Ben Collins (reporter)

Ben Collins
Collins in 2022
EducationEmerson College (BS)
OccupationJournalist
AwardsWalter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism

Ben Collins is an American businessman and journalist from Massachusetts. He was a former reporter for the news division of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and became the CEO of the media company Global Tetrahedron, which owns The Onion, in 2024.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Collins is from the U.S. state of Massachusetts. His mother is a librarian.[3][4] He attended Emerson College between 2006 and 2010.[3] While enrolled at Emerson, he was a music columnist for The Berkeley Beacon, the college's student newspaper.[1][3] During college, he was a roommate of Chris Hurst, with whom he co-hosted a radio show as an undergraduate.[1][5]

Professional career

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Early career and Esquire

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Following his graduation from Emerson, Collins began his career at Slam before performing social media work for Hulu.[3] Following his time at Hulu, Collins became a news editor of Esquire in 2013,[3][6] where he remained for a year until he was hired by The Daily Beast.[3]

The Daily Beast

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Between 2014 and 2018, Collins worked in various roles for The Daily Beast as a senior news editor and technology reporter.[1][4] While Collins was employed at The Daily Beast, Hurst's girlfriend Alison Parker was shot and killed on live television.[5] Though Collins had not met Parker,[5] the incident and its aftermath deeply affected him; he decided to pursue reporting about online conspiracy theories and the far right after that.[1][3]

At The Daily Beast, Collins frequently reported alongside researcher Brandy Zadrozny, who had joined the publication in 2013.[4] When offered an opportunity to work at NBC News in March 2018, Collins accepted it on the condition that he would be allowed to bring Zadrozny along to join him.[1]

NBC News

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In 2018, Collins and Zadrozny departed The Daily Beast to join NBC News.[1][4] Collins has received special recognition from the 2023 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.[7][8]

In December 2022, following controversial comments Collins made on social media that NBC says ran afoul of its social media standards, NBC temporarily suspended Collins from covering Elon Musk and Twitter.[9][10]

Global Tetrahedron

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In April 2024, Collins was announced as the CEO of Global Tetrahedron, a company that has purchased the satirical website The Onion. Its name is a reference to a fictional company described in Onion publications.[2] The purchase originated from a post by Collins on Bluesky after news broke that then-owner G/O was looking to offload the magazine among other titles.[11][12] On November 14, 2024, Collins won the assets of website InfoWars at auction with support of the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[13] The federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy case of Jones, Christopher Lopez, ordered an evidentiary hearing regarding the auction, saying "I’m going to figure out exactly what happened" and that "no one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.”[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Renzi, Erin (February 13, 2020). "Emerson alum Ben Collins finds success covering dystopian beat". The Berkeley Beacon. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Robertson, Katie (April 25, 2024). "The Onion Is Sold by G/O Media". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Athey, Amber (January 14, 2023). "Who is NBC News's Ben Collins?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Beard, David (March 4, 2018). "Librarian-turned-journalist rises; she helped us be this giant scoop factory". Poynter Institute. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Gans, Felicia (August 26, 2015). "Slain newswoman's boyfriend went to Emerson College". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. ^ Barr, Jeremy (September 3, 2014). "Esquire apologizes to ESPN for piece on domestic violence". Politico. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Cruger, Roberta (April 19, 2023). "With Disinformation Everywhere All at Once, Excellent Journalism Matters Even More: 2023 Walter Cronkite Award Winners Investigate Untruths and Consequences" (PDF) (Press release). USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center and Annenberg Public Policy Center.
  8. ^ Athey, Amber (April 19, 2023). "Are the Walter Cronkite journalism awards for real?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  9. ^ Steinberg, Brian (December 16, 2022). "NBC News Pulled Reporter Ben Collins Off Twitter Coverage Earlier This Month". Variety. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Johnson, Ted (December 16, 2022). "NBC News Pulled Reporter Earlier This Month From Elon Musk/Twitter Coverage". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Inside the sale of The Onion, and what comes next". April 26, 2024.
  12. ^ VISRAM, TALIB (May 17, 2024). "The new CEO of 'The Onion' is bringing back 'the good internet.' Here's how". Fast Company. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Collins, Dave (November 14, 2024). "Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with Sandy Hook families' backing". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "Judge freezes Infowars acquisition by the Onion, orders evidentiary hearing over auction concerns". November 15, 2024.
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