If you want an indication of how much the entertainment news landscape has changed over the past several years, look no further than Prime Video’s Obsessed Fest.
The event was billed by Amazon as “an inaugural summer tentpole event where the most talked-about titles and talent from Prime come together with fans for a day of programming, first looks, and can’t-miss moments.”
Held as nya Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, the all-day event featured panels and events with a long stream of mostly young adult Prime Video projects: The Love Hypothesis, Overcompensating, Off Campus, The Devil’s Mouth, Every Year After, Your Fault: London, Elle, The Last Sunrise, Drawn Together, Maxton Hall and Red, White & Royal Wedding.
Obsessed Fest was targeted at fans, but there was also a bit of news being made, with several projects being announced or cast additions being revealed. And there were the unexpected moments, such as when Jennifer Lopez surprised everyone with a special performance of her new song “Everything’s Fine.” ahead of the panel for Off Campus.
But it’s notable that while the traditional Hollywood entertainment trade press was relegated to posting Red Carpet photo galleries and stories built around a sentence or two uttered at one of the panels, so-called “content creators” were flown to the event by Amazon. And the streamer also held a red carpet and cocktail party for them with the casts the day before the public Obsessed Fest.
And it’s not as if the traditional entertainment news media didn’t want to cover the event more in depth. But after speaking with a few reporters at the various Hollywood entertainment news outlets, while content creators and influencers received direct access to the cast and interview opportunities, traditional reporters were merely invited to cover the public events.
Which led to coverage like this somewhat passive-aggressive paragraph from Deadline’s coverage of the event:
I am not someone who is anti-content creator. I make my living primarily as a solo journalist with the TooMuchTV newsletter. And I think that in an era where marketing and promotional budgets are tight, taking advantage of the reach some influencers and content creators have makes sense.
But networks, studios and streamers are increasingly focusing their attention on influencers and content creators because it is safe. Most of the interactions with talent feel more a fan with a huge following that anything else. And while there is a place for that, assembling such a large and diverse group of talent in one place and then not taking advantages that would come from having experienced journalists involved feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.