Why Trust Collapsed in Media, and What Comes After, with Eric Hippeau

Interview with Fast Company's Brendan Vaughan at Media Summit | SF 2025

At Media Summit | SF 2025, J.J. Colao sat down with Brendan Vaughan, Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company, for a conversation about the business of modern media, revenue models, the role of print, the pressure of clicks, and what AI means for publishers. Brendan shares how Fast Company thinks about diversifying revenue, why they maintain a print magazine in an increasingly digital world, the work that goes into their iconic lists, and why he thinks the global AI arms race is setting us up to repeat the mistakes of social media. ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Teaser highlights 1:24 — Welcome & introductions 1:56 — Brendan's path to Fast Company: Business Insider, The Atlantic, and the call that changed things 2:54 — What made Fast Company special from the start 4:12 — The redesign: why a design-forward brand has to walk the walk 5:21 — Going from monthly to quarterly: giving print a clear purpose 7:20 — Why Fast Company still publishes a physical magazine 8:39 — The recognition programs and why even tech giants care about being in print 10:09 — Breaking down Fast Company's revenue pie chart 12:17 — The path to growth: subscriptions, events, and the Fast Company Impact Council 13:15 — What makes an ideal Fast Company story 13:52 — The clicks problem: innovation journalism vs. internet traffic 15:39 — The lists: Most Innovative Companies, Brands That Matter, and more 16:25 — New franchise: Ignition Schools, a joint program with Inc 17:49 — David Linsky returns to Fast Company 18:36 — The Inc and Fast Company relationship: shared functions, separate editorial 20:44 — What thrills Brendan, what terrifies him: AI, traffic, and the regulatory vacuum 22:42 — Closing thoughts— 🎙️ Media Summit is a conference series that brings together editors, writers, and operators shaping the future of media. 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations from Media Summit events.

Inc. vs. Substack, Podcasts, and Group Chats, with Inc.’s Editor-In-Chief Mike Hofman

In this fireside conversation from Media Summit | NYC 2025, J.J. Colao sits down with Mike Hofman, Editor-in-Chief of Inc., to unpack how one of the most iconic founder-focused media brands is adapting to a radically different landscape. Mike started his career at Inc. as a fact-checker, left for roles at GQ and Fast Company, and returned nearly 15 years later to lead the publication as Editor-in-Chief. In this conversation, he explains what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why Inc. is increasingly focused on events, community, and direct relationships with founders. Rather than competing with other publications, Mike argues that modern business media is competing with Substack newsletters, founder podcasts, private group chats, and informal peer networks. That shift has forced a rethink of both editorial strategy and revenue models. This episode is especially relevant for: - Media operators and editors - Founders building audience-driven businesses - Investors interested in durable media models - Anyone thinking seriously about the future of journalism and entrepreneurship Topics covered include: - Why the Inc. 5000 has become the company’s marquee franchise - How events and recognition programs now drive a significant share of revenue - The role of community and membership in stabilizing media businesses - What founders want from media today—and what they ignore - How Inc. is thinking about AI, data ownership, and editorial responsibility - Why capitalism itself has become a more contested topic in founder culture ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction and Mike Hofman’s background 01:45 – What the Inc. 5000 really is and why it matters 02:56 – Why events are now a major revenue driver 03:56 – Record-breaking attendance and sponsorships explained 05:32 – Who Inc. is actually competing with today 07:38 – Substack, podcasts, and founder group chats 08:18 – Revenue mix: events, direct digital, and recognition programs 08:47 – Community and the Inc. Leadership Forum 10:24 – Returning to Inc. as Editor-in-Chief: what stayed and what changed 11:55 – Capitalism, workplace tension, and founder identity 14:43 – AI, lean companies, and what keeps Mike up at night 16:07 – Is AI a bubble, a revolution, or both? 16:29 – Closing thoughts from Media Summit | NYC 2025

Why Trust Collapsed in Media, and What Comes After, with Eric Hippeau

In this fireside conversation from Media Summit | NYC 2025, J.J. Colao sits down with Eric Hippeau, Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau and former CEO of Huffington Post and Ziff Davis, to unpack what actually broke the media business and what (if anything) can be rebuilt in its place. Eric has spent three decades operating at the intersection of journalism, technology, and capital. He’s seen media before the internet, through the rise of platforms, and now into the AI era. This conversation is less about nostalgia and more about first-principles thinking: trust, distribution, monetization, and why the old models aren’t coming back. We cover: - How media shifted from publisher-controlled distribution to platform dominance - Why trust eroded when journalism became entangled with clicks, commentary, and algorithms - Whether quality journalism still has an economic moat in a world of infinite content - Why AI will reshape media workflows, but won’t replace reporting - Whether selling content to AI companies is a real business or just a temporary add-on - What Eric learned selling Huffington Post in 2011—and why that year mattered - Where venture-scale opportunities still exist in media (and where they don’t) - What advice Eric gives to today’s media founders, Substack writers, and journalistsThis is a practical conversation for journalists, media operators, founders, and investors who want to understand how media actually works now, not how it used to work, and what role serious journalism can still play in an AI-driven world.Timestamps 00:00 — Introduction & Eric Hippeau’s media career 01:55 — How media used to work: gatekeepers, distribution, and control 03:25 — When power shifted from publishers to platforms 04:36 — Why trusted media brands lost their daily relationship with audiences 05:29 — Did publishers lose trust by chasing algorithms and clicks? 06:52 — When journalism blurred into commentary and entertainment 08:21 — Can trust be rebuilt — and by whom? 08:43 — Are there still venture-scale opportunities in media? 09:08 — Tools vs. media businesses: where investors are actually betting 10:07 — AI-produced content and the future of film, video, and production 11:29 — Are AI companies dependent on journalism’s raw material? 12:10 — Why selling content to LLMs isn’t a long-term business model 13:15 — 2011 and the decision to sell Huffington Post 15:03 — Community, moderation, and why early HuffPost worked 16:38 — When platforms took distribution — and why it never came back 17:27 — What BuzzFeed got right (and wrong) about platform distribution 18:51 — How programmatic advertising hollowed out media economics 20:25 — Why subscriptions now subsidize journalism indirectly 20:43 — Advice for media entrepreneurs and Substack writers 21:04 — Why AI must be a tool, not the product 22:27 — Final thoughts on media’s future

How Fortune Is Actually Using AI in the Newsroom with EIC Alyson Shontell

In this fireside conversation from Media Summit | NYC 2025, Alyson Shontell (Editor-in-Chief and Chief Content Officer of Fortune) sits down with Peter Kafka from Business Insider to talk candidly about what it actually takes to run a modern newsroom in the AI era. Rather than speculating about whether AI will “replace journalists,” the conversation stays grounded in practice: how AI is being used inside Fortune today, where it meaningfully helps, where it doesn’t, and why source-driven reporting and editorial judgment matter more as automation improves. Shontell walks through Fortune Intelligence, the internal team created to experiment with AI tools and why the company chose to be transparent about that work. She also explains why much of the “easy” work in media is already commoditized and why the future of journalism depends on doing the parts that can’t be automated. Some of the key ideas explored in this conversation: - Why AI should handle the easy work so journalists can focus on the hard stuff - How Fortune uses AI like a smart intern, not a writer - What “AI-generated stories” gets wrong as a framing - Why newsroom standards don’t change just because tools do - How trust, transparency, and corrections matter more in an AI world, not less - The tension between commodity content and journalism that people actually pay for - What it means when Alyson says, “Your boss reads Fortune”Watch the full fireside conversation from Media Summit | NYC 2025 and learn how one of the most influential editors in business media is navigating AI.

Who Holds the Press Accountable Now? Media Summit | NYC 2025

What happens when journalists have to cover their own industry while that industry is under political, legal, and financial pressure? At Media Summit | NYC 2025, we hosted a candid, sometimes uncomfortable conversation about the state of media reporting itself. This panel brought together Oliver Darcy (Status), Max Tani (Semafor), moderated by Hadas Gold (CNN) to unpack how journalists are navigating power, accountability, and credibility in a fragmented media landscape. This wasn’t a theoretical discussion. It was about what reporters are actually seeing (and feeling) on the ground right now. In this episode, we cover:- Why lawsuits are increasingly being used as a tool to intimidate journalists, especially independents - The “chilling effect” of hyper-involved media owners on newsroom decision-making - Why softening coverage to win skeptical audiences often backfires - What’s been lost as newsrooms eliminate ombudsmen and internal accountability roles - How independent journalists are filling gaps left by legacy institutions and where that model still breaks down - Why sticking to facts, even when they anger powerful people, is still the only defensible strategy - How media reporters decide which stories are worth the legal and professional risk The throughline is simple but urgent: A free press doesn’t just depend on brave reporters. It depends on whether they can afford to keep reporting. If you care about journalism, trust, power, or how information actually gets shaped before it reaches the public, this conversation is essential. 🎧 Watch the full Media Reporting Panel from Media Summit | NYC 2025 now.