Steve O'Hear of TechCrunch: the Future of Media & lessons from Entrepreneurship

The Balderton Podcast: Tech Investment | Venture Capital | Startup Funding

Steve O’Hear is best known as a technology journalist, currently at TechCrunch where he focuses on European startups, companies and products. Steve joined TechCrunch in November 2009 as Contributing Editor for TechCrunch Europe, where he worked alongside Editor Mike Butcher to help build TechCrunch’s coverage in the continent. In June 2011, Steve took a break from journalism to co-found the London and Prague-based startup Beepl. In his role as CEO, he helped the company raise its first VC round, along with seeing the Question & Answer site through development, private alpha and a high profile public launch. Steve joins Ben Goldsmith to talk about the future of journalism, and whether being an entrepreneur helped Steve to be a better journalist. 0055 Steve talks about why he left journalism in 2009 in order to become the cofounder of a startup… 0300 Steve talks about what it was about Beepl that was so tempting it lured him away from journalism 0430 Did Beepl fail? 0735 The big question: has being an entrepreneur helped Steve to become a better journo 0940 Steve explains why the VC fundraising process necessities a conflict of interest on part of the entrepreneurs raising the money 1230 In the modern age of journalism, will the strict line between church and state (editorial and money-making) move? 1630 Would Steve work for a publication that pays a journalist based on how many clicks they receive? 1855 Steve talks about the kind of journalism that the internet is killing 2030 Clickbait is overhyped: it has always existed; just it used to be only available in print. 2130 So called ‘content creators’ are everywhere. Will this deluge of content ever render the journalist extinct? 2320 Steve talks about how he covers news 2600 Even though social media allows journalists to build personal profiles, they are rarely bigger than the publication they write for. 2830 White, male, middle class… the internet has democratised journalism at the entry level. 2900 Big shoutout for Harry Stebbings and the 20VC!