Print Run Podcast · Erik Hane and Laura Zats

Episode 165—Private Equity, AI, and the Techification of Publishing

August 16, 2023·49 min·4 clips

Laura and Erik uncover the legendary gong, a listener gift that symbolizes their early podcast struggles.

This episode features hosts Jason and Laura discussing a significant personal move and rediscovering a key artifact from their podcast's history. The conversation shifts to analyzing the current media landscape, focusing on business and technological pressures. They examine specific corporate strategies and their broader implications for content creation. Laura reveals they are moving because her spouse impulsively purchased a new house. The process of packing led them to rediscover a listener-gifted gong, a relic from the show's early days. They recall being "bitless" new podcasters when the gong first arrived. The hosts then analyze the private equity firm Alden Global Capital and its ownership of Tribune Publishing. They detail Alden's strategy of acquiring newspapers to extract value through cost-cutting and real estate sales. The discussion cites the specific example of the Baltimore Sun's sale to a nonprofit after Alden's ownership. The conversation expands to the role of artificial intelligence in media, referencing companies like OpenAI. They explore how AI tools are being integrated into newsrooms for content generation. A surprising claim is that for some financial owners, a newspaper's primary value may lie in its real estate, not its journalism. The hosts suggest AI implementation is often less about innovation and more about further reducing operational costs. They posit that these business and technological forces are fundamentally reshaping the identity and purpose of media institutions. The rediscovery of the gong serves as a nostalgic contrast to these modern, impersonal pressures. The episode frames these trends as a convergence of financialization and automation within the industry. The tone is conversational and reflective, blending personal anecdote with industry analysis. The style is informal yet detailed, moving seamlessly from domestic stories to complex media economics. Listeners interested in the business of journalism and the impact of private equity will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a purely narrative or comedic podcast experience might find the analytical sections less engaging.

As heard by us

A house move and a revived gong frame a sharp, funny critique of a publishing AI project.

A house move, a revived listener-gifted gong, and a hard look at a publishing AI project give this conversation its shape. It opens in domestic clutter and old-show memory, then settles into a sharper point: something can be funny and still do real harm.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want moving-box chaos, copyright outrage, and one very important gong.

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