We’re back with one long episode in two cracking segments. First up, Welch and Moynihan (Ed. note: Kmele is currently peering through a telescope on the South Side of Chicago or something) catch up on all the stupid news of the last week, including…* The news of certain…errrr……media layoffs* Defenestrations at Fox News and CNN* The “they-ificaton” of Tucker Carlson * The bizarro world of Robert F. Kennedy Jr* Lil’ Bobby: Prosecute people I disagree withAnd then it’s an hour with return guest Ben Smith (his third appearance, we think?), editor-in-chief of Semafor, former editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, and author of the new book Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. No explanation needed. It’s good. You’ll like it. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

Ben Smith is the former and founding editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, the founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, and the author of a new book called Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral, which is about the rise and fall of the social platform age in media, through the lens of Gawker Media and Buzzfeed and, in particular, their founders, Nick Denton and Jonah Peretti.I say the fall of the social platform age pretty literally: just before we spoke, Buzzfeed actually shut down Buzzfeed News, saying it just wasn’t making enough money, Facebook and the rest are all in on vertical video, and the chaos at Twitter means a lot of baseline media industry assumptions are now up for grabs. Ben and I talked about a lot – where do journalists build their brands now? Where does traffic even come from anymore? What’s next?Of course, we talked about Semafor as well. Ben and his co-founder, Justin Smith, raised $25 million and launched a news website, newsletters, and events covering the US and sub-Saharan Africa, with plans to expand into other regions. I wanted to know what lessons from Buzzfeed Ben brought into Semafor and, honestly, how he’s thinking about building an audience instead of just trying to get traffic. This is a good one. The book’s great, too.Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23470662 Links:Traffic by Ben SmithWhat Colors Are This Dress? TikTok - The VergeIs Substack Notes a ‘Twitter clone’? We asked CEO Chris Best - The VergeMyPillow CEO’s free speech social network will ban posts that take the Lord’s name in vain - The VergeFormer Facebook Workers: We Routinely Suppressed Conservative NewsCambridge Analytica: understanding Facebook’s data privacy scandal - The Verge28 Signs You Were Raised By Persian Parents In AmericaHere's The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read To Her AttackerMore Than 180 Women Have Reported Sexual Assaults At Massage EnvyMacedonia’s Pro-Trump Fake News Industry Had American Links, And Is Under Investigation For Possible Russia TiesWatching Silicon Valley Bank melt down from the front row, with Brex CEO Henrique Dubugras - Decoder, The Verge Credits:Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.It was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott with help from Hadley Robinson and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Director is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Netflix beat estimates for Q3 and added two million subscribers. Meta has Super-App dreams for WhatsApp, and Mark Zuckerberg is ready to take on iMessage. Plus, Twitter freezes employees' stock accounts, and an activist investor grabs a significant stake in Salesforce. Friend of Pivot Ben Smith joins Kara and Scott to talk about the state of media, and the launch of his news platform, Semafor.You can find Ben on Twitter at @semaforben, and Semafor at semafor.com.You can listen to Kara’s new show, On with Kara Swisher, here.Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Smith, Semafor co-founder and editor-in-chief, joins David Sirota to discuss the crisis in journalism and the rise of independent news outlets. They explore challenges faced by local news outlets, the evolving media industry, accountability in news coverage, and the importance of diversifying revenue streams for sustainability.

Host Kara Swisher is joined by Succession creator Jesse Armstrong and executive producer Frank Rich to unpack “The Munsters”, episode one of the final season. Then, Kara talks with Ben Smith, co-founder of the news site Semafor, about the Roy kids’ new media venture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of Semafor, joins to discuss Chinese and Taiwanese TV shows. Topics include crime dramas, police portrayals, media sensationalism, treatment of mental illness, and the role of journalism in democracy.

In this lively discussion, Ben Smith, founder of Semafor and former New York Times journalist, shares his insights on the crumbling state of the media landscape. He delves into how traditional outlets are struggling post-Trump, while newer platforms rise. The conversation then shifts to the public's growing distrust in media credibility. Later, the hosts tackle the complex dynamics of political influence, as illustrated by Matt Gaetz's scandals, and explore controversial themes like age relationships and the ethical quandaries surrounding artists.

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 his news organization Semafor and his forthcoming book, Traffic. Since we taped Kara got her blue check (against her wishes!) when Twitter re-verified some accounts over the weekend.Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com. And you can follow Kara and Nayeema on Instagram -- yes, Instagram: @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Smith, Semafor founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Buzzfeed News, joins Offline to discuss what the shuttering of newsrooms at Buzzfeed and Vice means for the future of journalism. Ben’s new book, Traffic, traces the rise and fall of the digital media era. He and Jon talk about the personalities and publications that caused this phenomenon, the value of clickbait, and how the race to go viral was doomed from the start. Then, Jon and Max Fisher reunite to recap their week without iPhones and introduce next week’s Unplug Challenge. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. 

It’s our first four-way pod, featuring BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti, Gawker founder Nick Denton, and Semafor founder (and former editor-in-chief of the recently shuttered BuzzFeed News) Ben Smith, who wrote a book about them both. Peter Kafka talks to all of them in conjunction with Smith’s new book “Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral.” What lessons did Smith learn from Peretti and Denton’s mistakes? If Disney offers to buy you out for hundreds of millions of dollars, should you take it? And is TikTok our last, best hope?Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), Founder of BuzzFeedNick Denton (@nicknotned), Founder of GawkerBen Smith, (@semaforben), Editor-In-Chief of SemaforHost: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices