“Campaign in poetry; govern in prose,” the old adage goes. This moment, though, has in many ways flipped that idea: The 2016 presidential campaign was decidedly lacking in poetry. Yet in its aftermath, as Americans consider the contours of their new government, they are, often, turning to poems: to Cope and her gallows humor.
Category: AUDIENCE
Big Cuts Coming In The New York Times Arts Coverage?
“The revamped Arts front page will have no more than three stories (there now are sometimes as many as six) anchored by an oversize photograph, according to sources who have been apprised of the changes. (Today’s Arts section is a good example of what the section will more typically look like.) Critics have been urged to stop covering events least likely to appeal to online subscribers: indie movies having brief runs in art houses; one-night-only concerts, off- and off-off-Broadway shows that aren’t star-driven, cabaret performances, and small art galleries. Many of the Times‘ contingent of freelance contributors, who provide much of that coverage, are likely to meet the same fate as the regional freelancers last summer. But even staff critics have been given the same marching orders, telling Deadline they are being pressured more frequently by editors to focus on higher-profile events.”
TV Industry Struggles To Figure Out Who’s Watching What (Why That’s Important)
“If Netflix or Amazon can control how our perception of how popular a TV show is – how many people are watching it – that controls the TV industry. So that controls what kind of shows the viewer ultimately gets to see. Right? And there’s other people, actors and producers, they want to get paid. And they also want people to recognize that they’re creating shows that are popular.”
Uncertainty Can Be A Tool Of Persuasion
“In fact, persuasion research reveals that in some situations people can make their own message more persuasive by explicitly noting that they are unsure about what they’re saying!” Especially if the person saying it is an expert.
What We Need In Scary Times Like These Are Our Favorite Old Shows/Movies/Records
Peter Marks: “In an age of high anxiety – economic or political – we tend to reach into the cabinet of our comforts and scrounge for reminders of stabler periods. So now, it seems, is prime time for nostalgia. As a relatively popular presidency, and the most vulgar and corrosive national election of modern times, both wind down, a nation looks for reassuring signs – and often finds them in the rearview mirror.”
TV Companies Try To Win Back Cord-Cutting Millennials With Their Favorite ’80s And ’90s Shows
“‘In a weird way, the strategy seems to write itself: Like, huh, we have all this stuff, we already own, it, people seem to want it,’ [MTV exec Erik] Flannigan says of MTV Classic. It helps, of course, that MTV’s vintage programming, for many millennials, coincides with ‘that window of your life that’s so formative and so meaningful.'”
When Celebs We Love Make Tweets Or Videos Or Facebook Posts We Hate
In today’s media climate, Oscar Wilde was right: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” Which means that famous people who want to remain famous must constantly create new content of some sort to talk about. That means a lot of chances for fallible human beings to make mistakes.
Is The Cult Film On The Way To Going Extinct?
“In today’s fragmented, ever-churning pop culture ecosystem, the long tail of home video that once gave oddball movies a shot at a glorious cult afterlife has shortened to the point of vanishing. With even big-budget commercial films often struggling to break through the endless clutter of content, the challenge for smaller, quirkier fare is that much harder.”
How Do You Get Audience Data That Matters? (Some Suggestions From Someone Who’s Been Doing It)
“The difference in data collection priorities is not simply a qualitative versus quantitative debate, as one of the shared areas of interest for organisers and funders is whether the event has reached individuals who do not normally engage with culture. But even here, opinions differ on how much information is needed from visitors, sample size and how it should be collected (the data collection mechanisms used).”
The Dearly Departed, Digitally Remastered So You Can Be With Them Forever
It’s possible. We capture enough of our loved ones digitally that recreating a version of them is within reach. “A digital bereavement company has captured and analysed torrents of data about your husband to create a digital likeness. His voice, his gait, his idiosyncrasies and mannerisms, the undulations of his laugh – all are replicated with near-perfect similitude. Spending time with your digitally reborn spouse has become a part of your daily routine.”