Top News:
David Gelles / New York Times:
Ben Smith is leaving the NYT to start a global news organization with Justin Smith for the “200M people who are college educated, who read in English” — Mr. Smith will help start a new organization with Justin Smith, the chief executive of Bloomberg Media.
Discussion:
@benyt, @dgelles, @reckless, Variety, @nhannahjones, @ashleyfeinberg, @zengerle, @dylanbyers, @dangillmor, @juliacarriew, @rachel, @dcbigjohn, @jason, @daveweigel, @rosental, @mayawiley, Mediaite, @sethklamann, @lpolgreen, @bristei, @s_m_i, @froomkin, @claremalone, @paperhaus, @ryanchittum, @justinhendrix, @jbflint, @comfortablysmug, @cliffordlevy, @alicialutes, @chaykak, @jswatz, @laurenzcollins, @ashleyfeinberg, @joshsternberg, @katie_roof, @susanpage, @davidcorndc, @jimwaterson, @lisatozzi, @benyt, @jbflint, @parismartineau, @natalieweiner, @pdmcleod, @froomkin, @howardkurtz, @claireeshaffer, @yair_rosenberg, @ljkawa, @jscros, @ashleyfeinberg, @thekenyeung, @apbenven, @ralstonreports, @brianstelter, @meredithshiner, @rublekb, @brianstelter, @hunterw, @scottnover, @alexthomp, @edmundlee, @akarl_smith, @clairevtran, @rafat, @chanders, Defector, @kerrymflynn, @kfile, @tomgara, @patrickmcgee_, @om, @martinsfp, @davegershgorn, @carolynryan, @jakesherman, @tomscocca, @nprinskeep, @kerrymflynn, @rmac18, @kromandavid, @bypatrickgeorge, @buzzfeedben, @karaswisher, @alexbruell, Financial Times, @digitalshields, @ariehkovler, @daisandconfused, @richardgrenell, @mhbaskin, @scottfeinberg, @ezwrites, @lebassett, @michaelroston, @toley88, @robinwigg, New York Magazine, @kazweida, @mattnegrin, @ungarino, @jswatz, @rosiegray, @jscros, @tomgara, @maxwelltani, @hamiltonnolan, @esotericcd, @samjmintz, @kampeas, @tomgara, @sonnybunch, The Hill and bookforum.com
Discussion:
David Gelles / @dgelles: NEWS: @benyt is LEAVING the NEW YORK TIMES to start a new news organization with @Justin_B_Smith. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Nilay Patel / @reckless: Hot new media startup for college-educated professionals https://twitter.com/...
Jordan Moreau / Variety: Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith Exits to Form News Company With NYT's Ben Smith
Ida Bae Wells / @nhannahjones: Anyone else confused by this? “There are 200 million people who are college educated, who read in English, but who no one is really treating like an audience, but who talk to each other and talk to us,” Ben Smith said. “That's who we see as our audience.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: immense respect to ben for just constantly telling people he absolutely intended to rectify his massive conflict of interest by selling his buzzfeed stock and then bouncing before anyone ever actually made him do it—just incredible work https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jason Zengerle / @zengerle: Huge gets for OZY relaunch. https://twitter.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: Lot of folks keep treating the Smiths project like a big mystery. It's not—it's a global news org, hundreds of journalists, subs/ads/events, a chance for Smiths to get in on $$ action. But! This piece did a great job of capturing what it's like to talk to @benyt on the phone. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor: Baffled by the negativity being tossed at @benyt over his departure for something he'd rather do. The main benefit for the rest of us is that he's sent the NY Times an important message — that the Times isn't the supreme leader of journalism despite its arrogance.
Julia Carrie Wong / @juliacarriew: “enjoyed a liquidity event” is one of the most cursed phrases I've ever had the misfortune to read https://twitter.com/...
@rachel: turns out 200M educated english speakers just wanted a beautifully dumb word game they could tweet ⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩
John R Stanton / @dcbigjohn: Looking forward to Andrew Sullivan coming on as chief race reporter for “College Educated English Speakers Weekly”
@jason: Every five to ten years a billionaire gives some ambitious journalists $10-50m to fix the news... that's what this Ben & Justin Smith project sounds like to me. https://twitter.com/...
David Weigel / @daveweigel: Ben's media column was the best, gonna miss it terribly https://twitter.com/...
@rosental: Ben Smith Is Leaving The Times for a Global News Start-Up - It seems that @benyt wants to compete with @NYTimes for the global audience of the “200 million people who are college educated, who read in English, ... who talk to each other and talk to us...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Maya Wiley / @mayawiley: .@BenSmith So. You know when your friends make a big decision and you have to learn about overhearing your neighbors talking it on the street corner? 😂 Exciting news though! https://twitter.com/...
Alex Griffing / Mediaite: New York Times Media Columnist Ben Smith Leaving To Start a Global News Organization
Seth Klamann / @sethklamann: Oh thank God, somebody at a major national news organization is finally launching a fresh national news organization. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: I guess we'll never know if Ben Smith finally sold his Buzzfeed options.....
Stacy-Marie Ishmael / @s_m_i: This makes sense. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: I would guess that this is key to why he is leaving, actually. https://twitter.com/...
Clare Malone / @claremalone: The once and future media mogul! https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Chittum / @ryanchittum: Hopefully not Quartz II for the top 5% https://archives.cjr.org/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix: Well that's a powerhouse duo if ever there was one. https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Job opening! https://twitter.com/...
Comfortably Smug / @comfortablysmug: Ben Smith in May 2020: I've agreed to divest by the end of the year. NYT to Slate in October 2021: “We've extended Ben's deadline to divest the stock options to February 2022.” Ben Smith in January 2022: lol, peace losers https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Cliff Levy / @cliffordlevy: .@benyt has been a superb media columnist, revolutionizing the beat by churning out scoop after stunning scoop. He's a great colleague, too. Very sorry that he is leaving the NYT, but wish him well on his next adventure. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alicia Lutes / @alicialutes: “Details are sparse, but Ben told me that they saw their audience as the 200 million or so English speakers with college degrees who are tired of the same-old same-old in the news.” - @dgelles white men truly must be stopped. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Chayka / @chaykak: does everyone just want, in the end, what Tina Brown did with Vanity Fair in the 80s
John Schwartz / @jswatz: In the future, everyone will work for The New York Times for 15 minutes. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lauren Collins / @laurenzcollins: By MAN MAN leaving news org to start news org with MAN. “We will miss MAN,” MAN said. MAN took over column from MAN, who succeeded other MAN. MAN pubbed report on MAN compiled by MAN, which led to inquiry by MAN. “MAN helped transform media,” said MAN. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: i simply cannot stop laughing—cheers to all involved
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: Smith Squared! https://www.nytimes.com/...
Susan Page / @susanpage: Best media columnist ever. https://twitter.com/...
David Corn / @davidcorndc: Good luck @benyt. But a serious question: how is the NYT failing the 200 million college-educated people who speak English? That's a column I'd like to read. https://twitter.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: New York Times breaks news that New York Times media columnist who often breaks news about the New York Times is leaving the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lisa Tozzi / @lisatozzi: Smith² https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: Nobody should ever be forced to read a verbatim transcript of his own words, but this does include many of them. https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Cue series of tweets and columns on what @benyt leaving NYT says about traditional media platforms. Or just reverse engineer the ones everyone wrote when he joined NYT two years ago.
Paris Martineau / @parismartineau: ben please im begging you dont put your employer's name in ur twitter handle this time https://twitter.com/...
Natalie Weiner / @natalieweiner: who keeps giving bros money https://twitter.com/...
Paul McLeod / @pdmcleod: So does anyone want to work for legacy media anymore? Ben Smith is leaving the New York Times for a global news startup. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Emerging consensus among my DMs is that @benyt's motives include: 1) $$$$$ 2) The joy of trolling (Not necessarily in that order) 3) Column is too much work 4) Not going to take over from @deanbaquet 5) Not ready to cash in his BF stock options https://twitter.com/...
Howard Kurtz / @howardkurtz: Ben Smith, going back to his netroots...a loss for the Times https://twitter.com/...
Claire Shaffer / @claireeshaffer: I've read this quote several times and I still have no fucking clue who he's talking about https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Yair Rosenberg / @yair_rosenberg: This will be really cool, but also, if you're reading this, pat yourself on the back at having survived Ben's media column days without him writing about you. Sigh of relief all around. https://twitter.com/...
Luke Kawa / @ljkawa: “in the long run, you either end up at Bloomberg or Buzzfeed” has finally merged https://twitter.com/...
Jack Crosbie / @jscros: the man who took down ozy now faces his toughest battle yet: building another ozy
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: “what about the 200 million people who are college educated, who read in English, but who no one is really treating like an audience, but who talk to each other and talk to us?” - me, constantly
Ken Yeung / @thekenyeung: Mr. & Mr. Smith
Alexis Benveniste / @apbenven: Missed opportunity if they don't have their launch party at The Smith https://twitter.com/...
Jon Ralston / @ralstonreports: Man, this dude can't hold a job. (Congrats, Ben!) https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: The Smiths? https://twitter.com/...
Meredith Shiner / @meredithshiner: yo NYT what if you hired a public editor instead of a political reporter to take on the media beat wouldn't that have more value to the institution and the republic??? https://twitter.com/...
Kayla Ruble / @rublekb: So are everyone else's media group chats collectively losing it over this quote right now or just mine? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “There's been a change in the relationship between journalists and institutions in the same way there's been a change in the relationship between talent and institutions in the entertainment industry” —@benyt https://www.wsj.com/...
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: BuzzfeedBen is back in the saddle. Mazel tov to all involved! https://twitter.com/...
Scott Nover / @scottnover: I think it's safe to say @benyt was a remarkable media columnist. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Thompson / @alexthomp: .@benyt to @DylanByers: ""The era of social media journalism is basically coming to an end, and there's a question of what's next...The relationship of individual journalists to their audience is also changing, and I think [this new pub] will reflect that" https://puck.news/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Smith & Smith Co. https://twitter.com/...
Allan Smith / @akarl_smith: I can think of one Smith who is not going anywhere https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Claire Trần / @clairevtran: Starting a news outlet. There are 200 million people who can't cook, all they know is mcdonalds, charge their phone, be bisexual, eat hot chip & lie, but who no one is really treating like an audience, but who talk to each other and talk to us. That's who we see as our audience.
@rafat: But but, what about the 250 million Smiths worldwide who are still unaddressed by any media, thought that was a bigger opportunity. But seriously, congrats @Justin_B_Smith & @benyt, this will be a fun to watch you two build a media startup again! https://twitter.com/...
@chanders: Also, does this mean that @benyt will have served out his tenure at the NYT without ever divesting his @BuzzFeed stock options? Pretty slick all around, if so.
Albert Burneko / Defector: The Media Smiths Have A Bold New Idea
@kerrymflynn: “'There are 200 million people who are college educated, who read in English, but who no one is really treating like an audience...' Ben Smith said in an interview.” Genuinely confused. What does NYT / BuzzFeed / others do if not serve that audience? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Andrew Kaczynski / @kfile: How did @benyt miss this scoop? https://twitter.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: I have no special insight into the Smith/Smith media startup, but so much English language media coming out of the US and UK is very provincial and written with the assumption that its audience shares the interests and priorities of Americans or Brits https://twitter.com/...
Patrick McGee / @patrickmcgee_: The Smith Times https://twitter.com/...
@om: Whatever you think of this, it is an opportunity for more writers to ply their trade. And hopefully, this will be something unique, and worth paying for. As long as no clickbait headlines and nonsense that treats readers as idiots. https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: Call it BloomFeed. https://twitter.com/...
Dave Gershgorn / @davegershgorn: wow never thought i'd see The Smiths tour again https://twitter.com/...
Jake Sherman / @jakesherman: I'm so excited to see @benyt doing this. He's one of the smartest minds in media. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Scocca / @tomscocca: In the end, the divestments we made were in ourselves https://www.nytimes.com/...
Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep: Best of luck to @benyt. His Times media writing was among the most nuanced, entertaining and influential I've seen. https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Kroman / @kromandavid: I know it's not quite this simple, but I do wish there was more focus on strengthening news organizations that already exist rather than casting about for a new shiny object https://twitter.com/...
Patrick George / @bypatrickgeorge: At last, a publication aimed at college-educated people who can read the English language. An idea whose time has come https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @buzzfeedben: Men will literally start a global news operation catering to the 200 million college educated English speakers worldwide rather than go to therapy
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Ahahaaa nice one @laurenzcollins or should I say WOMAN, which has the word MAN in it. https://twitter.com/...
Alexandra Bruell / @alexbruell: Mr. Smith says he sees an opportunity to help address a crisis in trust among news consumers. via @BenMullin https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times: Bloomberg Media chief joins New York Times columnist to launch news venture
Mike Shields / @digitalshields: Shepherd Smith, Stephen A Smith, Harry Smith partnering on global news organization centered on folksy but relatable rants
Arieh Kovler / @ariehkovler: Preemptively registering all the good publication name Twitter handles with Ben at the end of them. https://twitter.com/...
Daisy Alioto / @daisandconfused: Mr. Smith Goes to Mr. Smith https://twitter.com/...
Richard Grenell / @richardgrenell: Another Ben Smith adventure geared towards the newsroom gossips that Americans have dismissed for years. These media elites aren't concerned about the public or the truth.... https://twitter.com/...
Morgan Baskin / @mhbaskin: “A personal dream, and a market opportunity” is the funniest quote I've ever read, no notes https://twitter.com/...
Scott Feinberg / @scottfeinberg: He had a huge platform and was killing it. Why the hell would he do this? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Esther Zuckerman / @ezwrites: What does this mean? Like genuinely. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Laura Bassett / @lebassett: Can't stop laughing at this https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Michael Roston / @michaelroston: Well I guess that's it, the media has been equationed https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tom Ley / @toley88: Defector's potential audience is 300 million people but 200 million people is cool too I guess https://twitter.com/...
Robin Wigglesworth / @robinwigg: If anyone - university-educated or otherwise - is unhappy about their media diet then 👉👉👉 https://subs.ft.com/...
Shawn McCreesh / New York Magazine: Ben Smith Goes Global
Kaz Weida / @kazweida: Sure sounds like he's saying... a media startup but for wealthy white people. But isn't that what The NY Times already does? It's not really a niche. https://twitter.com/...
@mattnegrin: what if new york time hire extremely brilliant and honest person on twitter who always accurate with media prediction for open position at media column https://twitter.com/...
Rebecca Ungarino / @ungarino: genuinely having trouble understanding what this means as a total addressable market and how it's different from existing national news orgs https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
John Schwartz / @jswatz: At least he's not flouncing off to market himself on Substack as a victim of the NYT “woke mob.”
Rosie Gray / @rosiegray: @benyt Congrats Ben. I was getting pretty worried about whether a news outlet will finally cater to the 200 million college educated English speakers worldwide
Jack Crosbie / @jscros: strong cowards ratio here so let me be the first to say: i would absolutely take a first-wave well-paid startup job at this publication and then calmly take my layoff severance in 18 months. there's no shame in that. everyone's gotta play the game
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: which one of them is going to get paid a lot of money to not do their job most of the time while the other one does all the work? https://puck.news/... https://twitter.com/...
Hamilton Nolan / @hamiltonnolan: For a high six figure check even the most ferocious media critics will embrace absolutely any theory of what will work in media and that includes me, pls DM me offers
@esotericcd: Welp there's the answer to the question “why hasn't Smith sold his shares in Buzzfeed yet despite New York Times policy requiring it for conflict reasons?” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sam Mintz / @samjmintz: He'll have to change his Twitter handle yet again, I worry for the man https://twitter.com/...
Ron Kampeas / @kampeas: I'm a big @benyt fan but this new venture sounds at this stage like two bros saying, “What if we-” “Yeah! and then we-” “Dude, yeah!” https://www.newyorker.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: (FWIW I've always thought this is what kinda sets the FT apart, it's written for a pretty global audience of $$ people and nowhere near as anchored on its home audience as its US counterparts. And same goes for a lot of BBC stuff)
Sonny Bunch / @sonnybunch: Interesting. Ben's column was one of the best regular features at the NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill: Bloomberg Media CEO, NYT columnist to form new media venture
RELATED:
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith steps down effective immediately to found a media company “that serves unbiased journalism”; Scott Havens to replace him as CEO — Mr. Smith, 52, sees opportunity to help address crisis in trust among news consumers
Discussion:
@justin_b_smith, Vox, @benmullin, @benmullin, @benmullin, Deadline, @brianstelter, @parryravi, @sewellchan, @edmundlee, @digiphile, @carloslozadawp, Hollywood Reporter, @benmullin, @claremalone, @jkempenergy, Today in Tabs, @marcbain_, @seangriffey, @jason_kint, @lionelbarber, @sub8u, @madisonoconn, @pkafka, @chriscillizza, @ryanlcooper, @niketa, @richard_florida, @robinwigg, @jbflint, @jayrosen_nyu, @mattzeitlin, @laurawags, @seangriffey, @jbarro, @hunterw, @pkafka, @michaelroston, New York Post, The Wrap, @mattdpearce, @davidfolkenflik, @mccarthyryanj, MediaPost, Observer and Talking Biz News
Discussion:
Justin B. Smith / @justin_b_smith: After 8 years at Bloomberg Media, and more than 25 years in quality journalism, I've decided to pursue a personal dream, and a market opportunity, to launch a new kind of global news media company that serves unbiased journalism to a truly global audience https://www.wsj.com/...
Peter Kafka / Vox: Ben Smith had one of the coolest jobs in journalism. Now he wants to do something else.
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Justin Smith's new media venture, code-named “Project Coda,” is aiming to reach a market of 200 million people globally, David Bradley tells me: https://www.wsj.com/...
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Scott Havens is the new CEO of Bloomberg Media. -Justin Smith is starting a global, general-interest media company -He's likely going to raise significant funding -The venture will include digital publishing, newsletters, podcasts and digital video https://www.wsj.com/...
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: SCOOP: Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith is stepping down to start his own media company https://www.wsj.com/...
Dade Hayes / Deadline: Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith Stepping Down To Form Startup; NY Times Media Columnist Ben Smith To Join
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: >> @Justin_B_Smith plans to “launch a premium news business that serves unbiased journalism to a global audience and provides a high-quality platform for the best journalists in the world.” And @benyt is on board https://www.wsj.com/...
Parry Ravindranathan / @parryravi: Big news! @Justin_B_Smith was my long time boss at @BBGMedia and a good friend. End of another era. But no better time to do this, Justin. And congrats Scott @msh200 Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith Steps Down to Found News Startup https://www.wsj.com/...
Sewell Chan / @sewellchan: Trump and Brexit happened in part bc people believe English-speaking, college-educated elites care more about each other than about their own countrymen. I respect the folks behind this new venture but their target audience is hardly underserved. https://deadline.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The best @benyt quote from today's media scrum, comes courtesy of @pkafka, who asked what to make of his latest move: “The accordions accordion. The pendulum swings.” https://twitter.com/...
Alex Howard / @digiphile: “lots of things have happened on Twitter that are really important.”—@benyt And Twitter's a real part of the world, I would think." https://www.newyorker.com/... <—one of the longest “no further comment” ever https://twitter.com/...
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter: Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith Exits, Teams With N.Y. Times' Ben Smith for Startup
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: I asked @benyt about the biggest difference between @nytimes and his new startup. His response: “The New York Times has a 150-year head-start on us.” https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Clare Malone / @claremalone: From the WSJ piece on the new Smiths venture...both this and the Times stub talk abt. college-educated English speakers. So is this gonna be like...The Economist but less British and w/bylines? @benyt ? https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
John Kemp / @jkempenergy: “I think that there's a big audience that wants journalism that respects their intelligence” https://www.wsj.com/...
Rusty Foster / Today in Tabs: Ben Smith Resolves Longstanding Conflict of Interest
Marc Bain / @marcbain_: every former and current Quartz employee right now is thinking this sounds very familiar https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sean Griffey / @seangriffey: Huge news: @Justin_B_Smith stepping down as CEO of Bloomberg News to launch a new startup. One of the smartest operators in media...this is #1 on my watch list now. https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: According to census/wikipedia, there are at least 3mil Smiths globally so that's a sizable base to launch a news media biz. In all seriousness, only the best to @Justin_B_Smith @benyt on their new venture. We'll be rooting for your success. Cheers. https://www.wsj.com/...
Lionel Barber / @lionelbarber: “The startup would seek to tap into the rising power of individual journalists to build audiences on a variety of platforms” @benyt says shift in power in media follows entertainment industry. Journalists as mini/maxi brands? Common culture? https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Subrahmanyam Kvj / @sub8u: Might be me, but this is amusing, coming from the (ex) CEO of Bloomberg. The burning desire of every new media startup, small or big, to run down everything else, even that which they've been involved in is something! https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Madison O'Connor / @madisonoconn: I just wanna know how discussing the fractured state of the news media leads to a global news startup and NOT local news... https://twitter.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: More power to Justin but I sure hope his new premium news business doesn't run quotes like that without context.
Chris Cillizza / @chriscillizza: Exactly right https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Cooper / @ryanlcooper: TIL Bloomberg Media makes ~$140m on subscription fees alone https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Niketa Patel / @niketa: Wordsmiths seems like a fitting name https://twitter.com/...
Richard Florida / @richard_florida: This sounds pretty cool ... https://www.wsj.com/...
Robin Wigglesworth / @robinwigg: Good luck and Godspeed, but launching another news outlet dedicated to “unbiased journalism for a global audience” makes me think of this meme. https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: I think already work for that place “My plan is to launch a premium news business that serves unbiased journalism to a global audience and provides a high-quality platform for the best journalists in the world.” From @BenMullin https://www.wsj.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Listen to @pkafka, media people. What Ben and Justin Smith say matters little. “They'll sell the new org based on their resumes and output before it starts producing journalism. And once it actually starts making stuff, that's the thing that will matter.” https://www.vox.com/...
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: Sounds...puckish https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Laura Wagner / @laurawags: It's almost like a reporter's job is to ask questions powerful people may not want to answer https://twitter.com/...
Sean Griffey / @seangriffey: One fun part of the Justin Smith / Coda - David Bradley stating that he would invest. You can sell The Atlantic and QZ but media is a hard drug to quit. https://www.wsj.com/...
Josh Barro / @jbarro: “The news industry is facing a crisis... due to the distorting influence of social media” and “seek to tap into the rising power of individual journalists to build audiences on a variety of platforms” are both plausible guideposts, but they are in tension. https://www.wsj.com/...
Hunter Walker / @hunterw: I feel like everyone wondering what @benyt is going to do has not watched his work over the years. He likes scoops. They are going to do big exclusive stuff and everything else will flow from that. You're welcome, Twitter. https://www.newyorker.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: “My plan is to launch a premium news business that serves unbiased journalism to a global audience and provides a high-quality platform for the best journalists in the world,” says the man leaving a job running a premium news business staffed by excellent journalists. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Roston / @michaelroston: I hope the next 5 hires they announce all have the surname Smith https://www.wsj.com/...
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post: NYT columnist Ben Smith and Bloomberg Media CEO to start new company
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: New York Times' Ben Smith and Bloomberg Media's Justin Smith to Launch Global News Startup
@mattdpearce: Internationalist business elite of the world, unite: https://next.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: The Smith brothers - Justin and Ben, unrelated - leave Bloomberg and NYT respectively for a new news startup - big news for news biz https://twitter.com/...
Ryan McCarthy / @mccarthyryanj: I am rooting for whatever this is! But I don't understand the value of interviewing someone who won't talk about what their new venture is. We can all actually wait to cover this, you know https://www.newyorker.com/...
Tony Silber / MediaPost: 2 Prominent Media Executives, Justin Smith And Ben Smith, Team For New Media Venture
Isabella Simonetti / Observer: Former Observer Reporter Ben Smith To Found Media Company
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
Q&A with Ben Smith on his new media venture, as plans like a launch date remain to be finalized: “We want to serve the highest common denominator” — The departing Times media columnist and former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News wants to push the envelope but isn't yet ready to say just how.
Discussion:
@newyorker, Puck, @nycsouthpaw, @ashleyfeinberg, @lmoses, @getembedded, @davidshepardson, @claremalone, @tomgara, @scottnover, @michaelluo, @froomkin, @hotlinejosh, @alexthomp, @eliotwb, @natsfert, @meredithshiner and @banikarim
Discussion:
@newyorker: With his new news venture, Ben Smith is “eager to push the envelope” on how stories are told and delivered. How, exactly, he won't yet say. https://nyer.cm/SNs2lCo
Dylan Byers / Puck: News on the Ben Smith News
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: Beckett, or maybe Brecht, would love this. https://www.newyorker.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: phenomenal interview, absolutely perfect—cannot wait to finally read articles about the Big Stories currently in The News https://www.newyorker.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lucia Moses / @lmoses: Eager to see how a healthy relationship btw a media company and social media looks like: https://puck.news/...
Embedded / @getembedded: Congratulations to My Internet alum @benyt on leaving The New York Times to launch a new global news organization, where he will hopefully be welcome in all of the Slack channels! https://embedded.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@davidshepardson: I appreciate the effort here to get a reporter to answer questions https://twitter.com/...
Clare Malone / @claremalone: Ben Smith can't *exactly* say what his new media venture is ... but we talked about it anyhow! An occasionally-distracted Q&A with the one half of The Smiths, the newest media moguls (??) in town. https://www.newyorker.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: “The era of social media journalism is basically coming to an end, and there's a question of what's next,” Ben told me." https://puck.news/...
Michael Luo / @michaelluo: .@benyt had a hundred-and-forty-four unread text messages when @ClareMalone talked with him for a sometimes-digitally distracted sixteen minutes this afternoon. The concept is..still in motion. https://www.newyorker.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Pure bullshit. Must read. https://www.newyorker.com/...
Josh Kraushaar / @hotlinejosh: ""In some ways, I see this as a rejection of the Buzzfeed, click-bait common denominator model. Further manifestation of the ‘quality is the best business model’ axiom."" https://puck.news/...
Alex Thompson / @alexthomp: Another notable quote to @ClareMalone: “I don't think that newspaper articles or magazine articles are, for most stories, most days, the best way to deliver the news.” https://www.newyorker.com/...
Eliot Brown / @eliotwb: Well this seems super classy “In early December, Ben dismissed an inquiry into plans for a new venture as a “rumor” that wasn't true” https://puck.news/...
Natalie Fertig / @natsfert: I completely missed this earlier... @benyt didn't learn this UNTIL he worked at the Times?? 😵💫 https://www.newyorker.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Meredith Shiner / @meredithshiner: In this interview, the NYT media columnist doesn't say a lot but he does say he's been in serious discussions *for months* about launching a media company, which was a huge conflict of interest in his current role—critiquing potential rival outlets— the NYT should have to address https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Baumgartner / Light Reading:
MoffettNathanson: US pay-TV services lost 637,000 subscribers in Q3 as gains from digital distributors failed to make up for cable and satellite provider losses — The US pay-TV industry shed another 637,000 subscribers in the third quarter of 2021 as gains from virtual multichannel video …
Discussion:
@crupicrupicrupi, Fierce Video, @aagave, The Streamable, @sportswatch, @tvgrimreaper, @sportstvratings and nexttv.com
Discussion:
Anthony Crupi / @crupicrupicrupi: Per MoffettNathanson, which this morning released their Q3 cord-cutting report, the number of HHs subscribing to a traditional cable/satellite/telco TV package was 69.7M at the end of September. The bundle's penetration has fallen to 57% of all TV homes, down from 69% in 2019.
Ben Munson / Fierce Video: Total U.S. vMVPD subscribers pass 14M in Q3
Andrew A. Rosen / @aagave: Going off of Disney's 76MM subs for ESPN at the end of Fiscal 2021, that's ~7.3MM vMVPD subs. So there are presumably 7MM vMVPD who simply don't want ESPN... https://twitter.com/...
Lauren Forristal / The Streamable: Total U.S. Subscriber Amount for Live TV Streaming Services Passes 14 Million in Q3 - Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV in the Lead
Neil Best / @sportswatch: Cable TV bundles had a hell of a run, and extracted insane amounts of money from non-sports fans for sports programming. RIP https://twitter.com/...
TV Grim Reaper / @tvgrimreaper: It's not just cable networks getting ground down by this trend, broadcast networks get ~1/3 of their revenue from retransmission fees tied to the bundle. Also, where's the press on HBO Max losing subs as the bundle shrinks? 100% of ex-bundle HHs aren't resubbing to HBO Max. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
The Institute for Nonprofit News raised a record $12M, including $6M in matching funds, for 2021's NewsMatch fundraising program and 300+ newsrooms participated — As 2021 came to a close, NewsMatch was just getting started. — The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) announced it raised $12 million …
Discussion:
Institute for Nonprofit News: Institute for Nonprofit News raises a record $12 million to support NewsMatch
Vania Andre / THE CITY:
NYC-based independent and nonprofit news site The City appoints Richard Kim as EIC, starting on February 1; Kim was previously HuffPost's executive editor — THE CITY, an independent, nonprofit newsroom dedicated to serving the people of New York, is delighted to announce the appointment of Richard Kim as editor in chief.
Discussion:
@richardkimnyc, @hilella, @lpolgreen, @craignewmark, @j__velasquez, @sulliview, @jere_hester, @nicdawes, @moorehn and @zachdcarter
Discussion:
Richard Kim / @richardkimnyc: I've spent 25+ years in NYC & seen up close what happens when local news disappears. Luckily, there's a kickass, award-winning newsroom brilliantly filling the space & I'm thrilled & humbled to join @THECITYNY in Feb as EIC: https://www.thecity.nyc/...
Hillary Frey / @hilella: There is no one better for this job! So happy for @RichardKimNYC & @THECITYNY!!! https://twitter.com/...
Craig Newmark / @craignewmark: New York City needs great local journalism more than ever. New leadership at @THECITYNY has a great foundation to build on. https://www.thecity.nyc/....
@j__velasquez: Excited to be part of this team as we embark on a new chapter as a city. https://twitter.com/...
@jere_hester: This is great news for our city and @THECITYNY. Welcome @RichardKimNYC — looking forward to watching you lead our incredible team to the next phase and beyond! https://www.thecity.nyc/...
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: I am thrilled that @RichardKimNYC is the next editor in chief of @THECITYNY https://www.thecity.nyc/...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: An excellent hire for The City: https://twitter.com/...
Zachary D. Carter / @zachdcarter: the best in the biz https://twitter.com/...
Axios:
Chartbeat survey of 4,000+ publishers globally: traffic declined 8% between 2020 and 2021 and nearly 20% between January 2021 and December 2021 — Engagement with news content plummeted last year compared to 2020, and given the ongoing decline in interest in news about COVID-19 and politics …
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @kennymack1971, @jason_kint, @aubsn, @kristina_wong, @mattlargey, @scottnover, Vanity Fair, @kassien, @paulglader, @sarafischer and @blackamazon
Discussion:
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: New with @nrothschild3: News engagement fell off a cliff in 2021, and given the ongoing decline in interest in news about COVID-19 and in politics absent Trump, it doesn't look like 2022 will be much better. https://www.axios.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kennymack1971: And that's why we get the politics coverage that we get. The media wants Trump and all of his chaos back because it's good for their bottom line. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: An alternative view for news: - social media interactions is FB and an unhealthy metric - cable news prime time viewers is mostly not “news” - app downloads is an odd metric - I like the Axios metric, shows habitual behavior, but it's a reasonable drop post-election/pandemic. https://twitter.com/...
Aubrey Nagle / @aubsn: With these polls it's always important to imagine “decline in interest in news” replaced with “complete and utter exhaustion and devastation with little to no societal support” People want to know what's going on, if they efficiently can without eroding their mental health. https://twitter.com/...
Kristina Wong / @kristina_wong: “The Trump era and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created a one-of-a-kind media moment that will be hard for news companies to replicate.” Axios: News engagement fell off a cliff in 2021 https://www.axios.com/...
Matt Largey / @mattlargey: This doesn't seem like bad news? “Interactions” and cable news watching aren't particularly useful if the goal is a more informed public. https://twitter.com/...
Scott Nover / @scottnover: It's a good thing that fewer people are hate-reading the news from a place of constant fear, I think. https://twitter.com/...
Caleb Ecarma / Vanity Fair: Can the News Media Rebound in 2022?
Kassie Navarro / @kassien: 😅 “Engagement on social media with news articles nosedived, according to data from NewsWhip. Interactions (likes, comments, shares) dropped 65% between 2020 and 2021, despite more articles published.” https://twitter.com/...
Paul Glader / @paulglader: News engagement fell off a cliff in 2021 https://www.axios.com/... Glad to report that @religionmag bucked the trend with more than 1 million page views in 2021, up 50 percent from 2020 (which was up 200 percent from 2019). @axios
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: My thought bubble: While this is stressful for news companies, it's a healthy thing for the country to retreat from the unprecedented barrage of headlines during the Trump era. May also force outlets to think more about providing value in ways that aren't tied to 24/7 news cycle. https://twitter.com/...
Chantal Flores / Study Hall:
Investigative journalists of color face safety risks, “objectivity” issues, editors worried about making white readers uncomfortable, and a lack of resources — When journalist Mary Annette Pember pitched a story on missing and murdered Indigenous women to mainstream media outlets years ago …
Discussion:
@carlykgraf, @nicolemfoy, @aliyyaswaby, @mattderienzo, @scchak, @fvaraorta, @studyhallxyz, @jamunt, @tati_wm, @karenkho, @kaitwells, @kerrymflynn, @jane_c_hu, @lilianasotoaz, @nahj and @pcheung630
Discussion:
Carly Graf / @carlykgraf: “As mainstream media publicly commits to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities they allegedly serve, efforts to increase diversity in the field of investigative journalism are still lagging —or lacking altogether.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Nicole Foy / @nicolemfoy: “Journalists of color often have to push white editors to recognize the importance of covering these communities thoroughly & fairly. This can be an emotionally draining & challenging process...” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Aliyya Swaby / @aliyyaswaby: This part resonates in my experience of the journalism industry, investigative or not: “The stories that get told, and how, are largely determined by white editors; the merit of a story or the reporting on it is assessed through their gaze.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Matt DeRienzo / @mattderienzo: This —> “Who Gets to Investigate? How Reporters of Color are Shut Out of Investigative Journalism.” https://studyhall.xyz/... Is why @publicintegrity approaches investigative journalism with the approach in the thread below —> https://twitter.com/...
Shraddha Chakradhar / @scchak: “I don't think the resources to fail, or to maybe not get it right on the first time, or to take a while to figure out what the story is, it's afforded to us.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
Francisco Vara-Orta / @fvaraorta: This examination of race in journalism holds many true points that may be painful to hear. Let alone experience as a person of color. Thank you to @chantal_f for including my voice and our work @IRE_NICAR in this collective piece on what needs to be listened to and acted upon. https://twitter.com/...
Study Hall / @studyhallxyz: Safety risks, “objectivity” concerns, antagonistic white editors and denial of resources - @chantal_f reports on the myriad ways journalists of color are shut out of investigative journalism. https://studyhall.xyz/... https://twitter.com/...
J. Elias O'Neal / @jamunt: This is 💯 accurate. I worked in newsrooms where young white reporters were assigned investigative stories about POC, and said reporter would be TOLD by our editor to get with myself or other reporters of color to help with “source work” — code for talk to black folks for me. https://twitter.com/...
Tatiana Walk-Morris / @tati_wm: Required reading. I can't tell you how many times I've been told, “this isn't a story,” only for someone else to write it later... https://twitter.com/...
Karen K. Ho / @karenkho: This is very comprehensive and well worth your time. https://twitter.com/...
@kaitwells: “The ways in which journalists of color view and report on the world are often dismissed, minimized or appropriated within journalism.” https://studyhall.xyz/...
@kerrymflynn: “As mainstream media publicly commits to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities they allegedly serve, efforts to increase diversity in the field of investigative journalism are still lagging —or lacking altogether.” - @chantal_f https://studyhall.xyz/...
Jane C. Hu / @jane_c_hu: important piece from @chantal_f for @studyhallxyz on the challenges journalists of color face in pursuing and executing investigative work: https://studyhall.xyz/...
@lilianasotoaz: “What is objectivity? Who determines that?” asks @fvaraorta . “ A straight, cis gender, white male, US centered lens, middle class... and if you are not of one of those categories, you are at one point probably going to clash with the direction of management.” https://twitter.com/...
Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
A look at publishers' NFT experiments in 2021, including Decrypt Studios, Yahoo's NFT New York Fashion Week ad deal, and Turner Sports' NFT-based golf game — Many publishers closed out 2020 in a better financial position than they expected early on in the pandemic, giving them the flexibility …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NPR adds new shows and subscriber-only benefits to NPR+, and plans to launch an on-demand podcast bundle in H2 2022 as a benefit of membership to local stations — Today's Media Trends is 1,486 words, a 6-minute read. Sign up here. — 1 big thing: NPR's new pod push — Expand chart
Discussion:
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: For the first time, NPR is adding some paywalled content to its podcast subscription — Noteworthy b/c NPR's mission to inform the public limits how much it can put behind a paywall — It's also testing adding exclusive unedited interviews, events, etc. https://www.axios.com/...
Isabel Lara / @isalara: “The big picture: NPR has been experimenting with podcasts for well over a decade, but it's pushing more aggressively to produce podcasts, particularly daily shows, that it can include in subscription efforts.” @axios https://www.axios.com/...
Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep: Good write up here. https://www.axios.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NEW: @NPR plans to launch on-demand podcast bundle as a benefit of membership to local stations in the 2nd half of 2022 — It's adding several new shows & subscriber-only bonus content to NPR+ — “Consider This” & “Up First” extending further to weekends https://www.axios.com/...
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Atmosphere TV, which streams ad-supported video channels often without audio, raises an $80M Series C and $20M in debt, bringing its total funding to $140M — Companies like Muzak have made a big business out of building catalogues of licensed audio content for commercial venues …
Discussion:
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Twitter permanently bans Politics For All, a UK news aggregator founded by 19-year-old Nick Moar, for violating platform manipulation and spam rules — Spokesperson says account ‘suspended for violating rules on platform manipulation and spam’ — Twitter has permanently banned …
Discussion:
@dbanksy, @stevebartlettsc, @jamescarter001, @stevebartlettsc, @stevebartlettsc, @thediyora, @stevebartlettsc, @gabrielmilland, @darrengrimes_, @angelahaggerty, @jimwaterson, @spencermorgan93, @stevebartlettsc, @philipproudfoot, @dbanksy, @stevebartlettsc, @dbanksy, @stevebartlettsc, @dbanksy, @matthewlesh, @dbanksy, @jmpsimor, @stevebartlettsc, @finkeliy and Press Gazette
Discussion:
David Banks / @dbanksy: This could possibly be the reason for the suspension - although if news media objected to this behaviour I would have expected cease and desist letters to those running the account to be their first action, rather than going through Twitter.
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: From everything I've seen, I believe someone was unhappy with the reach and influence of the channel and had a word with someone at Twitter and asked for it to be removed. They have done nothing that other media companies on twitter don't do every single day.
James / @jamescarter001: Whilst there are fair criticisms of the accounts this is not a valid reason whatsoever for a permanent ban with no warning🤷♂ ️ I only did news for all but the young lads helping run the accounts are sound and genuinely just want to provide people with updates https://twitter.com/...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: Twitter banned the page with no explanation or email at all. After days of enquiry and media attention, Twitter sent politics for all an email essentially telling them they've banned them because they RT'd one account (politics for all) on to their other account (news for all). https://twitter.com/...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: They were reaching a new (younger) audience, in a new more social way. And when you look at who followed the page, they had over 300 current and former MP's, including Rishi Sunak in their following. The government were very aware of the reach and influence of the page.
Diyora Shadijanova / @thediyora: Maybe this will be a good year https://twitter.com/...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: This is what virtually every media company does - Including the very biggest in the world. See Sky doing this across their accounts on the screenshot below. https://twitter.com/...
Gabriel Milland / @gabrielmilland: Whatever the rights or wrongs of the ban, the people behind PFA had awesome news-editing talent. Copytasting naturals. https://twitter.com/...
Darren Grimes / @darrengrimes_: Twitter: A platform in which Iran's Supreme Leader and the Taliban are allowed A news aggregator and the former President of the USA tho? No siree. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Captain Haggerty / @angelahaggerty: This is bizarre. I wasn't a fan of the account but it wasn't exactly harmful content. The biggest problem on Twitter is orchestrated harassment and abuse, and yet they consistently fail to deal with it while pulling stunts like this https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: 🚨🚨🚨 or whatever (Twitter shapes our media and politics, power can be gained in politics on by growth hacking Twitter, aggregated content almost always outperforms original content, Twitter is judge and jury over who gets to stay on here. So why them?) https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Spencer Morgan / @spencermorgan93: But the Taliban can keep on tweeting Makes sense https://twitter.com/...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: Yes, one of the big media corporations offered Nick a huge 7-figure valuation to buy the page. Nick - a broke 19 year student - said no and insisted it was to remain independent. He woke up a few days later and Twitter had suspended it? I'm not a conspiracy theorist but...
Philip Proudfoot / @philipproudfoot: We need democratic oversight alongside rules and regulations for social media tech giants immediately. https://twitter.com/...
David Banks / @dbanksy: A short thread about the suspension of #politicsforall and its associated accounts. I unfollowed it early on, so can't really comment on claims of political bias in the news stories it chose. But I can't see that being the reason for suspension...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: I think the banning of politics for all on twitter is one of the shadiest things I've ever seen from a social media platform in my entire life. Knowing the backstory and how and “why” it happened has made me deeply question the integrity of the people at Twitter. My thoughts:
David Banks / @dbanksy: I found this a bit odd and rather poor behaviour. Their original 🚨BREAKING tweet would get all the attention and RTs QTs etc, while the news org that actually got the story would be denied that audience. People focused on the headline without getting to click the story...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: I also believe Twitter saw them as an easier target / an easier voice to silence, because they're a young group of kids and not a big Murdoch corporation. I've been in the social media game some 10 years, I've seen many suspensions, this to me made me feel really uncomfortable.
David Banks / @dbanksy: But back to PoliticsForAll. What they would do is tweet 🚨BREAKING and then run the headline from another news org's story. Afterwards they would then RT the news org's tweet with the actual story...
Matthew Lesh / @matthewlesh: Twitter is absolutely free to decide which accounts to allow on their platform. This is not a free speech issue. In fact, forcing a private platform to host an account would be a serious infringement of freedom of speech, association and contract. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
David Banks / @dbanksy: Of course, if anyone behind PoliticsForAll would like to get in touch to explain their suspension, and their practice of tweeting “🚨Breaking” tweets, and *then* RTing the source, I'm all ears.
Jessica Simor QC / @jmpsimor: Twitter permanently bans news aggregation service Politics For All. Its founder, Nick Moar, was last year hired by the Spectator to run its social media accounts. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Steven Bartlett / @stevebartlettsc: I know the people that operate politics for all - it's led by a 19 year old politics enthusiast called Nick and a group of 10, 19-24 year olds that love politics and wanted to create an independent, youth focused media brand. So why has it vanished over night?
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