The Powers That Be: Daily Media Monday: Bari’s Secret Vision & Semafor of Arabia
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Dec 22, 2025 Hosts dive into Bari Weiss’s strategic move at CBS News, focusing on her innovative town hall approach designed to attract digital viewers. They debate the cost-effectiveness of event-driven content and explore how sponsorship could transform media monetization. Shifting gears, they assess Semafor's challenging journey in the Gulf, contrasting its ambitious launch vision with the realities of revenue-driven pivots. The duo reflects on leadership styles that shape media ventures and the complexities of building sustainable news businesses in today’s landscape.
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Greenwich Village Fake Tree Memory
- Jon Kelly recounts growing up in Greenwich Village and the annual pain of hauling out a fake tree in a tiny elevator.
- He contrasts that to his current suburban life where storage and a fake tree are an easy, prized investment.
Town Halls As Low-Cost Event Strategy
- Barry Weiss is using low-cost town halls as an event-driven content strategy to rebuild CBS News' reach.
- Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby argue this leverages cheap live moments designed for phones and social distribution.
Proven Format, New Context
- Town halls are an established format rather than a novel invention, but they fit CBS's need for repeatable, cheap live moments.
- Peter Hamby cautions against reflexive dislike of Barry Weiss because the tactic itself is proven.