Ben Smith

FW: Join us for Semafor's first pre-launch event

Hey friends, I just wanted to give you a quick update on Semafor's progress, and to pass on the invitation below to what I hope will be a really interesting morning of conversation. Over the last few months, as we described to the Times [https://www.nytimes.com/

My new email

Also — my Times email obviously no longer works, but you can get me for now at ben@bklyner.com!

My media news

Hey friends, I just wanted to give you a quick update on what I've been up to, and an apology for the radio silence on this list! I left The Times in January to begin work on starting a new global news organization with Justin Smith, the former

NYT Column: Former Facebook Executive Pushes to Open Social Media’s ‘Black Boxes’

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/business/media/crowdtangle-facebook-brandon-silverman.html A Former Facebook Executive Pushes to Open Social Media’s ‘Black Boxes’ By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith]Jan. 2, 2022, 6:58 p.m. ET Brandon Silverman’s last day at

NYT Column: Brandon Just Wants to Drive His Racecar

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/business/brandon-brown-lets-go-brandon.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Brandon Just Wants to Drive His Racecar By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith]Dec. 19, 2021, 6:56 p.m. ET WOODFORD, Va. — “What actually keeps you from getting

NYT Column: A Comedy Nails the Media Apocalypse

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/business/media/dont-look-up-news-media.html A Comedy Nails the Media Apocalypse With “Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay makes a star-studded allegorical satire that shows the news media whistling past the climate-change graveyard. By Ben Smith [https://www.

NYT Column: How TikTok Keeps You Watching

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/business/media/tiktok-algorithm.html THE MEDIA EQUATION How TikTok Keeps You Watching By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith]Dec. 5, 2021, 11:00 p.m. ET There are four main goals for TikTok’s algorithm: 用户价值, 用户价值 (长期)

NYT Column: His Reasons for Opposing Trump Were Biblical. Now a Top Christian Editor Is Out.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/business/world-magazine-marvin-olasky-trump.html?referringSource=articleShare THE MEDIA EQUATION His Reasons for Opposing Trump Were Biblical. Now a Top Christian Editor Is Out. A clash over culture and politics comes to World, a groundbreaking journalistic institution that covers evangelical Christians.

NYT Column: Learning to Live With Mark Zuckerberg

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/business/media/media-tech-companies-facebook.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Learning to Live With Mark Zuckerberg Journalists and tech executives seem to be fighting each other to a draw in a battle that has no end in sight. By Ben Smith [https://www.

NYT Column:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/business/media/facebook-leak-frances-haugen.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Inside the Big Facebook Leak By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith] Oct. 24, 2021Updated 8:55 p.m. ET Frances Haugen first met Jeff Horwitz, a tech-industry reporter

NYT Column: What They Saw in Ozy

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/business/media/ozy-media-investors.html THE MEDIA EQUATION What They Saw in Ozy The story behind the story is about the elite investors who plowed millions into a media dream without much due diligence, persuaded by the charm of Ozy’s head,

NYT Column: Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/26/business/media/ozy-media-goldman-sachs.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong The digital media company has raised eyebrows for its claims about its audience size for years. Then came the strange voice

NYT Column: How the U.S. Helped, and Hampered, the Escape of Afghan Journalists

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/19/business/media/afghanistan-evacuation-journalists.html As American news organizations scrambled to evacuate their Afghan journalists and their families last month, I reported [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/business/media/new-york-times-mexico-afghanistan.html] that those working for The

NYT Column: Why Our Monsters Talk to Michael Wolff

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/12/business/media/michael-wolff-powerful-men.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Why Our Monsters Talk to Michael Wolff In his new book, the author of “Fire and Fury” continues his specialty: teasing out stories from men in power. By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.

NYT Column: If Gawker Is Nice, Is It Still Gawker?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/05/business/media/leah-finnegan-gawker.html?smid=tw-share THE MEDIA EQUATION If Gawker Is Nice, Is It Still Gawker? “I’m not interested in ruining people’s lives,” says its top editor, Leah Finnegan, who once insulted a baby in a headline.

NYT Column: Inside Politico’s Billion-Dollar Drama

THE MEDIA EQUATION https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/business/media/politico-robert-allbritton.html Inside Politico’s Billion-Dollar Drama From “son of” to mogul in his own right: Robert Allbritton just became the unlikeliest winner of the new media sweepstakes. By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/

NYT Column:

Russian Journalists Meet a Crackdown With Dark Humor, and Subscribers Meduza, a leading independent news site, fights back with jokes and a stunning donation campaign. But can it stand up to the Russian state? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/business/media/russian-journalists-independent.html By Ben Smith

NYT Column: You’ve Never Heard of the Biggest Digital Media Company in America

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/business/media/red-ventures-digital-media.html Back from a few weeks off with this column, and also spent some of today talking to Afghan journalists [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/world/asia/afghans-radio-united-states-taliban-fear.html] who

NYT Column: 5 Pieces of Good News About The News

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/business/media/good-news-media-sites.html 5 Pieces of Good News About the News By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith]July 11, 2021, 6:03 p.m. ET My great predecessor in this column, David Carr, wrote at

NYT Column: Naomi Osaka Is Talking to the Media Again, but on Her Own Terms

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/business/media/naomi-osaka-tennis-journalism.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Naomi Osaka Is Talking to the Media Again, but on Her Own Terms By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith] July 4, 2021 In early May, a couple of weeks

NYT Column: An Accusation Blew Up a Campaign. The Media Didn’t Know What to Do.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/business/media/scott-stringer-press-coverage.html THE MEDIA EQUATION An Accusation Blew Up a Campaign. The Media Didn’t Know What to Do. Handling a delicate allegation of sexual misconduct is a lot more challenging than covering a horse race. * 111 Scott

NYT Column: Tucker Carlson Calls Journalists ‘Animals.’ He’s Also Their Best Source.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/20/business/media/tucker-carlson.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Tucker Carlson Calls Journalists ‘Animals.’ He’s Also Their Best Source. His platform on Fox News made him a big player in Donald Trump’s circle. Off camera, he shapes the coverage of Trump’s

NYT Column: Why The New Yorker’s Stars Didn’t Join Its Union

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/business/media/new-yorker-union.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Why The New Yorker’s Stars Didn’t Join Its Union The 96-year-old magazine, known for its revered writers and sophisticated audience, is being consumed by a labor dispute. By Ben Smith

NYT Column: Anthony Weiner’s Not Coming Back. But He Has Nowhere to Go.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/business/media/anthony-weiner-nyc-mayor-race.html THE MEDIA EQUATION Anthony Weiner’s Not Coming Back. But He Has Nowhere to Go. By Ben Smith [https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith] June 6, 2021, 8:40 p.m. ET Anthony Weiner

NYT Column: The Internet’s Favorite Catalog of Weird Places Rewrites History

(A quick programming note: There's a new Times rule that I can't send the full text of the column out, and so I'm just going to send a link and the top of the piece. If this is too annoying, I'll stop