The Continued Rise of New Media: Alex Heath on Sources, podcasting, and pitching

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! As we settle back in, I’m pleased to share this interview with Alex Heath, founder of the Substack Sources and co-host of the Access podcast.

Alex’s career is remarkable – from reporting at The Verge and running the Command Line newsletter to his work at The Information, Business Insider, and other outlets breaking news about all the top tech companies. We caught up fresh off the NYC launch party for his new independent newsletter, Sources, to talk about what’s ahead for the new media company he’s building.

You’ll find the full transcript of our conversation below, but if you’re short on time, don’t miss our “Dialed-in Snapshot” for the can’t-miss highlights.

Dialed-in Snapshot:

• Is the new, best path for everyone to become independent? Alex believes this career path won't be for all up-and-coming journalists, due to the financial and career risks associated with being independent. He does anticipate a shift where new graduates will look to new media for jobs, rather than vying for the few opportunities at legacy outlets.
• Benefits of being “Alltogether”: Sources is part of Altogether, a new collective of independent journalists, including Alex, Alex Konrad, Casey Newton, Alex Kantrowitz, and Mosheh O., founded by AJ Frucci. Altogether bundles the scale of the collective to secure larger advertising budgets from major ad holding companies.
• Why Alex wants “good hangs” on the Access podcast: Alex and Ellis Hamburger are two friends with complementary backgrounds who started a podcast in partnership with Vox Media. If you haven’t tuned in, the banter between them is great. In terms of guests, they’re looking for “good hangs” with tech leaders. Their initial guest list has included Mark Zuckerberg, Dylan Field, Vlad Tenev, and more.
• Look out for Alex this year at CES, the World Economic Forum, SXSW, and other top tech events this year. He sees live events as a big part of his business and plans to hit the pavement in 2026.

• Pitching Sources?: Do your homework. He wants PR people to understand the spaces he covers and show why your executive should be in the mix with some of the most influential technology leaders today. Curveballs are appreciated, but do your research.

• More on being a “good hang”: Based on feedback from listeners, the best-received interviews are those where guests are authentic and vulnerable, not just delivering "talking points." Alex and Ellis want more of this in 2026.

• AI predictions for 2026:

• The collective conversation will focus more on world models (3D models that understand 3D spaces, controlling robotics, and agents).
• The gap between ChatGPT and alternatives will narrow.
• Sam Altman is predicted to no longer be the CEO of OpenAI this time next year.

I like to ask everyone who’s taken this path: Why start Sources now? Was there a moment or thought that sparked it for you? Were there any hesitations or fears?

[Starting Sources] is something I've been thinking about for a long time. So many of my friends have gone independent, and none of them have regretted it. I also knew how much fun it would be to start something of my own.

I’ve spent my career covering entrepreneurs who have founded tech companies. I thought, well, why not just give this a shot myself?

There was never going to be a perfect time to launch Sources. So, why not just do it? And also, things are moving so quickly with AI and what I cover. It's a very consequential time. I knew I wanted to build this and grow this during this time. It couldn’t wait.

Seeing so many of your friends and peers be successful. Did that give you additional confidence?

Yes. Over the years, all of them have told me that, to their credit, they have more freedom, feel more creatively fulfilled, and make more money.

I know it’s a grind. And it’s not just about the content. It’s about the business. I’ve had to think more holistically than I did when I was part of a newsroom. To be successful, you really need a voice, brand, and platform that stand out. That’s very difficult to cold start if you’re not a known entity.

Everyone is increasingly realizing that you can own that platform. There's definitely a sense of everyone saying, “Come on in the water, the water is warm.” It’s not easy, but it’s warmer.

I’m working more than I’ve ever worked, but it’s so rewarding.

Curious to get your take on this. Do you think legacy media will be leveraged as a pathway for independent journalism? Will up-and-comers use legacy media to build an audience and brand, then move on?

I’m not sure it becomes “the path” for most people. Most people don’t have the risk appetite to do what I and others have accomplished. Or, frankly, the ability.

I’m incredibly fortunate. My wife is the ultimate support system. Not everyone is in a position to take the kind of career risk or financial risk that comes with it.

Many people also still want to be part of a newsroom and team. They want to report and write. That’s why they got into this career path in the first place.

What I do envision happening, though, is that people coming out of school will increasingly look to some of these new brands to start their careers. They’ll just have more options. It won’t be that you have to go to one of the five (or so) New York media institutions that were always the path to a successful career. Those places are competitive, they only have a few spots, and you're low on the totem pole.

We're in this great unbundling phase in media, where people are going independent. It's like the history of media; if you study it, it just goes back and forth.

Can you talk about your relationship with the new collective? I thought that was such a huge move. An explanation may be helpful for those unfamiliar with it.

Altogether is a new collective of independent journalists, like myself. AJ Frucci is the founder. He worked at Axios, Vox, and Puck. AJ has incredible experience in this space.

His idea, as he explained it to me, is to bundle together independent journalists who don't have the scale of a large website and use that combined scale to open doors with the larger ad holding companies and brands. Basically, we’re all stronger together than we are on our own.

AJ handles the advertising. We're both incentivized to grow ad revenue as quickly as possible while maintaining a high-touch approach. I want my audience to feel respected by me through ads that aren’t super intrusive or low-quality. I really prize my editorial independence, which AJ helps ensure by handling conversations with sponsors.

It's great because he lets me focus on what I want to do, which is the work.

What’s one piece of advice you got while you were in the process of launching Sources?

Trust yourself. You didn't leave and start your own thing so someone else could tell you how they think you should do what you do.

You know, it's lonely. There’s a responsibility and weight with it. I still have to repeat it – trust yourself. That's what I'm trying to practice.

You launched Access around the same time with your co-host, Ellis. How are you enjoying that? Between the show and Sources, do you feel pressure to produce content?

Access didn't start because I had some creative idea for a podcast. I see podcasting as an essential medium for reaching my audience. I did a lot of podcasting at The Verge and Vox Media for different shows, and I always enjoyed that form of expression.

I've always known I wanted my own show, but I didn't want to do it by myself. I didn't want to do just another interview or solo show.

Ellis Hamburger and I have known each other for a long time. He's a former tech journalist. We've almost overlapped several times in our careers.

Ellis also has a unique story because he went into tech. Ellis worked at Snap Inc. and The Browser Company. He’s now consulting for the buzziest AI startups with Meaning. Ellis just has a really unique vantage point on this space we cover. Not to mention, we’re friends.

Our goal for the podcast was to make it smart and insider-y. But we also want to give listeners a good hang. That comes with having great guests. Those guests, so far, have been big-name CEOs. Over time, though, you'll see a lot of surprising guests that you may not be familiar with or you’ll see in a different light. We’re actually about to have our 2026 strategy planning. 

Access is a nice complement to Sources. Sources is meant to be more scoopy, but with the pod, we just want to have a conversation. We want our guests to be a good hang for the listeners and us.

Tell me more about your planning session this afternoon. Anything you can preview?

We just did our first live show with Google Ventures. We definitely want to do more of that next year. We’ll discuss the opportunities and decide where we should lean in.

There’s also our recording setup. Do we move to an in-person show? Currently, we're recording virtually. Do we move to a studio? Logistically, how would that work?

Then, we’ll talk about the future – how do we want to evolve the show? Do we want it to have the same feel? It’s our chance to review the data and see what’s working and not.

You’ve already landed several high-profile guests and interviews. What do readers need to know before pitching their executive? Equally as valuable, have you had a favorite interview so far, and why?

Look at what I’ve done before. There are so many pitches I get that make clear the person has not looked at the kind of guests I've had on and interviewed. Also, look at the caliber of them.

I do want curveballs. I want to be surprised and to have opportunities to meet individuals I wouldn’t have thought of. But the bar is high. I’ve published Q&A interviews with people like:

• Greg Brockman, the co-founder and president of OpenAI
• Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind
• Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify

That’s not to say I wouldn't publish a Q&A with your startup founder. But that's the caliber that you're up against. Think hard about how you’re going to stand out. I have a finite bandwidth to interview everyone, so I need to be selective.

If you study my work, you can see through-lines, including the prediction markets and the consumer chatbot race. Leaning into those spaces will increase your chances as well.

Have you had a favorite interview so far, and what made it your favorite?

You know. It’s funny. We’ve had Mark Zuckerberg and Dylan Field on Access. Big, big, big names in technology. The podcast that we received the most feedback on was our interview with Raiza Martin. She’s the founder of an AI audio startup called Huxe. She led the vision and development of NotebookLM at Google.

Raiza really opened up to us on the podcast about her personal journey as an entrepreneur and the advice her husband has given her along the way. She was vulnerable about going out on her own, and being personal really resonates with listeners, especially in a podcast form. Authenticity is important.

We have public CEOs come on all the time who have their talking points, and it’s really challenging to get them off-script. No one wants to hear about the last earnings call.

That factor will influence how we book in the future. We're actually going to start booking people who are not those kinds of interviewees. Because those are just better conversations. Before you pitch us for Access, consider if your executive can be a good hang.

How was the first live show? Are there plans to do more in the future? Could we see you and Ellis at some vendor user events in the future, recording the show?

We’re looking at CES, SXSW, and the other big tech conferences. Vox has been a great partner for that, especially getting us to SXSW. The goal is to do live shows with Access to engage with our audience.

I’m also planning to do some Sources Live events next year. I’ll be at Davos.

On Access, we don't want it to be just an interview show. The best shows have a parasocial connection between the host(s) and the audience. You need to be sharing things about your life. You need to comment on topics in an entertaining and relatable way for listeners, while also being informative.

Do you have predictions for AI in 2026 and beyond?

I think we’re all, collectively, going to talk a lot more about world models in 2026. LLMs are still, obviously, very important, and will continue to be so. But I believe the conversation will shift toward 3D models that understand 3D and can therefore control robotics and agents in 3D spaces.

ChatGPT will remain the dominant consumer chatbot platform, but the gap between ChatGPT and alternatives will close. I don’t see them being the far-and-away leaders in 2026.

Sam Altman will not be the CEO of OpenAI this time next year. I'm not saying he won't still be with the company, but I’d bet that he won't have the CEO title.

Getting to chop it up on the future of AI with Ron Miller and Alex has been two incredible experiences, and I hope, just as valuable for you, the reader. So much so that in the coming weeks, I plan to publish a predictions blog, featuring takes from more of your favorite reporters. Be on the lookout for it.