Pressing Matters

Pressing Matters, from Big Valley Marketing, features conversations with the top influencers in B2B Technology. From Fortt Knox to Audible, the (mostly) journalists we interview on this podcast have been there for all of it – and they have thoughts on where things are going. Whether you're interested in humans, chips, cybercrime, or long-necked lutes ... welcome to Pressing Matters, presented by Big Valley Marketing.

Emilia David, Senior AI Reporter, VentureBeat

Emilia David comes from a long line of journalists. Her late mother, in fact, was a well-known and controversial Filipino political columnist. Her writing helped usher in women's reproductive rights in one of the world's most religiously conservative countries. So it was no surprise that Amelia got into journalism. Tech journalism, particularly AI, and in the United States, well, that's a much longer story. Emilia joined us to tell that story, how she uses AI to help determine what is a...

12-09
50:06

Jon Swartz, Senior Content Writer, Techstrong Group

In more than three decades covering technology, John Swartz has met a lot of people: engineers, journalists, CEOs, and he's got a story for all of them. As a student at San Jose State, he was part of a newspaper staff that was led by AP's Mike Lidke and included at least a half dozen other pioneers in tech journalism. As a reporter for 17 years at USA Today, he witnessed online advertising's slow but inevitable impact on a once major newspaper. And as a reporter today at TechStrong Group, he'...

11-18
56:05

Maribel Lopez, Founder & Principal Analyst, Lopez Research

Back when Maribel Lopez left Forrester and became an independent analyst in 2008, she was taking a great risk. Independent analysts were not the force they are today. Social media was just getting going, blogs were still in their infancy, and podcasts were still called online videos. But today, in part because of Maribel's pioneering work in the field, independent B2B tech analysts thrive. And Maribel is a great example. Yes, she still does great analysis, now largely on the AI market, ...

10-21
43:59

Third Anniversary Episode: Michael Nuñez, Editor Director, VentureBeat & Fred Vogelstein, Co-Editor and Co-Founder, CrazyStupidTech

We all know the internet has significantly impacted media's business model over the past three decades, and the conventional wisdom is that AI will do the same. Many believe it will replace reporters, lead to computer-generated news stories, increase misinformation, produce more fake news, and generally make a struggling industry even worse. But what if the opposite is true? What if AI can free up reporters' time to do the kind of deep reporting they used to do? What if AI can lead to more, n...

09-23
55:16

Allie Garfinkle, Senior Finance Reporter, Fortune

Whatever stodgy image you have in your mind of the typical finance news reporter, I guarantee it isn't Allie Garfinkle. And yet still relatively early in her career, Allie has established herself as one of the best in that business with a resume that includes Forbes, The Deal, Yahoo Finance, and of course Fortune, where she serves as senior finance reporter, co-chair of Fortune Brainstorm Tech, the lead writer for Fortune Termsheet, their VC newsletter, and now the host of the Termsheet podca...

08-19
52:01

Misadventures in Marketing: Are You Getting the Message?

This week, we're highlighting another great podcast, Misadventures in Marketing, that is produced by our friends at the American Marketing Association San Francisco (AMASF). In this, the 4th episode of Misadventures in Marketing, hosts Steve Haney and Peter Farago dive into the fun-filled world of corporate messaging, start-up style. They discuss the importance of creating a messaging house, understanding customer pain points, and the iterative nature of the process. The conversation highligh...

08-05
01:08:54

Annie Saunders, Editor, Tech Brew

Annie Saunders has been a tech journalist for several years now, but her diverse career background, local news, commodities, food, had her questioning why we'd even invite her on this show. No need to question yourself, Annie. Generalists make great tech journalists, as is evidenced by the reporting on AI, EV transportation, and climate tech for Morning Brew's Tech Brew, where Annie serves as editor. She's a lifelong Pittsburgher – seriously, it's the only place she's ever lived or...

07-22
24:32

Julie Bort, Editor, Startups & Venture Capital, TechCrunch

Julie Bort has been in tech journalism long enough to have had not one, but two tenures of 13 plus years – first at Network World and then at Business Insider, now editor of VCs and startups at TechCrunch. You might be surprised to learn that one of the most prolific voices in B2B Tech reporting nearly became a teacher, and you'll definitely be surprised to hear that she and her husband gave it a go at being scuba bums (her term) on the island of Maui. Julie joined us to talk about tech...

06-17
39:53

Jeremey Owens, Editor-in-Chief, San Francisco Business Times

Jeremy Owens just landed a new gig as the latest editor in chief of the San Francisco Business Times. In this market, that's a minor miracle. Jeremy joined us to talk about that change, his early plans for the outlet's mission, and why he thinks San Francisco is the New Orleans of the West. That's a new one for this episode of Pressing Matters from Big Valley Marketing, the podcast that brings you conversations with the top media and influencers in B2B Tech. I'm Dave Reddy, head of Big ...

05-20
45:24

Matt Kapko, Reporter, CyberScoop

Are you ready for RSA 2025? Matt Kapko of CyberScoop is, and he definitely doesn't want to hear about AI, although he and I–and everyone listening to the podcast today–all know he will. In addition to AI, Matt joined us to talk about his early days singing in a punk rock band in Orange County, his time in a string of hyperlocal newspapers, and more of what he expects from RSA for our annual conference preview episode of Pressing Matters from Big Valley Marketing, the podcast that brings you c...

04-22
32:50

Fred Vogelstein, Co-Editor and Co-Founder, CrazyStupidTech

Fred Vogelstein wanted to be a Moscow bureau chief. He did manage to get to Berlin as a student in the months after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, but he still hasn't been to Moscow. Instead, Fred became one of the most influential technology reporters of his generation, with stints at the Wall Street Journal, Wired, The Information, US News, and Fortune. Today he and fellow tech legend Oh Malik are the Co-Founders and Editors of Crazy Stupid Tech, the newsletter on innovation that's quickly b...

03-18
53:34

Catherine Sbeglia Nin, Managing Editor, RCR Wireless News

Unlike most of our previous guests, Catherine Sbeglia Nin didn't set out to be a reporter. She was a doctoral candidate in film theory. When realizing she was miserable, she figured she'd find other ways to tell stories after dipping her toes in the journalism waters. RCR Wireless, one of the magazines of record for Telco Wireless and networking, offered her a reporter job in 2019. Within three years, she was managing editor. And if you know anything about the often arcane three letter acrony...

02-18
32:41

Patrick Seitz, Senior Writer, Investor's Business Daily

It's pretty rare these days to find anyone in tech media who has been at the same outlet for a quarter century. But Patrick Seitz has been covering the fascinating world of tech, finance, and the stock market for exactly that: 25 years at Investors' Business Daily. A Chicago-area native who cut his teeth covering courts and crime, Pat switched to covering tech in Washington DC in the early nineties, and he's never looked back. He joined us on the pod recently to discuss how that city h...

01-21
37:31

Michael Krigsman, Host and Publisher, CXOTalk

Michael Krigsman doesn't call himself a journalist. Yes, he has produced 800 podcasts and videos in the past 11 years as the founder and host of CXOTalk, but he doesn't have a journalism degree or any editorial training, and his pieces are a mix of editorial and sponsored. That said, Michael does have an innate sense of story. He's not afraid to challenge a paying client to let him produce a video that's got a newsy feel to it as opposed to an advertising one. In fact, at a time when more and...

12-16
32:07

Esther Ajao, News Writer, TechTarget

At the age of eight, Esther Ajao did something braver than most of us will do in our entire lives. Having spent her early years in her native Nigeria, raised by an extended family of grandparents and uncles, Esther moved across the ocean to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother, who had moved to America when Esther was just six months old. Removed from her home and a big family that helped shield her self-proclaimed introverted personality, Esther became the classic latchkey kid – reading, watc...

11-19
35:16

Michael Nuñez, Editorial Director at VentureBeat

The path Michael Nuñez took to a seemingly straightforward gig – Editorial director at VentureBeat – was anything but direct. He covered the fun side of Hong Kong, the travel beat in Korea, and even wrote for an airline magazine in New York City after various tech writing gigs. He spent two years and change as head of marketing at a VC, but for coming on two years now, Michael has led VentureBeat, one of the most influential outlets in tech journalism. The son of an undocumented immigr...

10-22
53:17

Second Anniversary Episode: AI and Journalism

Hello everyone. We've got a very special episode for you this month as we celebrate the pod's second anniversary. Given that AI is the topic of the decade, not just in tech and journalism, but the whole wide world, we asked two of our favorite guests back to discuss where this is all going. Jennifer Strong of the Shift Podcast, who also was a Pulitzer Fellow for AI accountability. And Connie Guglielmo, the former CNET executive editor, who for nearly two years now has been its SVP of AI edit ...

09-24
49:26

Jennifer Strong, Executive Editor and Host of SHIFT Podcast

In this edition of the Pressing Matters podcast, host Dave Reddy, head of Big Valley Marketing's Media and Influencers Practice, speaks with Jennifer Strong, a seasoned podcaster who began her radio career at 12 in Tennessee. Jennifer's extensive experience includes work with NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and MIT Tech Review. Now at Shift, she produces and hosts podcasts that delve into AI and other emerging technologies, addressing their global impact and the challenges they present. In this...

08-20
34:43

Diana Goovaerts, Executive Editor at Fierce Network

Diana Goovaerts initially got into the publishing business. But frustrated by that industry’s speed - or lack thereof - she shifted to the fast-paced world of journalism, first as a local reporter in her native North Jersey and, later, in the past decade, at WirelessWeek, GSMA and now Fierce Network, where she serves as executive editor. We’re all glad she made the change. An expert on all things wireless and, more recently, the important but sometimes arcane world of cloud and data ce...

07-23
38:41

Andrew Nusca, Editorial Director at FORTUNE Brainstorm

Next month, Fortune Brainstorm Tech will once again bring together the top thinkers in tech and business in Park City, Utah. And for the first time since 2020, Andrew Nusca will be leading the show as editorial director. He promises the typical knockout conference with big-name keynotes, Olympic-level networking and panels on everything from AI to security to how to communicate with Gen Z. The son of a dance instructor and a nurse - yes, he can tap - the Philly-bred Nusca played drums in a ro...

06-25
47:21

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