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 Facebook was Oct. 8,

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 any nausea is that you’

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.nytimes.com/by/ben-smith]Dec. 12,

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), 作者价值, and

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. Marvin Olasky’s World

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.nytimes.com/by/

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 for The Wall Street Journal,

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, Carlos Watson.

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 on the phone.

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 New York Times had found refuge

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.com/by/ben-smith]

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. By Ben Smith

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/by/ben-smith]Aug.

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 [https://www.

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 are "being left behind," as the

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 a time when the

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 before she tweeted [https:

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 Stringer, appearing with

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 world

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 [https://www.nytimes.com/

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 doesn’t pay the kind

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