To make sense of a turbulent and important week in media, we turn to Ben Smith who was the founding Editor in Chief of Buzzfeed News (2012 to 2020) and the former New York Times media critic (from 2020 to 2022). On the agenda: the shuttering of Buzzfeed News, the meaning of Murdoch's settlement with Dominion and what Ben is working on these days, including h ... Show More
Feb 2
The Onion’s Ben Collins on Political Satire & Why Trump Isn’t Funny
Since becoming CEO of the Onion two years ago, former disinformation reporter Ben Collins has helped revitalize the satirical newspaper by relaunching its print edition, bringing back the Onion News Network on YouTube, and launching a bid to take over Alex Jones’s Infowars. The O ... Show More
58m 17s
Apr 2023
Ben Smith on the Bust of the Digital Media Age
The media world over the last few week has been rocked by major disruptions: Fox ousts Tucker Carlson, CNN fires Don Lemon, BuzzFeed News is shutting down, Twitter has become a less reliable resource, and Vice Media shutters its flagship program “Vice News Tonight.” Over the last ... Show More
35m 5s
Aug 2021
The news is by — and for — rich, white liberals
Vox’s Sean Illing talks with professor and media researcher Nikki Usher about her new book News for the Rich, White, and Blue, which documents systemic problems in the ways journalists and institutions decide what counts as news and whom the news is for. They discuss racial, gend ... Show More
1 h
Jun 2024
Will the Debate Debacle Revive TV News?
Matt is joined by journalist, podcast host, and cofounder of Semafor, Ben Smith, to discuss how last night's dispiriting debate will affect CNN and the TV news landscape as we move towards the 2024 election. Will the debate revive CNN and give it the story it's been looking for? ... Show More
32m 25s
Jun 2021
Where on the internet is Donald Trump? | Tell Me More
The former president was kicked off social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the wake of the Capitol riots, and it’s not clear when — or if — they’re going to let him back on. There’s been buzz about Trump starting his own platform, but he’s had a hard tim ... Show More
13m 3s