Publishers see the writing on the wall for traffic-based models and are instead looking to experiential gatherings that bring together communities. We discuss why events are becoming media’s new moat, the tensions that come with building them, and what happens when AI agents begin acting on their own.
Plus: the hypocrisy of closed AI models, Coca-Cola’s Marlboro moment, and why the collapse of the media career ladder is forcing a generation of experienced executives to become free agents.
Chapters:
00:00 Open
00:29 Welcome
04:08 What Makes Events Great
15:58 Media Turns To Community
29:25 OpenAI Agent Breakout
37:17 Coke Rebrand
43:23 Zaslav Buys Summer Camp
46:58 Gen X Career Compression
58:21 Guardian Model and Substack Anti AI
01:01:58 Why Video Aggregation Fails
01:04:00 Publishers vs Google Threats
01:07:06 Good Product
01:15:41 Credits
