> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.sailiconvalley.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Silicon Valley culture critic Theo Baker scored a new gig at the SF Standard. Is this another example of legacy media being left behind? - URL: https://www.sailiconvalley.com/silicon-valley-culture-critic-theo-baker-scored-a-new-gig-at-the-sf-standard-is-this-another-example-of-legacy-media-being-left-behind/ - Published: 2026-10-20T19:23:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-06T16:50:13.000Z - Author: Tony Gilbert - Tags: Ideas All eyes are on Northern California. And why not? Bay Area-headquartered companies represent 35% of the world's top 100 companies by market cap ($18.7 trillion), according to a report by [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/the-next-gold-rush-how-the-bay-area-can-keep-its-edge-in-the-ai-era?ref=sailiconvalley.com#/). When the local economy is that hot, you'd expect big news coverage. National and East Coast platforms like The Wall Street Journal and AP have reporters dedicated solely to the Silicon Valley beat, competing for stories against the local and established legacy news platforms like the San Francisco Chronicle (1865) and San Jose Mercury News (1851). Then there's the many online-first upstart magazines and niche news sites that set up shop to cover Silicon Valley and San Francisco – think [California Post](https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/news-corp-is-launching-the-california-post-a-west-coast-version-of-its-nyc-tabloid/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2026 West Coast satellite of the NY Post), [Underscore\_SF](https://underscoresf.com/about-us/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2022) [San Francisco Standard](https://sfstandard.com/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2021), [48 Hills](https://48hills.org/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2013), [The Bold Italic](https://www.thebolditalic.com/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2009), [Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2008), [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2005), and [SFist](https://sfist.com/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (2004). Once ignored, online-first magazines are winning the news wars, it seems, in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. As many readers prefer the fresh perspectives and relevance of these digital platforms, the legacy papers of the Bay Area are falling behind (or *fell* behind, a long time ago). Consider this: According to the [Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard](https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/how-did-newspapers-in-places-like-harrisburg-birmingham-and-syracuse-become-some-of-americas-most-read-online/?ref=sailiconvalley.com), places like Central Pennsylvania and Central Alabama have hometown papers with higher readerships than San Francisco or San Jose, with Harrisburg’s PennLive ranked 4th in the nation and Birmingham’s AL.com ranked 6th, each with *millions more* readers than the Chronicle (ranked 16th), and Mercury News (ranked 19th). Meanwhile, the online-based San Francisco Standard claims to reach “[over one million](https://sfstandard.com/about/?ref=sailiconvalley.com)” readers monthly to the Chronicle’s [7.4 million](https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/how-did-newspapers-in-places-like-harrisburg-birmingham-and-syracuse-become-some-of-americas-most-read-online/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) (not bad, considering the Chronicle had a head start of 156 years). Which brings us to the new hire making a splash this week. The San Francisco Standard [announced](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/14/theo-baker-joins-standard-ai-coverage/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) that Theo Baker would be joining its staff to cover Silicon Valley startup news, including “AI and the people building it.” The reason this is especially relevant to anyone interested in startup news and Silicon Valley culture is that Baker’s hiring demonstrates that the SF Standard is more attuned and plugged in to local culture than its counterparts in legacy media. (It also helps that SF Standard's backers have [deep pockets](https://underscoresf.com/billionaire-funded-san-francisco-publication-quietly-puts-content-behind-paywall-starts-subscription-model/?ref=sailiconvalley.com) from a fortune earned through the venture firm Sequoia Capital). If you aren’t familiar with Theo Baker, he had already made a name for himself as a journalist when he was still only a 17-year-old college freshman. Working for the Stanford student paper in 2022, Baker’s [investigation](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/student-journalist-discusses-reporting-that-led-to-stanford-presidents-resignation?ref=sailiconvalley.com) of alleged research misconduct and data manipulation led to the resignation of the school’s president. By 2026 at age 21, Baker made The New York Times bestseller list with the publication of his book, [*How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University*](https://theobaker.info/book?ref=sailiconvalley.com) “Slush funds. Shell companies. Yacht parties. This is life for Silicon Valley’s favored teenagers” -- how could you not be intrigued by a book promo like that? Also this year, he wrote his first article for The Atlantic that was independent of his Stanford story (“[The 24-Year-Old Who Lost Billions](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/09/aschenbrenner-ai-future/688493/?ref=sailiconvalley.com)”). And if a journalist requires the audacity to ask difficult questions, no one is claiming that Baker is lacking there (his peers in education journalism recently ran this headline, quote: “‘[Theo Baker Is a F\*\*king Menace!](https://www.chronicle.com/article/theo-baker-is-a-f-king-menace?ref=sailiconvalley.com)’”). Digital journalism has come a long way since the days when Garrett Graff was the [first blogger to be granted a White House press pass](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/washington/media-white-house-approves-pass-for-blogger.html?ref=sailiconvalley.com). Baker’s hiring will turn heads, as it was probably intended to do, and this will be seen as a big win for online media. But what else would you expect from an outlet covering the epicenter of startup spirit? We’re looking forward to reading what Theo Baker writes next. --- Post Script: For a fascinating look at early online news, check out this story from [Vox](https://www.vox.com/2014/9/25/6840401/innovation-can-take-a-lot-longer-than-people-think?ref=sailiconvalley.com), "*Newspapers weren’t late to online news — they were way too early,*" and this [post](https://x.com/NYTArchives/status/514851827913723904?s=20&ref=sailiconvalley.com) from a 1980 article in [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/1980/07/07/archives/first-us-experiments-in-electronic-newspapers-begin-in-two.html?ref=sailiconvalley.com): "*First US Experiments in Electronic Newspapers Begin in Two Communities*." --- **Like stories like this? 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