The Reading Garden: 4/18/25
What We’re Reading, and Why It Matters to Legacy Media
Welcome back to the Reading Garden, where every Friday we spotlight three must-read pieces we're paying attention to and explore what they mean for legacy media.
Let’s dive in…
The creator economy isn’t just a marketing tool anymore, it’s one of the most powerful forces in modern business, as Neil Waller, points out. We saw this in Deloitte’s report, which we discussed a few weeks back: more and more, people’s decisions about what to buy, follow, or talk about are being shaped by creators.
And Neil’s right. This shift didn’t just happen. Creators earned trust by connecting authentically with their audiences, completely changing how we interact with media and brands in general.
The takeaway is clear… Partner early, and build with creators from the ground up. That’s how you stay relevant long-term. Tribeca Festival is doing this well, they launched a creator vertical last year for a reason.
This brings us to how to partner. Legacy media has dipped into YouTube before, but mostly through the lens of using it as a marketing channel, not a core business. And sure, some have made decent money syndicating old content.
But Sean Atkins makes a key point: YouTube plays by a different rulebook. It’s built for rapid iteration, short cycles, and creator-first thinking—all things we already know.
Still, it’s doable, but legacy media has to start fresh and build native, not repurposed. It’s a hard pivot, but not an impossible one.
Two perfect article transitions? Why not. Let’s talk about going native...
If you haven’t been following The Group Chat, don’t worry—we’ll catch you up.
What is it? A TikTok-native scripted comedy about a group of friends planning a night out that quickly unravels. It’s messy, lo-fi, and that’s exactly why it works, just ask Doug Shapiro. It has more than 80 million views (and counting), as people aren’t just watching, they’re sharing and remixing it nonstop.
Why does this matter?
Emma Jamieson explains: audiences are hungry for bite-sized, episodic storytelling built for where they already are, i.e. our phones. Then the sharing kicks off conversation, and suddenly, you’ve got a breakout hit. And fast…
So, why isn’t legacy media testing series ideas this way? Instead of pilots, why not commission a TikTok run first, and if it blows up, then go to series? Just putting it out there...
See you next week.