As BuzzFeed News shuts down this week, former editor-in-chief Ben Smith joins Andy to reflect on BuzzFeed’s successes and pitfalls and the end of the first digital era of news. Smith explains how they used metrics and analytics to change journalism, what he learned from his fateful meeting with Steve Bannon, and why the platforms are still bigger than the personalities -- even Tucker Carlson. They also chat about the future of journalism and how it will be funded in a post-click world.

Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter and Post @ASlavitt.

Follow @semaforben on Twitter.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. 

Support the show by checking out our sponsors!

• Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: https://lemonadamedia.com/sponsors/ 

Check out these resources from today’s episode: 

• Ben’s book “Traffic Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral” is available everywhere now. 
• Read Ben’s work at Semafor. 
• Find vaccines, masks, testing, treatments, and other resources in your community: https://www.covid.gov/

Order Andy’s book, “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response”: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. 

For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com/show/inthebubble.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices