Haymaker Founder J.J. Colao discusses the role of tech and venture capital journalism with TechCrunch’s Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos at Media Summit | NYC 2024.
Haymaker Group Founder J.J. Colao discusses the ascendance and fall of digital media with Semafor’s Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith at Media Summit | NYC 2024.
Erin Gleason, Chief Communications Officer at Founders Fund, moderates a conversation on VC reporting with Forbes’ previous Senior Editor and founder of Upstarts Media Alex Konrad and Axios’ Business Editor Dan Primack at Media Summit | NYC 2024.
Big Tech Reporting with The Verge's Alex Heath, WIRED's Zoe Schiffer, and Semafor's Reed Albergotti, moderated by SF Standard's Jeff Bercovici at Media Summit | SF 2025.
Emilie Cole speaks with Kara Swisher at Media Summit | SF 2025.
Tony Haile, founder of Chartbeat and Filament, discusses the future of media with Business Insider’s Chief Correspondent Peter Kafka at Media Summit | NYC 2024.
Haymaker Founder J.J. Colao speaks with Noahpinion's Noah Smith at Media Summit | SF 2025.
Tech:NYC CEO Julie Samuels discusses the changing media landscape with The Verge’s Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel at Media Summit | NYC 2024.
Haymaker Founder J.J. Colao speaks with The Information's Jessica Lessin at Media Summit | SF 2025.
Lightspeed Venture Partners’ Mike Mignano moderates a conversation on the behind-the-scenes details of podcasting with Semafor Mixed Signals co-host Nayeema Raza and Prof G Markets co-host Ed Elson at Media Summit | NYC 2024.
Kia Kokalitcheva, Senior Editor at Pitchbook, moderates a conversation on AI Reporting with Fast Company's Mark Sullivan, Bloomberg's Shirin Ghaffary, and TechCrunch's Maxwell Zeff at Media Summit | SF 2025.
How should we think about AI Reporting?
Moderator Kia Kokalitcheva sits down with Shirin Ghaffary (Bloomberg), Mark Sullivan (Fast Company), and Maxwell Zeff (TechCrunch) to sort what is real, what is working, and what is still wishful thinking. They cover the early “holy shit” moments, why full job takeover is harder than the slides suggest, where agents break in the real world, how they actually use AI in reporting, and the most uncomfortable story they have covered so far.
What you will learn
Chapters
00:00 Intro. What makes this AI wave different
00:00:13 Shirin on a new kind of “intelligence” that felt like science fiction
00:01:07 Maxwell on how new the field still is and why newcomers can contribute
00:01:49 Mark on compute, GPUs, and why the “magic” surprised everyone
00:02:56 Early skepticism. Chatbots of 2015 vs ChatGPT
00:04:52 “Holy s***” moments and the limits seen in early Copilot demos
00:06:41 What the panel is still skeptical about
00:06:49 Shirin on why full job replacement is a long road
00:08:14 Maxwell on chatbots vs agents and what feels far off
00:09:04 Mark’s agent‑first reality check
00:10:31 The most uncomfortable story to cover
00:10:49 Maxwell on SB 1047 and a divided AI community
00:12:15 How the panel actually uses AI in their work
00:12:30 Maxwell’s “find the holes” edit pass with AI
00:13:19 Mark on research, triangulation, and why he avoids AI writing
00:14:39 Shirin on using AI for structure and why writing sharpens thinking
00:15:54 Will AI replace journalists
00:16:11 What AI still cannot do in real reporting
00:16:50 Wrap
If you care about how business news gets made, subscribe for more sessions and episodes from Media Summit on all podcast streaming platforms.
Moderator Sally Shin sits down with Natasha Mascarenhas (The Information) and George Hammond (Financial Times) to unpack mega funds, the AI frenzy, rollups and secondaries, the rise of VC podcasts, and exactly what it takes for a smaller company to earn real coverage. We get practical about sourcing, exclusives, tension, speed vs accuracy, and why “going direct” often backfires.
What we cover:
Chapters:
00:00 Intro and panel setup
00:00:27 What is the big theme in VC right now
00:01:27 AI boom meets exit drought and mega funds
00:02:13 Emerging managers and fundraising cracks
00:02:54 Getting GPs to talk when times are tough
00:03:41 What VC is getting wrong; smaller funds and new products
00:04:23 Are VC podcasts strategy or ego
00:04:49 How journalism adapts to the podcast era
00:05:39 How startups get coverage from The Information and FT
00:06:13 The Information’s bar: exclusivity, bigger theme, real tension
00:07:25 The FT’s lens: audience, geography, and exclusives
00:08:27 Moonshot AI teams and why they get covered
00:08:46 How stories are sourced; embargoes, tips, relationships
00:09:26 Slow burns and when small rounds become big stories
00:10:04 Independents vs newsrooms; speed and checks
00:11:32 Covering mega AI companies across beats
00:12:58 Mega funds, rollups, and a bifurcated VC model
00:14:32 Reinventing VC: spin outs, secondaries, business model shifts
00:15:47 Keeping up with direct channels and why journalism still matters
00:17:29 The power shift and access challenges
00:18:35 Going direct when you have nothing new to say
00:19:36 Preempting negative press and why it can amplify
00:20:11 When calls and DMs go public
00:20:50 A more combative climate and the job of ethical reporting
00:21:32 Is the IPO window open yet
00:22:06 Closing and thanks
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