one else is going to give us any job. we're relatively unemployable out there. we've got to find a way to make this work. >> reporter:less than 20 years later, that magazine has

editions in over 30 countries. they have book, film and advertising units. >> we want to be able to tell the story in any country and not be afraid of anything. >> reporter: even if you've never seen any of their trips into the underbelly, you probably heard about dennis rodman's cent trip to north korea. the whole thing was hatched by vice and a way they saw to get kim jung-un into his kingdom. but once they got in, it got weird first, rodman became besties. then they were invited back to the palace with the sworn american enemy, all while countless north koreans were being starved into submission outside. the blowback lasted for days. >> when you said you love kim and think he's awesome, were you aware of his threats to destroy the united states and his regime's horrendous record on

human rights? >> i hate the fact that he's doing it. but as a human being, though -- >> rodman and north korea. mistake? success? >> am i allowed to talk about that? absolutely not a mistake at all. i mean, i think it was one of these kind of brilliant ideas that someone had. and it worked. >> reporter: but how did it work? it worked as a great stunt, right? but did you get any news out of there? were you able to ask him tough questions? while he's partying with dennis rodman? did you try to slip in some nuclear questions? >> no, i don't think that was necessarily the point of it either. you know? >> now critics would say vice is more about voyerism than journalism. but their new hbo show is actually a real stab at earnest reporting. pieces on the tensions between india and back stan. and political assassination in the philippines, all mostly

snark free. all nose 14 to 25-year-old mostly male devotees make this place into the envy of mainstream media. >> so you have a credibility then with this audience. >> sure. and we speak their language. >> reporter: is that what it is? a trust thing? these guys party like i do, they listen to what i like. so i'm going to take their word on what's happening in the middle east? >> you know, gen y is a very sophisticated generation, the most sophisticated. cartoon is made to sell cereare they' been marketed to since they were babies. they have the most sophisticated [ bleep ] detectors in humanity. so you shouldn't [ bleep ] them. >> a $10,000 bet that he can't drink an entire bottle of

tennessee cognac. this is the sort of thing that would make network censors clutch their pearls. but online, smith sees this as part of a proud legacy. >> if you look at "rolling stone" when it first started it was a very political magazine. at the time, it was criticism. this guy isn't a real political writer. he's taking acid at the republican national convention. mainstream pointed at them and said -- and then "rolling stone" went on to be -- >> reporter: but it took "the washington post" to break watergate. do you guys want to stay as the hunter s. thompsons? or do you want to go legit in a way that breaks news? >> i think right now we're very comfortable in going in before and after the news cycle. >> reporter: some in media business have speculated smith, a master salesman, merely wants to inflate the profile of vice and then unload it for a couple

hundred million dollar, but he insists vice will be bigger than any of the old guard media companies soon. he wants to start by making advice the flexionnext cnn? >> a 24-hour tv dhanl that's all vice all the time. >> the next cnn meaning the next global news voice. we have the demographic, we have the capabilities. we just have to get better and hire guys like you to help us. but at the same time, i don't want to just stop there. we don't just do news. we have one of the biggest music channels in the world. so i said i want to be the next mtv, which i do simultaneously. we also do sports in a different way. so i would like to be the next espn, all online. it's a changing of the guard in media. it's our time. >> reporter: a terrifying thought to sensitive viewers and shy donkeys everywhere. i'm bill weir for "nightline" in brooklyn new york. next up, best remembered at

the moo uh vies, roger ebert passes away at the age of 70. an american pop culture icon. most people think that after an accident, you'll have to pay five hundred bucks for your deductible. the truth? at allstate, you could pay zero. allstate gives you a hundred dollars off your deductible the day you sign up. then another hundred off every year you don't have an accident. let the good hands reward your safe driving with a deductible that goes away. ♪ deductible rewards. one more way you're in good hands with allstate. ♪ i can't breathe, so i can't sleep. and the next day i pay for it. i tried decongestants... i tossed and turned... i even vaporized. and then i fought back with drug-free breathe right. these nasal strips instantly open my nose, like a breath of fresh air. i was breathing and sleeping better.

[ female announcer ] exercise your right to breathe right. get two free strips at breatheright.com. hey it's your right to breathe right. get two free strips at breatheright.com. cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband,

the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself.

for more than four decades, roger ebert's name rang out in millions of homes across america. anywhere movies were being discussed, his iconic thumb's up, thumbs down guided the choices and opinions of millions. tonight, we say goodbye to roger ebe ebert, the voice of a movie going generation. roger ebert loved movies. he loved all kinds of movies, high and low, classic and cult, serious and silly.

passionately arguing about them on tv with gene siskel and their iconic show "at the movies." >> what about the movie? what about the dialogue? the characters? >> ebert, the spectacled and besweatered became a towering presence from the 1970s on. the first movie critic to win a pulitzer prize. and two thumbs up from him and siskel could mean millions in ticket sales. >> roger ebert, that's where i go to tell me who's a good movie. >> he loved movies like we do, but as a smart and engaging man who just loved going into the dark and dreaming the dream along with the rest of us. take "star wars." >> go home! >> reporter: when it came out in 1977, some bashed it as empty, juvenile escapism. ebert went on "nightline" and told ted koppel why they were

wrong. >> i had a great time and was stimulated and had my imagination stimulated and all sorts of visions take place in my mind that helped me to become an adult and to still stay young at heart. >> reporter: he loved mu v ed md he loved life, too. in 2006, cancer robbed him of his voice, his ability to eat. but with the help of technology, he used a computer generated voice to tep opll oprah inside was smiling on the inside. the terrible toll cancer took on him simply did not put him down. >> this is the way i look and my life is happy and productive. >> on twitter he found another 21st century audience.

roger ebert, millions of thumbs up for you. rip. and from spike lee, i miss my dear friend roger ebert, one of the first critics to appreciate my joints. so many had a connection with him for so long. >> i feel like people knew him from seeing him on tv and his work. that was roger, that kind, generous, passionate, wonderful, full of life individual you saw on tv. that's what he was like in real life as well. >> reporter: roger ebert's last public utterance appropriately was on line, a final tweet two days ago, linking to his blog where he announced the recurrence of the cancer and wrote, thank you for going on this journey with me. i'll see you at the movies. so now, cue the music, fade to black. roger ebert was 70 years old. thanks for watching abc news. tune in for good morning america

tomorrow. we'll see you here tomorrow as well. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! ♪ wow. [ buzz ] delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? bee happy. bee healthy. with clusters of flakes and o's. oh, ho ho... it's the honey sweetness. i...i mean, you...love.