Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

The 2024 election cycle is finally over – so, what’s coming to your screens next? Today, Ben and Nayeema dissect what the media learned from 2024 and where we go from here. They first chat to Max Tani about the news media, and then sit down with Ankler Media’s Janice Min – who has been reporting on (and embedded in) Hollywood culture for decades. The conversation tackles whether politics and art stay linked or divorce, if Donald Trump will wake up “wokeism” again or if Americans will turn to escapism … and why TV is chasing the “gourmet cheeseburger.”

Importantly: This is our last episode of season 1 and we want your feedback! Please email us with what you’ve liked, not liked and want more of for season 2. We’re at [email protected] and [email protected].

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In a noisy election cycle it’s hard to find signals — even of the mixed variety. Today, Ben and Nayeema sit down with reporters David Weigel and Max Tani to parse what you’re not seeing, from the “insane” tv ads at a Pittsburgh Steelers game and the print ads in an Arizona nail salon, to an unpublished Washington Post endorsement that was quashed by Jeff Bezos. One of these things may decide the election, and another could shape the blamegame that follows.

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Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema @maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza 

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With recent appearances from Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, JD Vance and Tim Walz, it looks like Fox is dominating this election. Ben and Nayeema investigate the channel’s durability despite massive lawsuits, MeToo scandals, and star exits from Tucker Carlson, Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly. To go inside the machine, they talk to former “O’Reilly Factor” and “The Five” producer Nate Fredman (who spent nearly 20 years at the network) about what makes Fox tick — and stick.

Stick around for Ben and Nayeema’s debrief with Max Tani, who wrote about Fox this week. Fox News insiders, send your tips to Max! 

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

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Ben and Nayeema take on the critique of bias in the media with The Economist's James Bennet —a conversation that always seems timely, but especially so right now, weeks away from a US election and with an expanding conflict in the Middle East. To help make sense of what we see as media bias and the moral questions that journalists grapple with every day, James shares his experience as the Jerusalem Bureau Chief at The New York Times. He continued to be at the fulcrum of this discourse when he was forced to resign as the Times Editorial Page editor during a heated moment at the publication in 2020. Bennet is now a senior editor at The Economist where he writes the Lexington column.

Read James' piece "Letter From the Middle East; Children Fill Ledger of Death, No Matter How, or How Many."

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Ben and Nayeema tackle the emerging AI battle between machines and humans, a topic that was glaringly absent from this week’s Veep debates but is at the center of everything from the dockworkers’ strike to Hollywood’s grand plans. To figure out how long they and the creative and media elite have job security, they speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar whose latest play, McNEAL, wrestles with AI and ethics.

And for Blindspots, Max spills on what film you need to see … before, um, the machines replace the filmmakers. 

NOTE: This episode discusses the dockworkers’ strike, and was taped before the strike was suspended on Thursday night.

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Ben and Nayeema discuss a reporter’s digital dalliance with RFK. Jr, and what it says — and doesn’t — about journalism. Then they bring on Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcast, and a star of the anti-MAGA movement. They ask: Is the hot new space in the media, and on YouTube, in the political center? Finally, Max joins in for Blindspots to get quick takes on VP Harris’ decision to guest on the All The Smoke podcast.

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema @maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza 

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On the heels of Mark Zuckerberg’s live interview with the Acquired podcast, hosted at a packed Chase Center in San Francisco, Ben and Nayeema explore the icy relationship between traditional media and big tech. 

Why are Silicon Valley’s CEOs more likely to be found gabbing on a podcast about their fashion choices than quoted in the New York Times? When did the media and tech breakup, who is to blame, and who wins and loses when hard questions are optional?

To answer these questions, they talk to a podcast host, creator, and investor who has been on the winning side of this dynamic: Jason Calacanis host of This Week in Startups and co-host of All-In. On All-In, Jason has interviewed tech titans and political figures including Marc Benioff, Elon Musk, JD Vance, and Donald Trump. Ben and Nayeema ask whether anything is lost when “CEO safe spaces” replace hardball interviews. 

To wrap things up and bring the temperature down, Max Tani brings on an ESPN blindspot. 

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema, @maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza 

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After a quick review of what moderator lessons and memes will stick from this week’s debate, Ben and Nayeema turn to New York Times reporter and former restaurant critic Pete Wells to explore the fight between the new wave of influencers and the old guard of gatekeepers in food. On the menu: the health hazards of criticism, how celebrity chefs and TikTokers altered the power of his seat and whether diversifying food reviews in the midst of the culture wars were “DEI,” “virtue signaling” or simply — as Pete reveals — an organic evolution. Also: if, unlike immigrants in Ohio, he’s ever tasted dog or cat.  “It's one of the few things I haven't eaten” 

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema, @maxtani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza 

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If you feel surrounded by sports on all sides, losing the battle to keep up with new leagues (hello pro pickleball?), athlete-influencers post-game podcasts, and who’s getting paid what, you’re not alone. Sports is swallowing media, and swallowing our lives. This week, Ben and Nayeema explore whether the sports boom is driven by culture or by commerce, and if this boom might be a bubble. 

To help figure it out, they bring on John Skipper, former President of ESPN and current founder and CEO of Meadowlark Media who makes a compelling case of American exceptionalism in sports, and the incentives of billionaires who own these teams.

Finally they bring on Semafor business and finance editor Liz Hoffman for a blindspot from Silicon Valley: the rise of “founder mode.”

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

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Ben and Nayeema tape from the Democratic National Convention, breaking down the positive vibes, rise of the credentialed TikTok creator and what Trump is up to on the outside of this bubble. Tommy Vietor joins them to discuss what sway he and his fellow Pod Save America hosts have with Obama, why the DNC is tuning out Gaza protesters, and whether the party’s newfound unity around Kamala Harris can last through November 5. Finally, fresh off a GQ photoshoot, Max joins the podcast to talk style and the viability of a Chick-fil-A streaming service. 

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema@maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza

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Mixed Signals from Semafor Media is presented by Think with Google