美国国家公共电台 NPR--BuzzFeed News is shutting down as part of companywide layoffs

BuzzFeed News is shutting down as part of companywide layoffs¹

Transcript²

NPR's Michel Martin talks to reporter and former BuzzFeed News editor Ben Smith about the development that BuzzFeed is shutting down its Pulitzer-winning news division as the company lays off staff.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The website BuzzFeed is shutting down its Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. The company says 15% of BuzzFeed's workforce³, or about 180 employees, will be laid off. We called Ben Smith to hear more about this. He's the former editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed News. Good morning, Ben.

BEN SMITH: Hi, Michel.

MARTIN: So you were the founding editor of BuzzFeed News. You worked there for almost 10 years. How were you receiving this, Sad, mad, surprised?

SMITH: You know, I mean, I think it's really sad. I'm really sad about it. I know a lot of my colleagues are, I think, you know, and I wouldn't say totally surprised. It's been - you know, BuzzFeed and BuzzFeed News, you know, we came up as Facebook and Twitter and social media rose and became this exciting new thing where you could - you know, where you could distribute stories to millions of people. And, you know, I think as consumers, as everybody, got a little sick of consuming news through Facebook, BuzzFeed in particular, which had probably been - we'd probably been better than anybody else at getting you those links on Facebook, you know, really struggled to continue to hold onto this huge audience.

MARTIN: So what do you think led to this? Could you be more specific about the specific factors?

SMITH: Yeah. Yeah. I think, you know, people - fewer people are on Facebook and Twitter than used to be. And really, particularly around the 2016 election, I think - you know, when we started out, there was this sense of, wow, isn't it neat to get, you know, hard news stories mixed up with funny quizzes, mixed up with baby Twitter pictures on Facebook? What kind of, like, a novel, interesting way to get your media. And I think, come the 2016 election, that started to feel actually incredibly toxic⁴. And a lot of people hated it. And the social media companies, Facebook in particular, reacted to that by trying to get away from news. And if you look at your Facebook feed today, if you're still on Facebook, which a lot of people are not, you'll see a lot less news. And - yeah, and so for BuzzFeed and for other companies that rose with those social platforms, it's been a pretty tough few years.

MARTIN: So we are in a moment where both traditional and digital news outlets⁵ are laying off employees because of financial issues, including this one, including NPR - Vox, Insider, The Washington Post. Just to get your take here, what do you think this says?

SMITH: You know, I think we're in a moment of a big change in the news business. I think there was a kind of internet news that rose, you know, really, in the early 2000s. I just sort of spent a couple years writing a book about this. And you can really feel that there was this era that began with websites like Gawker and Huffington Post and BuzzFeed in the early 2000s and - you know, and shaped a lot of what we all sort of think of as news and media now. I think, you know, from The New York Times to NPR, people took a lot of those lessons about how to use the internet. And now the internet is changing a lot. People are watching short videos instead of going on social networks. They're consuming a lot in email. And they're going to events. I mean, it's sort of a different news world. And so I think a lot of companies are having to adjust.

MARTIN: And what do you think that means? And, I guess, how does that land with you? I mean, you are still with a media company. You're with a group called Semafor. Does this - do you think that this equally well serves the public, and if not, what might?

SMITH: You know, I don't think a lot of people think that the social media era did serve the public very well. I mean, I think we all wound up feeling overwhelmed⁶, feeling that news was being fed to us through algorithms and - you know, and sort of pandered⁷ to in certain ways. And so, I mean, you know, I can't predict if the next thing will be better. But I do think what a lot of us in media are thinking about is, how do we reach - you know, how do we sort of have what feels like a more human, more direct conversation, something that is less mediated⁸, less piped through these big digital pipes?

MARTIN: And perhaps less susceptible⁹ to manipulation¹⁰. So OK, well, let's talk more. You got a book coming out. Ben Smith is a former editor-in-chief for BuzzFeed News. He's got a forthcoming¹¹ book, "Traffic." It's about the history of digital media. Ben Smith, thanks so much for talking to us.

SMITH: Thank you, Michel.

1 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

5 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 overwhelmed   

[ overwhelm ]的过去式

参考例句：

• She was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. 她感到愧疚难当。
• If (one was) overwhelmed by passion, it could lead to serious blunders. 当感情完全淹没理智时，就可能铸成大错。

7 pandered   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的过去式和过去分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• The newspaper here pandered to people's interest in sex scandals. 这里的报纸迎合了人们对桃色新闻的兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His films never pandered to public taste. 他的电影从不迎合公众的口味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

9 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

10 manipulation   

n.操纵，控制

参考例句：

• The government has disguised the true situation by clever manipulation of the figures. 政府巧妙地用数字掩盖了事实真相。
• They make a lot of money by clever manipulation of the Stock Market. 他们巧妙地操纵股票市场而大赚其钱。

11 forthcoming   

adj.即将到来的，可得到的，乐于提供消息的

参考例句：

• He gave me a list of their forthcoming books.他给了我一张他们即将出版图书的目录。
• Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。