Jason Hirschhorn, digital media pioneer and CEO of news aggregator REDEF, comes back for this third visit with Peter Kafka. They talk about streaming and ‘direct-to-customer’: what this means for Disney and Netflix. Also: how tech is changing movie-making, and the evolution of Hulu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kickstarter is now synonymous with crowdfunding, but for years it was just an idea in founder Perry Chen’s mind: “This is something that should exist.” Chen talks to Peter Kafka about building and funding the site, the challenges of running a for-profit, mission-driven business — and why he hates ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
David Haskell, New York Magazine's new editor-in-chief, talks to Peter Kafka about following in the footsteps of star editor Adam Moss. Also: New York Magazine’s digital strategy, working with Amazon and Apple, and how to solve the cover problem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jessi Hempel spent years covering tech giants for Fortune, BusinessWeek and Wired. Now she’s working for a tech giant herself. Hempel explains why she’s writing, and podcasting, for Microsoft’s LinkedIn, and what she’s learned about the pros and cons of tech, from both sides of the divide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Joe Adalian, west coast editor of Vulture, from New York Magazine, talks to Peter Kafka about the Disney+ launch event, and what it could mean for streaming, Netflix and Apple. Later on the show, Josh Sapan, CEO of AMC Networks (Killing Eve, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead) has a lively and an-depth conversation about the business of TV, and figuring out how to compete against giants like Disney and Apple. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Journalist Jessica Yellin talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new satirical novel about TV journalism, Savage News. In this episode: Yellin's Instagram project, News Not Noise; the lie, "nobody wants news without a panic attack"; where News Not Noise could go next; embracing a bias of being against conflict and outrage; Yellin's political background; being a "one-man band" in local TV news; the 2000 recount and moving up to national TV; finally getting her dream job: White House correspond...
If you like Recode Media, we think you'll also like this episode of The Vergecast! Peter Kafka sits down with Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge, to talk about Apple's “Show Time” event and whether it's prepared to battle Netflix and Disney in the streaming wars. If you like what you hear, subscribe to The Vergecast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Brat co-founder Rob Fishman talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his LA-based digital video studio, which is making shows aimed at young women who might have once watched the CW or MTV. In this episode: What sets Brat apart from other online video startups; how the company makes money; how it pays the stars of it shows; Fishman's second startup, Niche, and the influencer economy; selling Niche to Twitter and what it was like inside the company; what he's learned from being a serial entrepreneur...
Bethany McLean and Jacob Weisberg from Pushkin Industries and Marshall Williams from Ad Results Media talk with Recode's Peter Kafka in front of a live audience at South by Southwest. In this episode: How podcast advertising works; why Weisberg is interested in experimenting with podcasts you have to pay to hear; why McLean got into podcasting after 25 years in print; why are direct response ads so common and will they go away?; is podcast advertising propped up by a bubble?; how podcasters coul...
Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent and the host of Reliable Sources, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka in front of a live audience at South by Southwest. In this episode: How Stelter figures out what to focus on in his coverage; President Trump’s tweets; covering more issues and fewer insults in the 2020 race; the Democrats’ breakup with Fox News; name-calling among journalists; Stelter’s extremely public online life; the Twitter “sewer”; the Twitter-TV-Trump cycle and how social media...
Documentary director Alex Gibney talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley, a new film about the fall of Theranos and its CEO Elizabeth Holmes. In this episode: Why making the documentary wasn't as straightforward as you might think; John Carreyrou and the other journalists in the documentary; the outsized power of corporations; the prevalence of fraud and the "fake it til you make it" mentality; how Holmes and her deputies shaped Theranos' public image;...
Mark Cuban talks with Recode's Peter Kafka in this live interview recorded at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. In this episode: Who can beat Trump in 2020?; why Cuban was spotted talking with Steve Bannon in 2016; behind the scenes of Shark Tank; how the TV business has changed and what happens now that tech is getting into TV; the moats protecting legacy TV studios and Time Warner's new owner AT&T; the potential of 5G for sports and entertainment; should sports streaming rights be broken up...
The New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her recent investigation into the links between the Trump administration and Fox News, The Making of the Fox News White House. She says Congress should investigate one of the things her reporting uncovered, an alleged attempt by Trump to use the Justice Department to sabotage the AT&T-Time Warner merger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Overtime CEO Dan Porter talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how his company is turning non-professional athletes into stars — and some common mistakes media founders make. In this episode: Porter's background; why it's not accurate to say Overtime covers "high school sports"; what it is focusing on and how it's reaching a young audience; how it helps non-professional athletes build a following online; why it still makes sense to distribute digital content everywhere; building a bond with Overt...
J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running the company that owns a portfolio of digital brands, including Mashable, PCMag and Speedtest. In this episode: What J2 Global is; the importance of having multiple revenue streams in media; how Shah turned Ziff Davis around; why much of J2's business is built around performance marketing and affiliate commerce; buying Mashable and returning it to profitability; bidding for Gawker Media and what J2 would have done with it; mak...
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the potential of 5G internet, AT&T's 2018 acquisition of Time Warner and how the company is thinking about sports gambling in the U.S. In this episode: What does 5G internet actually mean for consumers?; when will 5G be ubiquitous in major cities?; why it will eventually replace home broadband; the rise of professional sports gambling; cord cutting and the TV rights to broadcast sports; buying sports games a la carte and leagues b...
Bryce Roberts, the "recovering venture capitalist" who founded Indie.vc, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why more entrepreneurs should be asking if venture capital is right for them. In this episode: Roberts' past investments; how VCs have controlled the definition of "entrepreneur" and why that's a problem; how Indie.vc works and what it looks for in applicants; is venture capital really that bad?; Gimlet's sale to Spotify; the connection between venture capital and layoffs at digital med...
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 se...
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...
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...
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 jour...
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 w...
‘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
"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
Former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger in conversation with Lydia Polgreen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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) T...
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; (2...
Beth Comstock, the former vice chair of GE and former president of integrated media at NBCUniversal, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change." In this episode: (01:34) Comstock's background and taking over digital at NBC; (05:56) iVillage and making digital content in-house; (09:59) Why NBC and Fox needed to make Hulu; (12:19) The difficulties of starting it; (16:14) Bringing in ABC and the "existential threat" of tec...
Twitch CEO Emmett Shear talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about launching the live video service, selling it to Amazon and reckoning with tech companies' responsibilities to their users. In this episode: (01:41) Why Twitch is "multiplayer entertainment"; (04:31) Shear's background at Justin.tv; (08:50) Pivoting from Justin.tv to Twitch; (11:13) Why Twitch sold itself to Amazon; (16:04) What non-gaming content is popular; (19:17) Movies and football on Twitch; (22:27) How Twitch gets non-gaming con...
Jeff Green, the CEO of the online advertising marketplace The Trade Desk, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the state of digital ads. In this episode: (2:04) Competing with Google and Facebook; (4:21) What the Trade Desk does; (06:56) Programmatic advertising, Yahoo and Microsoft; (12:35) Fixing “crappy” ads online; (15:26) Google and Facebook’s lack of transparency; (17:18) Are programmatic ads responsible for publications’ declining revenues?; (20:08) Subscriptions vs. ads and Connected TV...
