Semafor news site makes debut, intent on reinventing news
The media organization Semafor launched on Tuesday with no less an ambition than reinventing the news story.
Semafor is the brainchild of Ben Smith — former media reporter for The New York Times and, before that, former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed — and Justin Smith, ex-CEO of Bloomberg Media. Since both men — who are not related — quit their previous jobs in January, Semafor has raised $25 million and hired more than 50 staff members.
Semafor’s website, with a distinctive yellow-tinged backdrop that looks like a newspaper left out in the sun, went live shortly after 6 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, with eight newsletters in place as well as an events business.