business of media

Popularity is not always a measure of merit, and, in any case, it is not static. What people click—and what they think they like—is largely a matter of what is available to them. Publics are made and maintained, not discovered preformed, like rock formations.

A newspaper is—or ought to be—the opposite of an algorithm, a bastion of enlightened generalism in an era of hyperspecialization and personalized marketing. It assumes that there is a range of subjects an educated reader ought to know about, whether she knows that she ought to know about them or not. Maybe she would prefer to scroll through the... See more

Although influencers are still closely associated with dance videos, e-commerce, and marketing, their role in shaping public opinion- especially around politics-is outsized. Influencers can harness attention, radiate trust, evoke emotion, and direct energy—all to great effect. They capitalize on atmospheric vibes and intuitions, giving people the

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The overall digital environment is dictated by tech companies with ruthlessly capitalist, expansionary motives, which do not provide the most fertile ground for culture. While the magazine fashion editor may periodically use their ability to pick out and promote a previously unheard voice, the algorithmic feed never will; it can only iterate on

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These opinion leaders shared several attributes: they were personable and likable, were perceived as knowledgeable and competent, and were well connected. They served as information intermediaries, interpreters, who informed their community of the things they found out and, in doing so, served as opinion shapers for a trusting audience.

Invisible

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When thinking about where content goes, ask yourself: Are any potential gains in distribution worth the potential losses in control over what you own?

At the heart of this transformation, perhaps, is the reality that news media at scale may have been a collective fiction. In the platform age, consumers create their own content mixes, usually based on trusted or affinity-aligned sources. The very notion of a newsroom —a one-stop, always-on bodega of information spanning politics to sports, manned... See more

It is, in fact, objectivity’s self-appointed defenders themselves who have led its erosion. Rather than emphasize a fair reporting process , they focused obsessively on the appearanceand performanceof supposed personal objectivity, wielding the term to police personal expression—not journalistic work—in both public and private contexts. Their north... See more