The New Rules of Media | Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz

June 20, 2026

1:14

The New Rules of Media | Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz

Imagine a world where traditional media is no longer in charge — it's the creators and founders now shaping how we communicate. At the New Media Summit, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, along with Erik Torenberg and Gaby Goldberg, unpacked how the internet has flipped the script. Instead of relying on legacy outlets, brands and leaders are building direct lines to their audiences through podcasts, social media, and storytelling. According to Andreessen, authenticity is now the ultimate currency — people crave real, unfiltered voices. Gaby Goldberg points out that this shift lets founders craft their personal brands and develop influence without gatekeepers, making communication more decentralized than ever. But here’s the thing — if you want to stand out, you’ve gotta get comfortable sharing your voice directly, not through a journalist or a big outlet. Content+a16zpodcast@a16z.com emphasizes that in this new era, influence isn’t just about what you say but how you connect. That shift is subtle now, but it’s exactly the kind of signal that’s shaping the next wave of media innovation.

Recorded live at the New Media Summit, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Erik Torenberg, and Gaby Goldberg discuss how media, communication, and influence are changing in the internet era.

The conversation explores the shift from legacy media to creator-led platforms, why authenticity has become a competitive advantage, and how founders can build audiences by communicating directly with customers, employees, and the public. They discuss podcasts, social media, storytelling, corporate communications, and the changing relationship between companies, journalists, and audiences.

Along the way, they examine how founders can develop a public voice, why some leaders become influential communicators, and what it means to build a brand in a world where distribution is increasingly decentralized.

Resources:

Follow Marc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarca

Follow Ben Horowitz on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz

Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Follow Gaby Goldberg on X: https://x.com/gaby_goldberg

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Audio Transcript