Since we met a couple of years ago, Theo Baker and I have spent a lot of time discussing one question: Who’s building the future of news? Today I get to share that he’s joining The Standard to help answer that.
Theo is one of the country’s most talked-about young journalists. As a 17-year-old freshman writing for The Stanford Daily, he uncovered research misconduct in studies bearing the name of the university’s president. The president resigned, and Baker became the youngest person ever to win a George Polk Award. He turned that experience into “ (opens in new tab)How to Rule the World (opens in new tab),” a bestselling book about power in Silicon Valley. (opens in new tab)The New York Times (opens in new tab) noted that the Valley has long cast itself as more meritocratic than the elites who came before it, and Theo’s book “perforates this story.”
At The Standard, Theo will cover the defining story of this moment: how AI is remaking everything and the people who are pushing it forward. That story runs straight through San Francisco, and we want to tell it from the inside. Theo will write a recurring reported column alongside features and scoops, with exclusive reporting and analysis you won’t find anywhere else. His (opens in new tab)recent piece in The Atlantic (opens in new tab) on Leopold Aschenbrenner is a good preview of what’s coming.
This hire says something about where The Standard is headed. Michael Moritz and I started this company on the simple belief that San Francisco is a world-class city, and what gets decided and created here shapes the future of the planet. A city like this deserves a publication that is equally ambitious. We’re building a newsroom that reports the biggest stories of our time from the place where they begin, for readers here and around the world. I’m delighted that Theo is joining our team on that journey.
Theo will work directly with Elizabeth Ralph, who joined The Standard this year after helping to launch and later leading Politico Magazine, and who is expanding our coverage of ideas and opinion.
— Griffin
Since I joined to lead The Standard’s ideas and opinion section, I’ve learned that plenty of people have opinions about Silicon Valley. Far fewer dig into the technology, scrutinize the documents, and talk to the people making decisions to figure out what’s actually going on. Theo will be doing exactly that.
The Standard is built around a conviction that the questions shaping San Francisco and Silicon Valley are increasingly shaping the world. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the field of AI. Theo’s reported columns — in addition to his longer features and shorter scoops — will be essential reading for anyone trying to understand the technology and the people and companies pushing it forward. This is a massive story — one that’s about money, ambition, power, culture, and the future of society. We’re thrilled to have someone as ambitious as Theo tackling it for us.
— Elizabeth
Please join us in welcoming Theo. You can subscribe to Theo’s writing at sfstandard.com/theo.