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Semafor (website)

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Semafor
Type of site
News
Available inEnglish
Founder(s)Ben Smith, Justin B. Smith
CEOJustin B. Smith
URLwww.semafor.com Edit this at Wikidata
LaunchedOctober 18, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-10-18)
Current statusActive

Semafor is a news website founded in 2022 by Ben Smith, a former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News and media columnist at The New York Times, and Justin B. Smith, the former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group.[1][2]

Description and etymology

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Vox has described Semafor as "a collection of newsletters, plus a website, aimed at an upscale audience that understands topics like Washington politics and Silicon Valley tech but wants more". The website is free to access and supported by advertisements, though Semafor's co-founders have described plans to convert to a paid subscription model.[3] The organization is based in New York City.[4]

The name "Semafor" is derived from the word "semaphore", which "appears in similar form in many languages". According to The New York Times, "semaphore" is "often used in a nautical context" and can be described as "a visual signaling apparatus often involving flags, lights and arm gestures".[5] The co-founders appreciated that the word "sounds about the same in thirty-five languages".[4]

History

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Semafor was launched by journalist Ben Smith, who was previously a media columnist for The New York Times,[5] and Justin B. Smith (no relation), the chief executive officer of Bloomberg Media Group, in October 2022.[6][3] The duo had met in Manhattan in 2008 and kept in touch; at a conference in Davos in 2018, they began a series of discussions that led to the development of Semafor over four years.[4] Ahead of the launch, both men resigned from their previous positions in January 2022.[7][8] A federal trademark registration for Semafor was filed on January 16, and the Smiths announced the organization's name in March 2022.[5] In a memo Justin Smith sent to "close confidants", he described a new company that would "reimagine quality global journalism" aimed at what he said was an "English-speaking, college-educated, professional class" that had "lost trust in all sources of news and information".[9] Semafor launched on October 18, 2022, with Gina Chua as executive editor.[1][2]

Leading up to the launch, Semafor advertised heavily on Twitter. Semafor and Twitter also launched a video distribution partnership.[10] Semafor partnered with Gallup for data, and uses office space in the analytics company's headquarters in Washington, D.C.[6] In addition to offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., Semafor has a presence in London and Africa. There are plans to expand to Asia, other parts of Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.[11] Semafor has an equity program that shares profits with employees.[1]

In December 2023, Ozy Media sued Semafor, Buzzfeed, and Ben Smith for allegedly stealing trade secrets.[12]

In July 2024, Semafor launched a Middle East vertical, adding a third world region to its existing coverage of the United States and sub-Saharan Africa.[13]

Funding

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Operations were initially supported by $25 million in investment funding, as well as revenue generated from advertising and in-person events. Investors have included Sam Bankman-Fried, David G. Bradley, Jorge Paulo Lemann,[4] and Jessica Lessin.[6] Genesis Motor/Hyundai Motor Company, Mastercard, Pfizer, Qualcomm, the Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Group, and Verizon were among ten founding launch partners.[4][10] Other advertisers and sponsors included Cisco and Alibaba Group.[14][15]

In 2023, Semafor announced plans to repurchase Bankman-Fried's investment following the bankruptcy of FTX.[16][17] Semafor's co-founder Justin Smith stated that Bankman-Fried had received "no actual shares" in Semafor due to the company's dual-class share structure and that neither he nor any other investors influence editorial coverage or operations.[18] Although Bankman-Fried was Semafor's largest external investor, he would only have received a small minority stake if he had converted his investment to equity.[19] In May 2023, Semafor raised $19 million in additional funding from investors to replace the money received from Bankman-Fried.[20]

Chinese companies

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Semafor has received criticism for its relationship with individuals and companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party.[21] In January 2023, Voice of America reported that Semafor received sponsorship funding from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.[15]

Staff

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Gina Chua, Semafor's executive editor, in 2022

Co-founders Justin B. Smith and Ben Smith are the chief executive officer and editor-in-chief, respectively.[22] Gina Chua was announced as the executive editor in March 2022.[23] Rachel Oppenheim was hired as the chief revenue officer, Kellen Henry as the head of product,[6] and Al Lucca as the head of design.

Semafor launched with approximately 60 employees—at least half of whom were reporters.[4][24] Initial hires included Reed Albergotti of The Washington Post, Liz Hoffman of The Wall Street Journal,[6][25] and Max Tani of Politico, who would focus on technology, business and finance, and media, respectively.[2] In his role as editor-at-large,[10] Steven Clemons, also formerly of The Wall Street Journal, was hired to oversee live journalism operations, moderate on-stage interviews, and write a newsletter about American politics and policy.[6] David Weigel writes a newsletter called Americana.[10]

Benjy Sarlin is chief of the Washington, D.C., bureau.[10] Nigerian editor Yinka Adegoke leads Semafor Africa, the organization's first international edition.[4] Alexis Akwagyiram joined[when?] as managing editor from the Financial Times.[1]

Content

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Semafor's articles and newsletters are structured into short sections, each with a separate subtitle. The first section generally consists of a short summary of the relevant facts, followed by "The Reporter's View", a section containing analysis or an editorial by the writer of the article.[2] Other common sections include "The View From," which describes perspectives from countries or parties involved in the story, and "Room for Disagreement," which explores why the writer's analysis may be wrong.[2][24] The structure, which Semafor calls "Semaform", is intended to clearly separate fact from opinion.[6] To allow journalists to cultivate direct relationships with their readers, bylines are displayed prominently.[further explanation needed][6]

Semafor publishes a daily newsletter entitled Flagship that covers covering world news,[10] as well as distinct newsletters focusing on Africa, U.S. politics and policy, business and finance, climate, international security, media, and technology. Each newsletter contains a regular feature called "One Good Text" in which journalists conduct one-question interviews with politicians, business executives, or other influential[according to whom?] individuals via text message.[26]

Events

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Events are a significant part of Semafor's operations: 30% of its revenue in 2022, its first year of operation, was generated by events.[27] Co-founder Justin B. Smith noted that part of the motivation for dedicating a large portion of operations to events was that traditional sources of revenue, such as subscriptions and advertising, take a long time to cultivate, while events provide an immediate source of income for a news startup.[14] Even before launching, Semafor had already held 12 events,[28] including one in July 2022 with Tucker Carlson and Taylor Lorenz that focused on polarization and trust within the news industry,[29] and another in November 2022 called "Media, Government, and a Healthy Democracy" with Karine Jean-Pierre and Anthony Scaramucci.[30]

Semafor also hosted several live journalism event series. In December 2022, it hosted an event focusing on Africa to coincide with that year's U.S.–Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. The event featured interviews with Rwandan president Paul Kagame,[31] U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai,[32] and Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the U.S.[14][27] Subsequent events included a "media summit" in April 2023 in New York City with Barry Diller,[33] Chris Licht, Jen Psaki,[34] Stephen A. Smith, and Kara Swisher,[27][35] and a "World Economy Summit" in Washington, D.C., in April 2023 with National Economic Council director Lael Brainard[36][37] and Microsoft president Brad Smith.[38]

China

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In March 2023, Semafor launched its "China and Global Business Initiative," a collaboration with the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a think tank registered as a non-governmental organization (though its independence from the Chinese Communist Party has been disputed).[21] The initiative consists of regular events in New York City and Beijing, and would foster dialogue between business leaders amid increasing China–U.S. tensions.[39]

Semafor's partnership with the CCG has occasionally come under scrutiny[by whom?].[21] Semafor CEO Justin Smith said Semafor would go into the collaboration with its "eyes wide open" and that it was under "[no] illusion that Chinese business leaders or other local groups operate independently of the Chinese Communist Party." Smith also said Semafor would retain editorial independence and full ownership of the project.[21]

The project's advisory board contains both U.S. and Chinese business leaders and academics,[40][non-primary source needed] such as Robin Zeng—the chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference—and Wang Huiyao, founder and President of CCG. Other advisors include Chen Deming, a former Minister of Commerce; Cui Tiankai, a former Chinese ambassador to the U.S.; and Zhou Xiaochuan, a former governor of People's Bank of China. U.S. board members include Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor at Cornell University and former senior advisor to the United States Department of State's Policy Planning Staff; Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!; Susan Thornton, former acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Rana Mitter, S.T. Lee Chair in U.S.–Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School; John L. Thornton, former co-president of Goldman Sachs; and David Rubenstein, a philanthropist, investor, and former Deputy Assistant to the President for domestic policy.[40]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Scire, Sarah. "The media startup Semafor launches with a "more honest" article format and lots of global ambition". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Allsop, Jon (October 19, 2022). "Semaform and function". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Kafka, Peter (October 26, 2022). "Ben Smith's Semafor is live. He says it will take 10 years to get it right". Vox. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Piore, Adam (November 21, 2022). "Meet the Smiths". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 22, 2022). "Justin and Ben Smith pick a name for their media start-up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Robertson, Katie; Mullin, Robert (June 22, 2022). "Semafor Readies Entry Into Tricky Digital News Market". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Klein, Charlotte (August 3, 2022). "Ben Smith's Lofty, Perhaps Ill-Timed, Analogy for Semafor's Global Play: The "Netflix" of News". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Gelles, David (January 4, 2022). "Ben Smith Is Leaving The Times for a Global News Start-Up". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Fischer, Sara (January 5, 2022). "Two of journalism's disrupters unveil secret idea for richly funded global news platform". Axios. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Ted (October 18, 2022). "Semafor Launches with Aim of Boosting Trust in Global News Amid a Busy Digital Marketplace". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  11. ^ Sharma, Samidha (August 19, 2022). "Global news media startup Semafor open to an India partner for launching local edition". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Cohen, Luc (December 21, 2023). "Buzzfeed, Semafor sued by Ozy Media over alleged trade secret theft". Reuters. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "Semafor launches Semafor Gulf to target the Middle East market". Nieman Lab. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Stenberg, Mark (December 12, 2022). "Semafor Will Generate 30% of Its First-Year Revenue From Events". Adweek. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023. Sponsors include Qualcomm, Cisco and Mastercard
  15. ^ a b Wenhao, Ma (February 9, 2023). "China's Alibaba Spends Big on DC Lobbying, Campaign Contributions". Voice of America. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  16. ^ Waxman, Sharon (January 3, 2023). "Semafor to 'Redeem' Sam Bankman-Fried Investment – In Other Words, Return It". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  17. ^ Mullin, Benjamin; Yaffe-Bellany, David (January 18, 2023). "Media Start-Up Semafor Plans to Buy Out Sam Bankman-Fried's Investment". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  18. ^ Bolies, Corbin (December 2, 2022). "Semafor Puts Its Sam Bankman-Fried Investment in the Gov's Hands". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  19. ^ Barker, Alex; Nicolaou, Anna (January 18, 2023). "Semafor explores options to buy out Sam Bankman-Fried's interest". Financial Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  20. ^ Mullin, Benjamin (May 24, 2023). "Semafor Raises $19 Million, Replacing Money From Sam Bankman-Fried". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d Fischer, Sara; Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (March 7, 2023). "Semafor's China problem". Axios. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  22. ^ Coster, Helen (October 18, 2022). "Semafor news platform launches". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  23. ^ Robertson, Katie (March 15, 2022). "Ben and Justin Smith Name Gina Chua as Executive Editor at News Start-Up". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Sherman, Alex (October 18, 2022). "Semafor debuts in a tough media environment, with an aim toward decluttering the news". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  25. ^ Fischer, Sara (June 9, 2022). "Semafor hires Liz Hoffman as business and finance editor". Axios. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  26. ^ Guaglione, Sara (January 25, 2023). "Semafor sells Verizon on sponsoring its text message interview series". Digiday. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c Weprin, Alex (March 23, 2023). "Semafor Plans Inaugural Media Summit: Chris Licht, Jen Psaki, Barry Diller Among Interviewees (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Bauder, David (October 18, 2022). "Semafor news site makes debut, intent on reinventing news". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023. Events will also be a big part of Semafor's business, and 11 have already been held
  29. ^ Johnson, Ted (October 18, 2022). "Semafor Launches with Aim of Boosting Trust in Global News Amid a Busy Digital Marketplace". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  30. ^ Piore, Adam (November 21, 2022). "Meet the Smiths". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  31. ^ Crowley, Michael (December 14, 2022). "Rwanda's president says the United States can't 'bully' him into releasing a political opponent". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  32. ^ "USTR Tai says MOU with African trade area to explore next phase of relationship". Yahoo! Finance. Reuters. December 12, 2022. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  33. ^ Jones, Rachyl (April 11, 2023). "AI Is Threatening the Media Business, and IAC's Barry Diller Has an Answer". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  34. ^ Dominick, Mastrangelo (April 11, 2023). "Psaki says she considers herself a journalist". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  35. ^ Ross, Garrett (April 11, 2023). "Playbook PM: Chicago lands 2024 Dem convention". Politico. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  36. ^ Wallace, Alicia (April 12, 2023). "Brainard: US banking system is 'sound' and 'stable'". CNN. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  37. ^ Miller, Rich (April 12, 2023). "Brainard, Unlike Yellen, Sees Signs of a Pullback in Bank Credit". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  38. ^ Ward, Alexander; Berg, Matt; Hawkins, Ari (April 12, 2023). "Ukraine isn't happy with U.S. view of counteroffensive". Politico. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  39. ^ "China and Global Business". Semafor. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  40. ^ a b Smith, Ben (March 1, 2023). "Semafor launches 'China and Global Business' platform". Semafor. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
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