The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Clickbait’s destructive legacy

Jun 5, 2023

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of Semafor and author of "Traffic," dives into the chaotic world of digital media. He highlights how social media has reshaped journalism and political culture, prioritizing clicks over integrity. The discussion unpacks the evolution of content creation and its impact on society, revealing the darker side of virality and audience engagement. Smith also examines the shift from institutional trust to individual loyalty in media, raising questions about the future of journalism amidst AI and the complexities of trust in the digital age.

52:42

Episode guests

Ben Smith

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

5min

The Evolution of Media and Virality

13min

The Unraveling of Social Media's Promised Success

3min

Media, Politics, and the Rise of Extremism

13min

The Complex Impact of Social Media on Society

2min

Tech's Tension: Society and Individual Transformation

9min

The Shift from Institutions to Individuals in Digital Media

2min

Trust and Transparency in Journalism

4min

Have clicks, likes, and shares driven media and democracy to the point of disrepair? Sean Illing is joined by Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of Semafor and the author of "Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral." Together, they discuss how newsrooms were transformed by social media and the pursuit of traffic, and what the future of the industry might look like.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Ben Smith (@semaforben), editor-in-chief of Semafor, author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral

References:

Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral by Ben Smith (Penguin Random House, 2023)
“How corporations got all your data” by The Gray Area (Vox, Mar. 2023)

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This episode was made by:

Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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