Jun 2, 2026
Is it ever a bad time to talk about “new” media? (Yes.)
But with BuzzFeed News recently wrapping its rise and fall with a rescue sale of $120 million (compared to past valuations of $1.5-1.7 billion), and with a host of annoying interlocutors on X repeatedly claiming to reinvent the form, we thought it was a good idea to hit up Blob — I mean Ben — Smith.
The star-studded journalist, who transformed BuzzFeed into literally a Pulitzer Prize-winning organization, cofounded the media startup Semafor in 2022. In the years since, amid media failures in every direction, Semafor has earned the rare joint distinction of being profitable and, just, “there is a reason to go on this website.”
Below follows Solana’s far-ranging interview with Ben about Semafor’s success and growing events business, “new” “new media,” and the “gravitational pull toward good journalism” that comes for even the most obsequious of podcasters and ideologues.
- Blake Dodge
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