Traditional media smear viral stars to protect their own declining attention market share

Evidence

In it PewDiePie lamented that the media has thus far only focused on his earnings and wealth, ignoring other aspects such as his charity work. He argued that traditional media fear the influence of YouTubers, and so participate in clickbait and slip to tabloid standards in their coverage of social media stars, to discredit them and undermine their economic value. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 206

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that legacy media attack new formats to protect their own position echoes similar dynamics in the reader’s other sources on communication media competition. — connects to: Eyewitness viral stars are accidental celebrities manufactured by television news networks — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 150; Legacy media deny exploiting viral stars by claiming the stars control their fame — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 158; Many actors profit from viral stars’ images without returning value to them — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 161 (+4 more)