Mainstream media now reacts at the end of social news cycles
Margit Wennmachers · The Secret Marketing Strategy That Built a16z: From Zero to Legendary VC Firm · Nov 26, 2025 · at 49:32
Margit Wennmachers, long-time head of marketing at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), discusses how social media platforms like X and Reddit have replaced traditional media outlets as the starting point for public news.
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“They used to set the tone, and now they're at the very end. At the very end of all the stuff that's been said on Twitter, or Reddit, or, it eventually spills out, and then media is like, oh, what is this thing? But like, it's at the very end, right? And that, like, for media, it must be total out-of-body experience, where it's like, wait, Like I was the beginning, right? When you were to, when you were unveiling something, that's where you would go, right? And now you can go any fricking place that like you have 50,000 choices, right? And then it gets enough steam and then it gets reviewed by media almost, right? It's just that the order has flipped completely.”
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