OFF-MUTE 🔈
📰 Building your own newsroom has many benefits.
💬 In fact, lots of companies in the Silicon Valley are developing content hubs to speak directly to their audiences for the same reasons we do this newsletter.
👍 You get to control the editorial strategy, create a community and personalize the brand experience.
🚀 One of the best examples? Prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is going big on the “go direct” approach. Earlier this summer, it launched its own media property, Future.
✨💡 Sonal Chokshi, a16z’s editor-in-chief and long-time showrunner of the firm’s podcast network, recently met with our President Jason Morris to talk about how she’s differentiating Future from the traditional media ecosystem. Here’s an overview of its special editorial formula and how experts can contribute to it:
☑️ Storytelling in first voice. a16z’s Future content is straight from the experts. Chokshi said, “There are plenty of other people in the immediate [media] ecosystem who already do wonderful reported narratives and other things, but that also dilutes the directness.”
☑️ Digging into the complexities of tech. “Readers and listeners are smart and hungry for more in-depth takes,” said Chokshi. Future’s goal is to reach an innovation-curious audience.
☑️ Keeping it real. No ghostwriting, please. Chokshi said, “You cannot fake credibility or authenticity in voice.” Future writers need to know a particular topic better than anyone else. She calls it “writer topic fit” or WTF for shorthand.
☑️ Staying focused. Future doesn’t report news, but analyzes it. “For instance, on one of our podcast shows, we put news in context. And some of our op-eds will also be pegged to a news hook. But we try to make sure the content is evergreen,” said Chokshi.
☑️ Contributing content—how it works. Go here and fill out the pitch form. But read their guidelines first! “We’re looking for pieces that argue for a particular worldview, like a tech trend or a mindset. And it should be something that helps define what the future looks like.” Future is also looking for pieces that explain how to build companies—this includes frameworks, how-to’s and practical advice when it comes to talent operations, processes, platform shifts, etc.
Read here about the launch of Future and here about Chokshi’s advice for contributors. And subscribe to Future’s newsletter for more information.