Web3 Breakdowns Ep 68 - Frank Chaparro - A Peek into Web3 Journalism
Primer: How does Frank Chaparro select what news stories to cover? How is Crypto Twitter a source of information? What are his thoughts on traditional media? Let’s dive in together in this episode of Web3 Breakdowns.
Biggest Scoops He Covered
Can be broken down into 2 categories:
Stories where you have to pick a lot of different threads to get the final story
Stories with the most impact
Example of the former category:
An ICO project called Blockchain Terminal, centered around Shaun McDonald
Shaun changed his name, and hairstyle, and had some form of facial reconstruction surgery
He raised $30 million via ICO building a half-real product
Example of the latter category: Full list of Libra partners
“It was really core to our DNA to break really big stories and get them out there right so early on.”
- Frank Chaparro
Process Of Choosing What To Write On
Their stories go through multiple editing layers
In the process of reporting, you would want to have several sources with direct knowledge of the matter that is being reported
If you have done it for a long enough time, you would have seen similar tropes playing out before:
Institutional exchanges going nowhere
New algorithmic stablecoin
Crypto Twitter As A Source Of Information
Might be disconcerting to a new journalist entering the space
It involves building relationships:
In many cases, Crypto Twitter serves as the first tip
However, you cannot go off on a random tip
Crypto information flows more freely than other markets
Being a crypto-journalist is entertaining and lively
“You really need to almost think that like every day could be April Fool's Day where people are trying to pull the wool over your eye.”
- Frank Chaparro
Building Relationships
When the space was smaller and during bear markets, there is a sense of camaraderie
As long as you establish an understanding of the terms of engagement, you would be fine
His job is to sit between market participants and the market itself and to shine upon things that people need to know
Can result in some uncomfortable situations during reporting when you don’t position people in the best possible light
Thoughts On The FTX Story
Good lesson to be sharp in looking for red flags and not let your guard down
When he did the FTX story, he did ask a lot of the important questions
His own verdict is that he could have been a bit tougher and less memey
Balancing Congeniality VS A Hard-Nosed Journalist
An online presence that is light and entertaining opens the door to asking tough questions
FTX moved so fast that it was difficult to pick up the red flags
Sam did a good job of opining on anything, creating an illusion of transparency that made people feel comfortable with him
Reacting To The FTX News
FTX sprung out of Alameda
There were different stories and claims about the Alameda balance sheet
At that time, they wrote a story diving into these claims
After a few days, everything came to light and all the pieces fell into place
The Block’s Wikipedia Page: 10 Years Later
It would highlight what they have built, which is the preeminent source of data, news, and research in the space
Hopefully, it would include a whole long list of investigative pieces that they have written
This Bear Market VS Other Previous Bear Markets
In 2017, the white papers were emblematic of the froth of the market
This bear market is more insidious as regulators have been antagonized
Will take a while to rebuild
There’s an upcoming firm/market maker that is doing a lot of wash trading and artificial volume
Need to think of ways to self-regulate or implement standards before regulators step in
Interaction Between Traditional Media And Crypto Media
The job of the media is to present multiple sides of a story
The mainstream media takes an approach where it calls into question the relevance or efficacy of crypto in general
These negative narratives get repeated again and again, bogging down various news items
For example, the narrative that crypto is unregulated. However, most firms operating in the US have money transmitter licenses and are regulated
Another narrative is the ESG narrative. There are hundreds of cryptos that do not take up much energy as Bitcoin
On Elizabeth Warren
She is in the investor protection maxi camp
Thinks that she does not see the benefit of what crypto can do and is only looking at the drawbacks
Years ago, she went after Wells Fargo’s unfair banking practices
It seems weird to Frank that Elizabeth Warren has railed against banks and their unnecessary fees and still does not see the benefit of crypto
The Block
People think of them just as a news service
They have a research component that is a separate business
They have a data team
Process And Preparation For Their Podcast
Have experts who focus on specific topics on a day-to-day basis
He would interview the teammate who is an expert on a topic before interviewing the actual person who is coming on the show
Most Excited About
Over the next 6 months: Starting a newsletter
Over the next 6 years: Growing what he does bigger
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