Stephen A. Smith

You have what I think is actually a distribution crisis in news, which is, you know, sort of the, the short version history I always do is that if you were a person who was not a news junkie, In the pre-internet era, you had to see the news, some form of the news. You would bump into it organically because someone literally threw a newspaper at your door every morning.

You have what I think is actually a distribution crisis in news, which is, you know, sort of the, the short version history I always do is that if you were a person who was not a news junkie, In the pre-internet era, you had to see the news, some form of the news. You would bump into it organically because someone literally threw a newspaper at your door every morning.

And you had to open that if you wanted to know when the movies were, the baseball score, the weather, like something happening in your local town. There you see headlines, right? If you wanted to know the weather the next day, you had to turn on the 6 o'clock news and you would see news that way. And then we moved from newspapers. I mean, this has been your whole career.

And you had to open that if you wanted to know when the movies were, the baseball score, the weather, like something happening in your local town. There you see headlines, right? If you wanted to know the weather the next day, you had to turn on the 6 o'clock news and you would see news that way. And then we moved from newspapers. I mean, this has been your whole career.

We trained some group of people that they should go to www.nytimes.com or www.politico.com in the morning. The same way you would grab a cup of coffee and read a dead tree newspaper, you would grab a cup of coffee and pull up your laptop, or if it was at a certain year, your iPad, and you would look at a website and read the news that way.

We trained some group of people that they should go to www.nytimes.com or www.politico.com in the morning. The same way you would grab a cup of coffee and read a dead tree newspaper, you would grab a cup of coffee and pull up your laptop, or if it was at a certain year, your iPad, and you would look at a website and read the news that way.

Maybe the first thing you did at work was you would sit down and read the news. Then social media came, and we have a better plan. Facebook's going to deliver the news to your phone. You're going to see it.

Maybe the first thing you did at work was you would sit down and read the news. Then social media came, and we have a better plan. Facebook's going to deliver the news to your phone. You're going to see it.

And even if you're just scrolling through to look at pictures of your friends' kids or whatever else you know on Facebook, killing time in the grocery store, waiting in line, you would see some sort of news. And then some point after 20, and Twitter served the same function for a smaller group of people. Then sometime after 2020, that all fell apart, right?

And even if you're just scrolling through to look at pictures of your friends' kids or whatever else you know on Facebook, killing time in the grocery store, waiting in line, you would see some sort of news. And then some point after 20, and Twitter served the same function for a smaller group of people. Then sometime after 2020, that all fell apart, right?

And now it's like, how do people get, like, there is no major distribution mechanism for legacy media to reach people who are not actively seeking it out, right? That is the thing that has changed.

And now it's like, how do people get, like, there is no major distribution mechanism for legacy media to reach people who are not actively seeking it out, right? That is the thing that has changed.

I think that's a really good way to put it. I mean, I would say, you know, that these things keep changing. Like it's, I don't think it's reached a static point. And I think that the thing that you describe, which sounds incredibly disorienting and maddening, most people, most consumers hate. Like if you ask people like, hey, do you think this is working for you?

I think that's a really good way to put it. I mean, I would say, you know, that these things keep changing. Like it's, I don't think it's reached a static point. And I think that the thing that you describe, which sounds incredibly disorienting and maddening, most people, most consumers hate. Like if you ask people like, hey, do you think this is working for you?

Do you like how you're getting your news? No, everybody hates it. And I think that's, I mean, that was sort of what we were reacting to in creating Semaphore was like just why, and you know, why I left the Times, just this sense of like, oh, there's actually an opportunity to like,

Do you like how you're getting your news? No, everybody hates it. And I think that's, I mean, that was sort of what we were reacting to in creating Semaphore was like just why, and you know, why I left the Times, just this sense of like, oh, there's actually an opportunity to like,

like to respond to the fact that people feel totally disoriented, feel like they don't know what to trust, and try to address that stuff directly. And I think you're seeing, so I think that, I mean, ultimately we live in this very, very dynamic free market society in which consumers do, even in news, and news is sometimes an exception to that.

like to respond to the fact that people feel totally disoriented, feel like they don't know what to trust, and try to address that stuff directly. And I think you're seeing, so I think that, I mean, ultimately we live in this very, very dynamic free market society in which consumers do, even in news, and news is sometimes an exception to that.

Like the tradition in news is if the consumers say, we hate you and everything you're doing, we say, fuck you, you're wrong. But I think there is this opportunity for both legacy and for new outlets to take pretty seriously how terrible the experience of consuming news is. And a lot of the pendulum swing is back to some of the older values.

Like the tradition in news is if the consumers say, we hate you and everything you're doing, we say, fuck you, you're wrong. But I think there is this opportunity for both legacy and for new outlets to take pretty seriously how terrible the experience of consuming news is. And a lot of the pendulum swing is back to some of the older values.