Why VC firms are getting into journalism

Candy Cheng and Berber Jin of Business Insider write about how venture capital firms are launching their own media operations.

Cheng and Jin write, “With its growing editorial hires, a16z has managed to churn out hundreds of hours of content, including articles, video interviews, podcasts, and newsletters (some of which are shared with and published by Insider).

“‘What they are doing is, they’ve managed to control their PR and public image to change the narrative and that is very, very smart. All of their articles and podcasts only help to enhance the reputation of the firm,’ said the former journalist turned venture capital investor.

“‘First Round and Andreessen Horowitz have built enviable media machines that are immensely helpful to the startup ecosystem. That’s not new. What’s ‘new’ is an approach to circumvent traditional media and only use owned channels (blog, social, corporate podcast, in-app messaging, community forums),’ ex-Robinhood’s communications head Jack Randall told Insider.

“However, such a tactic is risky, Randall says. ‘I don’t recommend this strategy to startups as traditional news outlets have larger reach, lend credibility, and, when things get difficult, having relationships with reporters is important.'”

Read more here.