Nilay Patel, editor in chief of The Verge, spoke on its “Decoder” podcast about journalism’s role and why standards make the podcast so successful.
Here is an excerpt:
So I know what role we play in the ecosystem at The Verge and on Decoder, and it is to be outside, and you have to show up here on our terms and do a good job. We have a big audience, and if you do a good job, I think the audience will be excited for you. If you do a bad job, I think the audience is going to let you know it. That’s hard to get. And we’re also precious about all of the rest of it. We won’t do brand deals, integrated sponsorships, and all the stuff that compromises that core promise that we make as journalists. I talk about that stuff a lot. I don’t need to overdo it now, but to me, that’s why everybody shows up. It’s hard to find the thing that we make anymore.
The producers and I will not give anyone the questions that they’re going to face on Decoder in advance. We will not let them tell us what topics they want to cover. We will not accept edits afterwards or approvals on answers afterwards. You have to show up, you have to do a good job, and sometimes you can do a bad job, and everybody can see it.
I also think a lot of people are very confused by influencer media where those asks are tied to brand deals, integrations, and money made down the line, and there are approvals, but we just don’t do it. Sometimes people think they can pressure us, and our response to pressure is to turn it right back around.
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