Declining ratings drove traditional media to recruit internet celebrities as audience draw

Evidence

Amidst the rising popularity of social media entertainment and YouTube content production in the early to mid-2010s, ratings for traditional media outlets such as television were dipping. Producers and directors for the small and big screens, as well as editors for print media, began engaging internet celebrities to cameo in or anchor content on their respective domains in a bid to capture the youth audience. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 198

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Web 2.0 culture made audience size an alternate status hierarchy alongside engineering wealth.; Traditional celebrities now blend social and legacy media in feedback loops; Recruiting internet celebrities for legacy media is risky when satire crosses regulatory lines — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 202 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Traditional media smear viral stars to protect their own declining attention market share #complicates (0.85) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 206
• Online services had to lure users away from television to win attention. #expands (0.75) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 696