The Kicker

Jon Allsop writes and edits The Media Today, CJR’s daily newsletter. There, he’s closely watched as the American press has struggled to respond to, and cover, the barrage of news that pours out of Donald Trump.As a frenetic new term begins, Jon joins The Kicker to share his thoughts on what the media gets wrong—and how the political press might begin to chart a new relationship with the presidency and the public.Read More:*Jon’s latest newsletter, on Trump’s first week back in office*Jon’s 2020 essay on how the media handled Trump’s first term*Chris Hayes on attention, on Ezra Klein’s podcast*Susan Glasser on Trump’s exhausting litany of outragesSign up for The Media Today, CJR’s daily newsletter.

Natalia Antelava spent many years as a correspondent for the BBC, before starting her own media company, Coda Story, in 2016. She’s covered wars in the Middle East and the rise of authoritarianism across Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. For the past year, she was a Knight Fellow at Stanford, where she examined how journalism might survive in an era of AI and tech supremacy.Antelava joins The Kicker to talk about Meta’s decision to do away with fact-checking, preparing for a second Trump administration, what mainstream reporters can learn from conservative podcasters—and why she’s still optimistic about what journalism can achieve in the year to come.Read more:“Noise Is the New Censorship” — Antelava on disinformation and authoritarianism“Grieving California” — Coda’s 2018 essay on the Tubbs FireHosted by Josh HershProduced by Amanda Darrach

In the finale, Carlos Watson takes the stand—and the jury reaches a verdict.“The Unraveling of Ozy Media” is a special three-part series of The Kicker, on the trial of Carlos Watson and the excesses of the digital media age, presented by the Columbia Journalism Review.Hosted and coproduced by Josh Hersh and Susie BanikarimProduced and edited by Amanda Darrach 

The trial of Carlos Watson reveals shocking practices that drove Ozy Media to decline, likening it to the chaotic Fyre Festival. Speakers share their experiences in media startups, shedding light on the normalization of exaggeration and questionable metrics. The narrative exposes the legal troubles surrounding Watson, highlighting securities fraud and identity theft. A key witness's testimony uncovers a stunning fraudulent call to Goldman Sachs, laying bare a web of deceit. This captivating tale warns of the dire consequences of desperation in the media landscape.

Carlos Watson’s media startup arrives on the scene—and insiders reveal a dark reality under its glossy veneer.“The Unraveling of Ozy Media” is a special three-part series of The Kicker, on the trial of Carlos Watson and the excesses of the digital media age, presented by the Columbia Journalism Review.Hosted and coproduced by Josh Hersh and Susie BanikarimProduced and edited by Amanda Darrach 

Starting on December 9, the Columbia Journalism Review presents a special three-part series of The Kicker: “The Unraveling of Ozy Media,” on the dramatic rise and fall of Carlos Watson, the cofounder of the digital media company Ozy. In 2023, Watson was charged with fraud after it was revealed that one of his partners had masqueraded as a YouTube executive, during a call with potential investors. But Ozy’s failure is about more than one man. It’s a story about an era of profligate growth and overpromises in digital media that have left many wondering whether there’s any business model that will work for journalism today.Join hosts Josh Hersh and Susie Banikarim as they follow Watson’s trial and ask how much of digital media was built on a lie.

Nearly half of all Latino voters put their support behind former president Donald Trump this week, according to exit polls—a 14 percent increase from 2020.Those results surprised many, but not Jack Herrera, who has been reporting on the shifting voting habits of Latino communities across the country for years.Herrera joins The Kicker to talk about what he’s learned from his journalism in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and the border counties of Texas. Read More:Herrera’s article for CJR’s Election Issue on Lorena López, the editor of Iowa’s La PrensaHerrera’s 2024 reporting on Latino voting in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Iowa

Martin Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, breaks down the recent decision by Jeff Bezos to cancel the paper's presidential endorsement, labeling it an act of 'cowardice.' Baron discusses the erosion of media credibility amidst shifting political dynamics and critiques Bezos' stance on endorsements. He also delves into the blurred lines between journalism and opinion, emphasizing the crucial need for independent journalism in today’s polarized world. His insights shed light on the importance of accountability in media.

The so-called Big Lie—that the 2020 election was stolen out from under Donald Trump—was more than just a series of individual false facts and misleading videos. It was a narrative, carefully constructed by people affiliated with the Trump campaign, and disseminated through friendly news outlets and social media channels.Four years later, that story still convinces millions of Trump’s supporters. And as NBC’s Ryan Reilly has reported, it’s one that many people on the former president’s team are already laying the groundwork to repeat this time.Reilly joins The Kicker to discuss how those stories spread, and why many in the media are better prepared to combat them—while others, including some prominent social media platforms, are poised to make things worse.Read more:Ryan’s NBC News article on the 2020 effort to “stop the vote” in DetroitRyan’s book Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice SystemNew York Magazine on the DC jail block run by convicted January 6 riotersPolitico on how Trump might try to claim victory no matter whatHosted by Josh HershProduced by Amanda DarrachEpisode website

New York City is the media capital of the world, but the number of people and outlets covering the city locally has taken a hit recently. Over the past few years, the Wall Street Journal dropped its independent metro section, the New York Times announced it would stop endorsing local races, and the all-news radio station WCBS went off the air. But a number of scrappy upstarts have started filling the void. The City, a digital news nonprofit, has led some of the best coverage of the ongoing scandals in the administration of Mayor Eric Adams. And Hell Gate, a year-old digital publication, is providing a fresh, voicey take on news and culture.Today’s guest is Christopher Robbins, an editor and cofounder of Hell Gate, on the state of news in New York, the latest (at least as of our conversation) fallout from the Adams administration, and how he hopes to keep Hell Gate around for a while.Read more:The Eric Adams Table of SuccessHosted by Josh HershProduced by Emily Russell