Oct 6, 2026 · 1h 15m
404 Media tests independent journalism against AI and data-center power
404 Media Live! The Three Year Anniversary Show
The anniversary event examines how a reader-supported newsroom can grow, report deeply, and organize communities without making AI its operating model.
- 1404 Media links its growth to reader support, physical media, video, and reporting-first experimentation.
- 2Audience questions turn bleak coverage into a case for hyperlocal investigations and stronger community ties.
- 3Jason Koebler describes residents building cross-partisan resistance to data-center noise and environmental costs.
Don't miss
Becky Ferreira’s live science showcase turns bizarre cases—including affectionate bats, exploding orcas, and bone-collecting caterpillars—into a portrait of scientific weirdness.
The brief
404 Media’s third-anniversary event looks back at reporting on AI-generated abuse, AI psychosis, surveillance, Flock cameras, and workplace automation while asking how an independent newsroom should grow.
The hosts argue that innovation need not mean adopting AI: reader support, physical media, video, and audience engagement can expand journalism while keeping reporting first.
Audience questions widen the frame to mental health, sourcing, automated baseball calls, and the value of hyperlocal investigations when national news feels overwhelming.
Becky Ferreira brings a comic, unsettling science showcase, from a crab trapped in a wine bottle to affectionate bats, bone-collecting caterpillars, and a mysterious deep-sea structure.
Jason Koebler closes the substantive discussion with data-center resistance, describing residents in Texas and elsewhere sharing information and organizing across political lines.
Books & mentions
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