First published 2017
Michael Wolff examines the media landscape twenty years after Netscape went public and finds that predictions of old media's death were greatly exaggerated. CBS, Disney, Comcast, Time Warner, and News Corp continue thriving while digital darlings like BuzzFeed and HuffPost struggle with flawed business models. The New York Times still makes more money from print advertising than digital ads. Super Bowl commercials command higher prices than ever while Yahoo banner ads sell cheap. Wolff argues that venture capital assumptions about digital media were wrong from the start and grow more incorrect each year. He shows how Google and Facebook succeed as advertising aggregators, not content creators, while traditional television retains its power even when viewed through Netflix and Hulu apps on mobile devices. Drawing on insider access to media executives from New York to Hollywood, Wolff reveals which digital media emperors wear no clothes and which supposed geniuses face major downfalls.
Genres: business, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-perspective
Setting: Hollywood, New York
Period: 20 years after Netscape
224 pages · Paperback · Portfolio