Quality Costs
Is anyone willing to pay for it?
I remember a proclamation from Elon Musk back when people took every word that came out of his mouth as a fait accompli, and not just self-serving fodder. In 2017, Musk predicted that 20 years in the future, driving a non-autonomous car would be akin to riding a horse today, meaning it will be a niche activity far removed from its prominence in the past.
I’ve been thinking of Musk’s metaphor with the recent drumbeat of bad news surrounding the media industry, and I’m wondering if I’m an equestrian in this scenario. I moved to New York for the express purpose of working in magazines during the last days of the good ol’ days. And even though journalism hasn’t been my bread and butter for more than a decade, I still feel a closeness to the industry and continue to subscribe to three print magazines (The New Yorker, New York, and The Surfers’ Journal). This is all to say that I still value quality journalism, but I’m not naive enough to think that there’s a lot of people like me.
The inescapable truth is that making good content on an ongoing basis costs. A lot. Even if you’ve got more money than G-d, it’s not fun to keep sinking money into a trophy investment (see Bezos, Jeff; Benioff, Mark; and Soon-Shiong, Patrick).
When I started working at Sports Illustrated Kids, a new story would pass through at least 15 rounds of editing and be read by at least 5 different people before going to press. Now it’s easy to look at all that effort and point out redundancies and opportunities for greater efficiency. That, in fact, is what just about every wannabe media baron of this millennium has done. But what those MBA-goggled execs often fail to realize is that there is quality in that redundancy. There is thoughtfulness in that redundancy. There is mentorship in that redundancy.
Each of those things costs money. And as tempting as it is to point fingers at executives like Anna Wintour wearing sunglasses while announcing layoffs, the hard truth is that the reason those executives haven’t found an answer to the industry’s woes is that such an answer likely doesn’t exist.
This is very sad. But I try to remind myself that it’s similar to when you hear news of a beloved restaurant closing. We’re quick to share memories and laud the place as an institution, but if we ask ourselves when was the last time we patronized said establishment, the answer is often “forever ago.” So while it may suck to see certain outlets disappear or become a shell of their former selves, we have to also look in the mirror and acknowledge our own role in making that reality happen.
55 Observations from Taking a Year Off Work
I’m a sucker for these Kevin Kelly-esque bits of advice. This one, on Instagram, is from a year-long sabbatical with no plans in SE Asia. Some of them are things you may already know, but are good to be reminded of (“General outlook on life will vary wildly depending on the location. The more you change your location, the more you change your mind about who you are and what you want”). Others are lessons you can only learn from this experience (“Spending a week living in silence with nuns is honestly fucking boring and I wouldn't do it again”). Part Two is a separate post.
—Andrew
Williamsburg. What Happened?
This is one of those pieces that is a nice reminder that the Times can still do a very good job of being a New York paper, and not just a national one. As one who first came to Williamsburg during what this timeline calls “The New Life” period and has stuck around through “The Yuppification Train” and “Peak Gentrification” this was a fun walk down memory lane.
—Justin
The New York Knicks
I’ve long said that New York City is a basketball city. One of my fondest memories is packing into Nice Guy Eddie’s on the Lower East Side during the Knicks playoff run in 2000. This was not a sports bar, it was a downtown hipster bar. But everyone wanted to be a part of that energy. An entire generation has arrived in New York without getting to experience it—save for the brief Linsanity outburst. Now that is changing. As I write this, the Knicks have won nine games in a row and are in third place in the Eastern Conference. Go New York, go New York, go!!!
—Justin
Active Interrupting Episode 4
We put out our fourth episode on Friday and the feedback is rolling through…
“surprisingly easy listen. will be following along!”
“Nothing screams mental illness to me more than blaming mood on weather”
“enjoyed this ep more than [redacted aspirational podcast] (and i dug that one)”We already recorded episode 5 with a special guest and will be recording our first remote episode in the coming days.
—Andrew