Discussion

• @steph_palazzolo Stephanie Palazzolo on x

  Wondering why Fidji Simo wanted OpenAI to buy TBPN? We get into the decision and more, including Simo's thoughts on OpenAI getting into social media, why the startup pulled back on Instant Checkout and the company's longer-term vision: https://www.theinformation.com/ ...

• @jessicalessin Jessica Lessin on x

  “Simo came up with the idea earlier this year, shortly after the company's previous chief communications officer, Hannah Wong, had left, the person close to her said.” https://www.theinformation.com/ ...

• @obrien Chris O'Brien on x

  Anyone who thinks this is going to help OpenAI with enterprises and developers is 🤡

• @apompliano Anthony Pompliano on x

  OpenAI acquired TBPN for $100M+ but most people are drawing the wrong conclusions. OpenAI doesn't care about TBPN as a business or a show. They immediately shut down all ads and they are going to leave full editorial independence to John and Jordi. That is a big win for TBPN

• @amir Amir Efrati on x

  these are not normal times [image]

• @tedmerz Ted Merz on x

  There are two things that stand out about TBPN, the streaming tech talk show acquired this week by OpenAI. One has been much commented upon: the positive enthusiasm that hosts Jordi Hays and John Coogan bring to the show. They did for tech what ESPN did for sports. People tired […

• @playofthejackal Furio on x

  @MikeIsaac ah propaganda tool. pmarca and chamath were sucking all the oxygen out of the room with their braindead retardmaxxing takes so obviously sama wanted his own mouthpiece to shill bullshit with no pushback

• @johncoogan John Coogan on x

  OpenAI acquires popular tech news show TBPN; the show will stay the same and will continue to air live at 11am PT weekdays

• @newsjennifer @newsjennifer on bluesky

  Pro tip: nobody is buying the ‘editorially independent’ bullsh*t. [embedded post]

• @edzitron.com Ed Zitron on bluesky

  Embarrassing watching members of the media fawn over this and act like it's a 4d chess move vs. Fiji Simo having literally one idea: buy media and show it.  —  I also genuinely question TBPN's reach and their revenue!  But I guess we will never know now.  [embedded post]

• @masnick.com Mike Masnick on bluesky

  I spent most of my day recording podcasts, and on the last one, before we started my guest told me that this had happened and my first thought was “wait, is there some other TBPN?” because... what? [embedded post]

• @grantbrisbee Grant Brisbee on bluesky

  The Roundtable was also in these talks, but Andy kept saying “retaaaaainer” until they walked out [embedded post]

• @caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky

  For that kind of money you could employ a handful of AI researchers! [embedded post]

• @oracularhades.com Josh on bluesky

  “editorially independent” lol i smell bullshit [embedded post]

• @edzitron.com Ed Zitron on bluesky

  very very strange.  Why would TBPN sell?  Other to cash out of course.  They were already an egregious AI booster! [embedded post]

• @austin_rief Austin Rief on x

  Waiting for Paul Graham to call the TBPN acquisition an anomaly. It seems to be a similar multiple to The Free Press. [image]

• @peterwildeford Peter Wildeford on x

  Buying a media property and having it report to “master of the dark arts” Chris Lehane does have a certain vibe to it... not that TBPN was ever particularly critical in the past though. [image]

• @thezvi Zvi Mowshowitz on x

  Okay, my apologies, if they're having TBPN report to Chris Lehane then TBPN is already dead.

• @edzitron Ed Zitron on x

  In what universe is buying TBPN not a “side quest”? And what about this suggests TBPN will remain “independent”? [image]

• @rachaelrad Rachael Horwitz on x

  The editorial independence point in the TBPN / OpenAI deal that people are talking about is kind of beside the point. That's not actually what this audience is here for. A large gap opened up around ~2016, at the peak of mainstream media's antagonism toward tech. Out of that

• @karine_hsu Karine Hsu on x

  imagine if anthropic acquired call her daddy

• @chafkin Max Chafkin on x

  My theory on TBPM beyond that is a marketing expense is that it's a sort of a reverse Gawker. Basically sends a signal to any independent creator...say nice things about AI and there might be a massive payday on the way

• @_simonsmith Simon Smith on x

  I don't trust Bloomberg News to cover Bloomberg, Washington Post to cover Amazon, or WSJ to cover News Corp. Research supports this. But we're supposed to trust TBPN's coverage of OpenAI? While TBPN hosts are also helping OpenAI with media and comms? Please make it make sense.

• @iiiitsandrea Andrea on x

  he never fails to be cringe [image]

• @nickadobos Nick Dobos on x

  OpenAI TBPN acquisition explained: [image]

• @philwinkle Phillip Jackson on x

  I keep seeing takes about the “design and aesthetic.” The *ads* are the aesthetics of TBPN. Kill the ads, and you it doesn't carry the same legitimacy. It's equivalent with your brother's livestream without ads. [image]

• @weareyourfek Foster Kamer on x

  TBPN's acquisition is the answer to a question nobody really cared about, which is: “how much would big tech pay to get a glossy handjob in perpetuity from guys cooler than them”

• @dseetharaman Deepa Seetharaman on x

  OpenAI explains its rationale a bit more on its Substack, saying the discussion about AI is “driven by scoops, but just as often and more constructively by ideas: the why, the how, and what's next.” (Bolds are mine) And later: “That's why TBPN is so interesting and important.

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  TBPN was relying on a pay to play setup. Pay for a sponsorship and in return get guest slots and upbeat mentions and coverage. I just wasn't aware it was so in your face like what Michael shows below. Interesting how so few people, besides myself, were willing to call this out.

• @davidsirota David Sirota on x

  Reporters doing accountability journalism are getting mowed down by mass layoffs & are now almost extinct — while the targets of their accountability reporting are giving hundreds of millions of dollars to pundits. What stage of the media dystopia is this? [image]

• @kendallbaker Kendall Baker on x

  I've been a fan of this show and what they've done is wildly impressive. But you can't remain an “independent platform” when you're owned by one of the biggest companies in the industry that you cover. Because you literally aren't.

• @eriktorenberg Erik Torenberg on x

  The future of marketing is buying creators/media properties

• @michaelmiraflor Michael J. Miraflor on x

  If you're an aspirational Tech podcast, this now former list of TBPN sponsors probably has dollars to re-allocate ASAP. Hop on the phone and close those deals! [image]

• @preston_holland Preston Holland on x

  The big miss by Open AI/TBPN was shutting down the ads. Ad reads is a big part of the brand. Hubspot did the same thing with MFM, also a miss. Tasteful ads adds to content, and a signal to the market of who wants to support that media. I would the guys cook.

• @mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x

  For this deal to make any sense, OpenAI will need to boost TBPN's reach to harness the “soft power” potential. But there are a number of factors working against that *because of* this deal... https://spyglass.org/...

• @om @om on x

  If you are wondering why @openai bought @tbpn, then you have to go back to 1902 to get an answer, from an unlikely and the least capitalistic of sources. My short and sweet column from last evening (tip @techmeme). https://om.co/...

• @brexton @brexton on x

  I can't think of a better way to show how dated you are than calling @tbpn a “schmoozefest” on the day of their acquisition The latest @theinformation brief is just dripping with so much obvious bitterness and saltiness [image]

• @bryancsk Bryan Cheong on x

  Why are people writing like TBPN are journalists who do investigative stuff and askbtough questions and “I don't expect them to go any easier on us” — being hard on people is not their brand and offering. That's not the product.

• @brianstelter Brian Stelter on x

  OpenAI's out-of-the-blue acquisition of TBPN stunned the worlds of media and technology. But it's a continuation of a pattern that dates back a hundred years, to 1926, when RCA created NBC in part to sell radios... https://www.cnn.com/...

• @ericnewcomer Eric Newcomer on x

  good taste in insider tech stories, great bookers, took themselves seriously (in a good way), had a positive vision for what the show should be rather than just reacting to “the media,” excellent on twitter clips... all of which fuels some of the apprehension about what the show

• @gilduran.com Gil Durán on bluesky

  This is the Network State cult in action.  —  It calls for tech moguls use their wealth to buy their own versions of media, political power, cities, countries, educational institutions, etc.  —  The stated goal is to create an entirely “parallel” system.  —  www.hollywoodreporter…