COVID Special: What the Media Got Wrong, and Right, with Dr. Anthony Fauci

08/02/24 • 49 min

COVID-19 feels like ancient history, but its effects linger — including what the pandemic did to citizens’ trust in media. Ben and Nayeema discuss the distrust that came out of the coronavirus pandemic and dig into the role that the media played. They talk to the man who became the center of media scrutiny during the peak of the crisis: Dr. Anthony Fauci, who recently came out with his memoir, On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service. Then for Blindspots, they check in with Donald McNeil Jr., the health and science reporter behind The Wisdom of Plagues, whose voice became a fixture of The Daily during the pandemic.

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Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema @maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza

Mixed Signals from Semafor Media is presented by Think with Google

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema @maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza

Mixed Signals from Semafor Media is presented by Think with Google

Previous Episode

Can Kamala Hold On? With Veep EP Frank Rich

In the flurry of the brat phenomenon, Nayeema and Ben debate whether Kamala Harris can surf memes all the way to election day and how “childless cat lady” is only expanding the K-hive. They bring on Frank Rich, the executive producer of the hit shows Veep and Succession, to get his notes on an election month that’s stranger than fiction, and ask whether an idealist show like The West Wing could be made today.

Finally, Max Tani joins for Blindspots to discuss RFK’s phone-free farming program for the Lexapro-addled, Adderall-popping American populace — plus: why Americans are hiding their spending habits from loved ones.

If you have a tip or a comment, email us [email protected]

Find us on X: @semaforben, @nayeema @maxwelltani or on Instagram @nayeemaraza

Mixed Signals from Semafor Media is presented by Think with Google

Next Episode

Hacks, Olympics, and “Boomscrolling”

Fresh off digital detoxes, Ben and Nayeema plug back in to a moment of Olympics patriotism and to a patriotic (?) American media that is refusing to report on the substance of a foreign hacking campaign that targeted former President Trump.

This episode digs into the irony of the media’s glee at the 2016 DNC hack – and the careful treatment of the Trump campaign hack of today. Eight years ago Wikileaks dumped a trove of emails before the public, leading to revelations about Hillary Clinton’s Goldman Sachs speeches and John Podesta’s secret to a great risotto. Today, we’re not sure if any amazing recipes are part of the Trump campaign hack because The New York Times, Politico, and The Washington Post have all declined to report its contents. Ben and Nayeema explore why these two campaign hacks are receiving totally different media treatments and why people are mad at Ben for celebrating today’s editorial restraint.

To dive deeper, they talk to Christina Reynolds, a Democratic operative, opposition researcher, and two-time victim of digital hacks. Her emails were part of both the 2014 Sony hack and the 2016 DNC hack. Finally, producer Alli stands in for Max this week, offering a breakdancing blindspot.