Maria Bustillos on Building an Unbreakable Media Company

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03/01/21 • 31 min

Maria Bustillos is a writer and journalist whose work I’ve been following for many years — I first read her essays in The Awl, and she’s gone on to write for many other publications including The New Yorker, CJR, and Longreads. In 2016 she took on another assignment: covering the trial of Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker.
Hogan’s victory, the revelation that the lawsuit was secretly funded by billionaire VC Peter Thiel, and the shuttering of Gawker sent Bustillos on a mission: Is it possible to create a billionaire-proof media company?
That’s what she’s aiming to build with The Brick House, a cooperative of nine publications including her own site, Popula.
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Edited by Ashur Rayis
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EIL: Everything I've Learned - Maria Bustillos on Building an Unbreakable Media Company

Transcript

Maria Bustillos: It is not possible to exaggerate the danger of losing a free press. That's why I get up every day, like a bat out of hell.

[MUSIC]

Mark Armstrong: Hi, everybody. This is Everything I've Learned a podcast about lessons, mistakes, and other turning points. I'm Mark Armstrong, founder of Longreads.

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