How does Andrew Sorkin juggle DealBook, Squawk Box and Billions

TL;DR

Andrew Sorkin manages multiple high intensity roles by layering work across the day. He starts around 4:30 am, tailors content with a dealbook team overseas, and uses mornings to publish and refine DealBook before Squawk Box. He explains how the newsletter informs other projects and how the DealBook Summit evolved into a flagship forum.

Transcript

Hello acquired listeners. We are coming to you today with a very fun ACQ2 interview with our buddy Andrew Ross Sorcin. Yep. We got to know Andrew over the summer for our Radio City show where we had a delightful cameo with us and he's got a new book 1929 and he's doing a book tour and we said hey do you want to come on ACQ2 given you're doing the b... Read More

Key Insights

• DealBook is a central hub that informs and powers multiple projects, including Squawk Box and the DealBook Summit.
• Morning workflow is intentional, with last minute edits and subject line tweaks done before the day’s broadcasts begin.
• The team structure includes overseas editors who handle last-minute changes, highlighting a distributed approach to time zones and deadlines.
• Sorkin began DealBook as a daily newsletter for dealmakers and broadened it to include CEOs, regulators, and policymakers over time.
• The content strategy blends original scoops with forward-looking analysis to connect business and policy across stories.
• Sorkin values the feedback loop between newsletters and television, where each format feeds the other.
• His career path shows a move from teen entrepreneur to a leading figure in business media, emphasizing continuous learning.
• The DealBook Summit is positioned as a premier interview forum by integrating business, policy, and technology across audiences
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Questions & Answers

Q: How does Andrew describe his daily start and early morning routine?

Andrew wakes up around 4:30 am and often starts by checking emails and messages from overnight. He spends time drafting the DealBook greeting and top story, then coordinates with colleagues in Europe to finalize and push the newsletter before his day on television. This routine keeps him aligned with both editorial deadlines and live broadcasts.

Q: What roles does Andrew juggle according to the interview?

Andrew manages a mix of roles including writing the DealBook newsletter, hosting Squawk Box, co creating the TV show Billions, and running the DealBook Summit. He also authored major books and participates in various media formats, all while maintaining a core presence in news and finance through multiple channels.

Q: How did DealBook originate and evolve over time?

DealBook began as a daily newsletter aimed at dealmakers and evolved to attract CEOs, board members, regulators, and policymakers. It expanded from a morning read to a platform that connects business and policy, with the summit and other initiatives growing from the newsletter’s success.

Q: What is the relationship between the DealBook newsletter and Squawk Box?

The newsletter content informs the television segments, with last minute tweaks made by a team overseas before the show airs. Andrew uses the morning window to align the newsletter with what will appear on CNBC, creating a feedback loop where each format strengthens the other.

Q: How does Andrew describe the DealBook team and workflow?

The DealBook team includes colleagues overseas who work overnight and a copy editor who makes final changes. This enables quick iterations and last minute refinements while still delivering a strong morning message. The workflow emphasizes collaboration across time zones to meet tight deadlines.

Q: What is the core purpose of the DealBook newsletter according to Andrew?

The newsletter aims to arm readers with the most relevant information before their morning meetings, providing a concise, coherent set of stories and insights that connect business events with policy developments, enabling readers to understand the broader landscape.

Q: How did Andrew get his start at the New York Times and what early lessons did he learn?

Andrew started at 18 after an earlier high school project, the Sports Page magazine, taught him about selling ads and running a publication. He learned rookie mistakes like mispricing costs and inefficient distribution, which ultimately helped him gain entry to the New York Times and shaped his early career in media.

Q: What is the long term vision behind DealBook and its events?

DealBook’s evolution reflects a strategy to unify business reporting with policy and technology across audiences. The DealBook Summit exemplifies this vision by hosting flagship interviews that blend finance, policy, and technology into a single influential event that reaches a broad, influential audience.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Andrew Sorkin builds a multi-platform media presence by aligning his daily routines with editorial and broadcast deadlines, creating a cohesive workflow across DealBook, CNBC, and other ventures.

• The DealBook newsletter evolves beyond a daily read into a central hub that informs TV segments and other projects, while attracting a broad audience from dealmakers to CEOs and regulators.

• Sorkin’s early start and the growth of his team illustrate how a single product can expand into a media ecosystem, balancing content, events, and media partnerships.