BuzzFeed News and Its Editor Are at a Crossroads

Our profile of media 'Boy Wonder' Ben Smith

For Ben Smith, the Answer Is 'Keep Reporting' It was around 7 p.m. on a Friday in January when Ben Smith, the top editor at BuzzFeed News, left his house in Brooklyn, stepped into his red Jeep Patriot, and drove to Piccoli, a cash-only Italian takeout spot not far away. He bought two orders of spaghetti with meatballs, set the bags of food on the passenger's seat, and headed back home. Darkness had settled over New York City as he navigated the quiet streets. His cell phone buzzed with a call from one of his best investigative reporters. For Smith—and, indeed, the entire BuzzFeed newsroom—it had been a day of triumph. Less than 24-hours earlier, on January 17, Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier had published an incendiary story alleging that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team had obtained evidence that President Donald Trump had directed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The story electrified the cable-news cycle, offering anti-Trump pundits and lawmakers the kind of smoking-gun revelation that they'd been dreaming about. "If these facts are true," Democratic Congressman David Cicilline told CNN, "there's no question it's an impeachable offense." But now, as Smith pulled his car to the side of Coney Island Avenue, Leopold was calling with a less gratifying message. The Special Counsel's office was about to release a 28-word statement that would turn their big scoop into a bombshell of a different sort. "BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate." Leopold had pressed the Special Counsel's spokesman to clarify the points of the story that Mueller was disputing; the spokesman refused. After twenty years in journalism, Smith didn't get rattled by the carefully-worded denials of government officials, which, in his view, typically turned out to be bullshit once all the facts came to light. He and his team had carefully vetted the story and were certain of its accuracy. In one sense, it was a familiar situation for an editor at a high-profile news outlet. At the same time, though, Smith—whose judgement had triggered Trump-era media eruptions before—recognized that this wouldn't be just another routine dustup, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Mueller, at the time, was a totemic figure in the American psyche, and he'd never publicly discredited a story like this. As Smith sat in his car on that Brooklyn street, calling his top lieutenants and determining his next steps, his mind circled a thought: "Here we go again." Read the Full Story Kickstart Your Pride Playlist with These 25 Songs This is a big year for Pride celebrations. 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It's still available in a range of sizes and colors. And it costs less than $30. You should go buy a ton of these shirts, and you should do it right now. Read the Full Story The Best Documentaries on Netflix to Stream Right Now It's a golden age for documentaries—new films have broken news and pushed stories forward. And it's easier than ever to dig into Netflix to find classic and award-winning docs. But sometimes the options can be overwhelming. If you're in the mood for a true story—one that is seemingly too intense, too outlandish, too exciting to be true—you've come to the right place. Here are the best documentaries to stream on Netflix right now. Read the Full Story In 2019, Being a Man Isn't About Not Being a Woman. It's About Not Being a Child. The worst people in the world are feeling the wind at their backs at this moment in history, and sometimes, when they are relaxed and cocky, they accidentally show you exactly who they are. To wit: a tweet from conservative commentator and attempted filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, comparing the masculinity of President Donald Trump to that of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Read the Full Story All 104 James Bond Villains, Ranked They say a James Bond movie is only as good as its villain. That's not always true—weak bad guys unwind fantastic Bond movies. Stellar villains elevate terrible installments. While England's top spy has gone head-to-head against a variety of foes, you can't deny that some have served as meatier adversaries as others. That's why we have to do what any Bond fan must do: rank every single James Bond villain in a big list. Read the Full Story   Follow Us     Unsubscribe  Privacy Notice   esquire.com ©2019 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019