The Information Founder Jessica Lessin on Building the World’s Top Tech Media Outlet, Why Citizen Journalism Won’t Replace Traditional Media, and the Future of Journalism | Jessica Lessin on Invested

On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts Jessica Lessin. Jessica is the founder and CEO of The Information, the publication known for original, in-depth reporting about technology and business. In eight years, Lessin has grown The Information into one of the largest subscription journalism communities in the world, attracting an influential audience of business leaders globally. Lessin has covered Silicon Valley and the technology industry for almost two decades and was previously a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal. She lives in the Bay Area, with her husband and three boys. When not trying to keep up with her children, she enjoys surfing and skiing.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts! 

KEY TOPICS 

• [00:00:00] Intro
• [00:01:50] Motivation for Founding The Information
• [00:04:25] Why Leave the Mainstream Media Model
• [00:07:55] What Causes Legacy News to Become “Clickbaiters”
• [00:12:50] “Selling Your Soul to the Devil”
• [00:15:52] Will News Organizations Go Out of Business?
• [00:21:10] Business Models vs. Journalism Quality
• [00:23:56] The Free Press vs. The Information
• [00:26:35] Modern Media and Community Building
• [00:31:30] How Tech Reporting has Evolved
• [00:34:25] Does Modern Journalism Need Specialized Experts?
• [00:36:55] Is The Information Mainstream Media?
• [00:38:00] Why “Citizen Journalism” Won’t Replace Traditional Media
• [00:44:23] How to Regain Trust in the Media
• [00:51:40] The Information’s Media Startup Accelerator
• [00:53:30] What’s Next for The Information
• [00:57:08] Mistakes in Running The Information
• [00:58:10] Message to Younger Self
• [00:59:25] What is Your Core Value?

RESOURCES

Follow Jessica on X: https://twitter.com/Jessicalessin 

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

For the transcript of this episode, go to: www.aleph.vc/content/jessica-lessin

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Yoni Mayer

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Art: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi