Balaji on How Tech Truly Wins Media

A16z Podcast Key Takeaways Distribution was so scarce not too long ago: The Unabomber killed all those people so he could get an op-ed in the Washington Post; today, he could have published his manifesto on Substack Founders should go directly and build their distribution channel “The founding creator is as important as the founding engineer. The founding engineer is the implementation, but the founding creator is the distribution. The founding engineer is the ‘how’ and the founding creator is the ‘why’.” – Balaji Srinivasan For the media, the best thing they can do is put a man out of work (Watergate), and for tech, the best thing it can do is put a man on the moon (SpaceX) Red America imposing tariffs on China is like blue America imposing tariffs on AI – both are protectionist measures “Democracy is creating startup cities. Moving to Starbase was voting with feet. Building up Starbase was voting with a wallet. And incorporating Starbase was voting with a ballot. This is the future of democracy. Not a two-party system with the illusion of choice. Instead, a 1000-city system with the reality of choice.” – Balaji Tech is flanking legacy media with short-form tweets and long-form podcasts – two areas in which the media does not have establishment influence We must remove the barriers to exit so that everyone has a choice about which government rules them “With technology, we can have a new birth of media, science, democracy, and equality on the internet, because that’s what the internet is: it’s a peer-to-peer network, we are all equal on the internet. And truth is everybody’s property; it is not Sulzberger’s property – it’s cryptography.” – Balaji Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org What really caused the breakdown between tech and media—and what comes next? Erik Torenberg sits down with Balaji Srinivasan (entrepreneur, investor, and author of The Network State) to explore the long-building conflict between Silicon Valley and legacy journalism. Balaji explains how the collapse of traditional media business models gave rise to political capture, clickbait, and adversarial coverage of the tech industry. They discuss why “going direct” is no longer optional, how tech became the villain in establishment narratives, and what it would take to build a new truth infrastructure - from decentralized content creation to cryptographic verification. This episode covers power, distribution, and the future of media, with a signature mix of historical insight, social analysis, and Balaji’s forward-looking frameworks. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction 1:26 The Media vs. Tech Conflict 2:11 The Collapse of Journalism Revenue 2:39 Rise of Wokeness and Political Realignment 6:50 State vs. Network: A New Framework 9:00 The Power Structure of Media Institutions 19:25 The Role of Distribution and the Internet 29:20 The Social War: Red vs. Blue America 30:05 X Day and the Shift in Social Media Power 42:56 Strategies for Technologists: Go Direct 48:36 The Importance of Individual Creators 1:10:00 Decentralized Truth and the Ledger of Record 1:36:00 The Future of Media, Democracy, and Equality 1:37:08 Conclusion & Final Thoughts Resources Find Balaji on X: https://x.com/balajis Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.