The Nate Silver Kerfuffle
Who?I'll be back some day with the inside skinny on what really pissed off the powers that be at the NYT but for now I hope this gives some hope to our friends of the journalistic persuasion.
You know, the nerd in the “New York Times” who called the election, trumping all the bloviating blowhards on television who think a fact is something you make up.
So you just don’t care.
But you should.
Because Nate Silver is a superstar. He’s the model for tomorrow’s musical acts, but you just don’t know it yet.
Unlike today’s adolescents dominating the YouTube, SoundScan story, Silver wasn’t born yesterday, as in he’s got a history. Not only is he educated, he did stuff before the “Times,” which signed him and where he ended up so successful he pissed everybody off.
Jealousy… That’s the heart of the baby boomer story. And now Gen X’ers, who are finally pushing fifty, too. They created the world and they believe they own it, but they don’t.
Now if the “New York Times” had a television network… Then it might have had a chance to keep Silver. But the paper couldn’t compete with the ABC/ESPN duality. As for print? Who needs it, when you’ve got the web? Yes, Silver holds on to his FiveThirtyEight.com domain, he’s the star, not the paper.
And this goes against everything we’ve learned in mass media for eons. This is the oldster’s worst nightmare. Because suddenly, talent is doing it for itself.
This is the story of Arcade Fire. Personally, I don’t love their music, but enough people do. Same deal with Nate Silver. Not everybody knows his name, but enough do. That’s the goal. To amass your audience and triumph....MORE
