Gossip Columns
I've noticed a trend amongst start-up media.
Gossip.
It starts as a relatively 'normal' obsession with hearsay and rumour. After all, the backroom chatter of Westminster has been the fuel for British newspapers' political pages for centuries, and so it's a well trodden path for the media at large.
But recently, in the start-up and VC world, it seems to have metastasised into something much more pointless. The chatter seems to be the story, rather than a way the story itself is obtained.
The only thing I can think of is that the level of start-up media now available for free - be it streamed live via X by the TBPNs of the world, or coursing through the ears of thousands of VCs and founders alike thanks to 20VC, a16z and the All-In podcast - is so good that written media is going the way of tabloids.
There are still some brilliant commentators on the start-up and venture capital world, but the best writing seems to be coming from individuals posting thought pieces on X driven by their own desire to build a brand, rather than via the editorial teams at start-up focused media trying to justify the cost of a paid subscription.
I guess when you have nothing insightful to say your only remaining option is to write drivel and hope people don't notice.