The Reading Garden: 2/14/25

Welcome to the first edition of The Reading Garden — your weekly dose of the most compelling media stories.

Every Friday, we’ll spotlight three interesting articles that we’re paying attention to, and unpack what they mean for legacy media.

This week, we’re looking at: a major move from a top creator agency, a deep dive into how audiences are redefining “quality, and a reported Netflix initiative that could shake up the industry.

Let’s get into it.

1. Whalar Group wants to take the creator economy into its “next chapter” with The Lighthouse

The creator economy is evolving fast, but Whalar’s launch of The Lighthouse, a physical campus offering education, production facilities, and networking, marks a big step towards its professionalization.

At first glance, it might seem like a glorified social club for TikTokers. But dig deeper, and it signals a broader shift: creators aren’t just content makers anymore, they’re becoming full fledged media businesses. With training in legal frameworks, brand partnerships, and AI, Whalar is empowering them to compete at a level that was once comfortably reserved for traditional media companies.

Pay close attention to Whalar’s partnership with Tribeca Film Festival, which will focus specifically on the intersection of Hollywood and the creator economy.

The point is: digital creators are no longer an alternative media force, but a central player in the industry’s future. As the creator economy continues to become more structured, how should we engage? Do we continue to treat creators as a separate sector of entertainment? Or do we find ways to collaborate, integrate, and learn from a model that is clearly gaining traction among audiences?

2. Quality Is A Serious Problem

We’ve all been witness to the unstoppable rise of social video. Case in point: YouTube’s share of total TV usage has more than doubled in two years, while streaming services have remained flat or even declined. It’s a tough pill to swallow. Would people really rather scroll through low quality videos on their phone rather than sit down for a prestige drama? The answer, whetherwe like it or not, is a resounding yes. But this doesn’t make sense, right? As film and TV lovers, our definition of “quality” is being challenged. But that’s exactly where we have it wrong.

As Doug Shapiro explains, quality isn’t fixed, it evolves. He defines quality as revealed preference: when given options, the choices we make define what we truly value as “quality”.

For most of us, that means high production value, Oscar-worthy performances, top-tier writing. For Gen-Z? That’s secondary. Instead, they prioritize authenticity, relatability, ease of access, and most importantly, being seen. In one word? Community. So, what do we do? Dismissing social content as “bad” or assuming young audiences don’t understand “good quality” is a losing strategy. Legacy media needs to adapt, fast. The question is: how?

3. Netflix Considers Adding Podcasts Because They’re Cheaper Than Quality Films

Speaking of quality… Netflix is reportedly considering adding video podcasts to its platform in an effort to prioritize low cost, high volume content over expensive scripted productions. This raises a larger question: is a video podcast just another kind of TV show? If the streamer starts positioning this type of content alongside traditional TV, the boundaries of what constitutes a “show” might start to get a little blurry. And if, as Doug Shapiro argues, some viewers actively prefer cheaply produced video, where does that leave premium content?

From a purely business perspective, this makes sense given the cost-cutting efforts across the industry. If you don’t have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to capture and engage viewers, wouldn’t you do the same? Maybe, but perhaps we have swung too far in the other direction.

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