Channels with Peter Kafka

Latest Episodes:

Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber, plus Fortune CEO Alan Murray Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about selling their company to Spotify. Then later in the show, Fortune Media Group CEO Alan Murray sits down with Peter to talk about selling Fortune to a Thai billionaire and navigating its transition into new digital challenges.

In the Gimlet interview: "We didn't leak the story, I don't know who did"; Blumberg and Lieber's interactions with Gimlet staff since Recode's scoop on Friday; why the acquisition makes sense; how Spotify became a distribution partner and when acquisition talks started; could Gimlet have remained independent?; how much did Blumberg and Lieber's ability to personally profit influence the decision to sell?; listeners who invested in Gimlet's crowdfunding seed round will see a return; will Gimlet's existing shows become Spotify exclusives?

And in the Murray interview: Fortune's acquisition and the end of Time Inc.; why it's hard to destroy legacy media brands; why it would be a problem if Time Magazine owner Marc Benioff had also bought Fortune; who is Fortune's new owner, Chatchaval Jiaravanon?; the "death sentence" of working with its old owner, Time Warner; how has Fortune changed since Jiaravanon bought it?; developing and scaling up live events to make them both accessible and valuable; advertising-supported businesses and Fortune's competitors; Murray's background at the Wall Street Journal and why Rupert Murdoch is "the best thing that could have happened" to the paper; developing the WSJ's ultimately unsuccessful iPad app, The Daily; President Trump's lies and attacks on journalism; and and how other media outlets are alienating his supporters.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jill Abramson on BuzzFeed layoffs, "Merchants of Truth" and the local news crisis Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new book, Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts.

In this episode: Why Abramson wrote Merchants of Truth; why she focused on the New York Times, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed and Vice; the recent layoffs at BuzzFeed and why it's now "winter" for digital media; is the New York Times unfairly targeting Facebook in its reporting?; the criticism Merchants of Truth has received before publication; the shrinking wall between business and editorial interests at the Times; the media is critical of President Trump — is that a problem?; the surprising happiness at the Washington Post; Abramson's fact-checking process; and the crisis in local news.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NYU's Jay Rosen says 2020's political journalism will be even worse than 2016's Jan 24, 2019

Show notes

NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the problematic state of the political media in the Trump era.

In this episode: Why 2020 will be even worse for the political press than 2016; alternatives to "horse race" political coverage; how the Democrats' takeover of the House of Representatives is encouraging the media's worst habits; media outlets that anger liberal audiences; the state of Trump journalism; Rosen grades the different roles of the press; the repeated failure of the press to reflect on its own failings; should the press always carry a televised address from the president?; and an alternative model for journalism, The Correspondent, that is launching soon in the United States.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Axios business editor Dan Primack on newsletters, IPOs and the economy in 2019 Jan 17, 2019

Show notes

Axios' Dan Primack, the author of the Pro Rata business newsletter, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka.

In this episode: Why Dan Primack didn't start his own site like other star journalists; economic predictions for 2019, including what companies will go public this year; whether those companies will mimic Spotify's direct listing IPO instead of going through a bank; predictions for the media industry; what journalists get wrong about business and what businesses like Facebook get wrong about journalists; and Axios' controversial HBO interview with President Trump.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harvard's Susan Crawford on the importance of fiber internet Jan 10, 2019

Show notes

Harvard Law School professor Susan Crawford talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new book, Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution—and Why America Might Miss It. In this episode: (01:22) Crawford's book and the state of fiber internet in America; (05:39) Why fiber is like electricity; (11:19) Why isn't fiber everywhere already?; (16:01) The failure of Google Fiber and how someone could bring fiber everywhere; (20:07) Politics and 5G; (23:32) Tech giants and net neutrality; (27:11) The political will to get fiber into homes; (30:21) What cities in the US are doing fiber right?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neil Vogel on turning around an aging internet property Jan 03, 2019

Show notes

‘It took us a while to figure out what our real value is to the universe’ - Neil Vogel, CEO of Dot Dash, talks about - ‘About.com’, and the challenges of turning around an internet property in decline. Also: building brands with real value to consumers, and how Vogel built up the Webby Awards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Filmmaker Hao Wu and Loretta Chao on streaming culture in China Dec 27, 2018

Show notes

"A real life Black Mirror story, a cautionary tale," is how director Hao Wu describes his new documentary, 'People's Republic of Desire.' Recode's Kara Swisher talks to Hao Wu, alongside Loretta Chao, a former WSJ reporter who covers tech in China, about streaming culture in China.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia Polgreen talks to Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian Dec 20, 2018

Show notes

Former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger in conversation with Lydia Polgreen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The big business of being a social media star Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

John Shahidi, the CEO and co-founder of digital production company Shots Studios, talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about creating content for warring online platforms like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify. In this episode: (01:45) What Shots Studios does; (07:49) What it used to be and how it got Justin Bieber to invest; (16:49) How Shots found the stars it manages; (20:31) How it works with those stars; (29:19) The distribution strategy; (35:24) What platforms work best for Shots' content; (43:31) Twitter Video and getting "Shahidi'd"; (47:00) What Shahidi has learned from experimenting with social media

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Axios reporter Jonathan Swan talks to Maggie Haberman about reporting on the Trump administration Dec 06, 2018

Show notes

Jonathan Swan, the national political reporter for Axios, talks with the New York Times' Maggie Haberman about the highs and lows of covering the Trump administration. In this episode: (01:18) What to expect from the Trump administration in 2019; (06:35) How do reporters ensure that their reporting on Donald Trump is accurate?; (10:14) Should they change their approach?; (12:28) Swan's background; (16:14) How he started covering Trump for The Hill; (20:22) Trump's relationship with the media; (24:39) The Jim Acosta incident; (26:14) Swan's approach to reporting; (28:43) His interview of Trump and people's reactions; (32:15) The birthright news from that interview; (35:25) What does the press get wrong about this administration?; (38:42) Does Swan miss writing longer stories?; (40:26) Do presidential interviews matter as much as they used to?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected