Silicon Valley blog journalism traded access for critical scrutiny of tech elite

Evidence

Thomas thought that the rest of the business press was toothless and had failed to report on important stories; unlike them, Valley-wag was not afraid of losing access to high-status tech people. Valleywag often poked holes in press releases and puff pieces. … He told me Musk had blatantly lied about his last two companies and that in both instances he had been fired by venture capitalists before the companies were sold. Thomas viewed Musk as an egregious liar with a history of founding companies and running them into the ground, and he saw Valleywag’s reporting as a check on Musk’s hubris. He explained that it was Valleywag’s responsibility to point out when high-status individuals were being outright hypocritical: … I think you have to know that in order to judge people’s character. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 355

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader media studies debates about access journalism and the tension between insider access and critical reporting. — connects to: Outsider status enabled clearer journalistic observation — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 11
• QUESTION: Valleywag’s Musk reporting predates the far more visible critiques of Musk as CEO; curious whether Marwick’s interviewees got Musk wrong or prescient.

Broader Connections

• Outsider status enabled clearer journalistic observation #complicates (0.72) — Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky, 11