Maxwell Tani is known for his work on an obituary beat of sorts. A media reporter at Semafor, he always seems to be the first person to break news whenever something terrible happens for journalists at one outlet or another. He's been busy: According to one tabulation, more than 500 journalists were laid off just in January. A scroll through Tani's account on X surfaces a glut of executive memos, couched in corporate-speak, informing staff that they'll soon be laid off--at Business Insider, Engadget, the Messenger, Vice, and the Wall Street Journal. Sometimes he shares the news of an impending layoff before these memos even go out--and before employees have been informed. Slate spoke with Tani about what it's like to document the worst moments on the media beat, and how he feels about his place in the news-about-the-news ecosystem. We also tried to diagnose the ills of the industry--and find bright spots ahead.

Before dawn, Father Paolo Benanti climbed to the bell tower of his 16th-century monastery, admired the sunrise over the ruins of the Roman forum and reflected on a world in flux. "It was a wonderful meditation on what is going on inside," he said, stepping onto the street in his friar robe. There is a lot is going on for Benanti, who, as both the Vatican's and the Italian government's go-to artificial intelligence ethicist, spends his days thinking about the Holy Ghost and the ghosts in the machines.