Episode 21: Inside the M&A Press with Bloomberg's Alex Sherman

Ben and David go inside the M&A press with Bloomberg’s
technology M&A reporter and host of the Deal of the Week
Podcast, Alex Sherman. If you’ve ever wondered how stories about
big deals get broken or what “according to people familiar with
the matter” really means, tune in for the behind-the-scenes
scoop!   Note: A technical glitch with our recording
setup created occasional short silences between Alex’s comments
and Ben & David’s. It shouldn’t impact listenability, but we
apologize for the awkward pauses!
 


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Topics covered include: 

Bloomberg’s own fascinating “history & facts” and origins
following the acquisition of storied Wall Street firm Salomon
Brothers 

Bloomberg’s core as a highly profitable technology business
(selling terminals to Wall Street firms), with a large media
empire built on top of it

The tradable value of breaking M&A news & information
to Bloomberg’s terminal customers, and competing on speed

How “sources" work — and industry standard that sources be
directly within the companies involved in a deal

The coded language of M&A reporting and gleaning where
information is coming from based on a story’s structure and
phrasing

The lifecycle of a story—steps from sourcing to writing to
release, and reasons (or lack thereof) for why stories run when
they do

Internal & external PR resources companies use for
M&A 

How Alex prioritizes his time researching and creating
stories, and who he’s meeting with to hear about what deals are
in the works 

The difference between ‘news' and ‘analysis', and why news
dominates the majority of stories versus deeper analysis

Media and social media business models, their evolution in
the messenger world, and speculation on Twitter’s future

How entrepreneurs can think about interacting with the press
and building relationships with the right reporters for their
stage and space

Apple’s ‘unique’ approach to press relations 



  Followups: 


Instagram announces 500k+ active advertisers, up from 200k in
February 2016

 Amazon stock price surpasses $800/share



  Hot Takes: 


 Ford acquires Chariot 

The Yahoo! data breach and  potential impact on their
acquisition by Verizon 



  The Carve Out: 


Ben: Phil of Drones’ Burning Man 2016 recap video

David:  Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian &
Tom Griffiths 

Alex:  Clinton’s Samantha Bee Problem, by Ross Douthat
in the NYT Opinion Pages