The Kardashians broke reality fame’s ephemerality by rotating family members as engines of attention

Evidence

Yet what the Kardashians must be given credit for is breaking the curse of ephemeral reality fame; for close to a decade they have sustained a multimillion-dollar empire. The family demonstrated a reality TV version of synergy—should audiences grow tired of the tedious antics of one family member, another quickly jumped in to provide a new hot mess, like lipstick-wearing tag-team wrestlers. Meanwhile, over the 2010s the Kardashians’ earnings increased at a pace to make a banker jealous. The family made 65 million collectively in 2010, while Kim’s individual earnings had reached 28 million by 2014 and $52.5 million by 2015. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 850

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: An American Family made ordinary people fleetingly famous just for being themselves — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 842; Kardashian-era influencer fortunes were built on documented lies and fabricated metrics.; Reality TV decoupled celebrity from objective merit or achievement — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 844 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Fame shifted from costly earned status to broadcast and reality-driven attention #expands (0.85)
• Reality TV decoupled celebrity from objective merit or achievement #qualifies (0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 844
• Critics’ disgust did not stop audiences from embracing the Kardashians. #complicates (0.78) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 228
• Kardashian-era influencer fortunes were built on documented lies and fabricated metrics. #complicates (0.75)