Stanford’s star reporter understands Silicon Valley’s startup culture

Theo Baker is really extreme.

While journalism as a major has seen enrollment declines for years and is actually shrinking it fell from some schools entirely, Baker, a senior at Stanford University, has doubled down on old-school investigative reporting and is delivering spectacularly.

Baker first made headlines as a college freshman when his reporting for The Stanford Daily led to the resignation of Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. After uncovering allegations of two decades of investigative misconduct, Baker – just a month into college – found himself “receiving anonymous letters, conducting screenings and tracking down confidential sources.” according to his publisher. Meanwhile, powerful lawyers tried to discredit his work. By the end of the year, Tessier-Lavigne had resigned and Baker became the youngest recipient of the George Polk Award, one of journalism’s most prestigious honors.

Not long after, Warner Bros. and famed producer Amy Pascal won one competitive bidding for the film rights to his story.

But if this scandal puts Baker on the map, his upcoming book may cement his reputation as the rare young journalist willing to challenge the Silicon Valley startup machine.

“How to Rule the World,” out May 19 — three weeks before he graduates — promises an explosive look at how venture capitalists treat Stanford students as a “commodity,” luring favored undergraduates with slush funds, shell companies, yacht parties and funding offers before they even have business ideas in pursuit of the next trill.

“I watched in real time my peers being taught to cut corners and have huge fortunes from people who wanted to exploit their talent,” said Baker, who turns 21 next month. Axios says. Based on more than 250 interviews with students, CEOs, VCs, Nobel laureates and three Stanford presidents, the book aims to expose what Baker describes to Axios as a “strange, money-soaked subculture that has so much influence on the rest of the world.”

It’s perhaps an unsurprising move from someone who grew up around top journalists. His father is New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker, and his mother is Susan Glasser of the New Yorker. While his peers are chasing venture capital funding and six-figure startup salaries, Baker spent his sophomore year reporting and took his junior year off to write, including two months at the Yaddo writers’ retreat.

This choice becomes even more striking in the context of today’s journalism struggles. While traditional journalism programs fail to fill classrooms and media outlets face seemingly relentless layoffs, Baker represents something exciting and increasingly unusual: a star student staking his career on accountability journalism. Whether he’s a harbinger of renewed interest in investigative reporting remains to be seen, but we’re guessing his book will grab the attention of many students—and almost certainly make waves in Silicon Valley while doing so.