Last year, journalist Oliver Darcy left his prestigious perch as CNN’s senior media reporter to launch his own independent media company. His newsletter Status has become a must-read for media execs, powerful politicos, and business leaders. It has amassed nearly 80,000 subscribers by providing in-depth analysis of the media industry and breaking business news.
Thursday, Darcy is set to host his first-ever White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend event in Washington, D.C.. The event, which will celebrate the First Amendment, is a significant step for Status, positioning it alongside the big established media businesses that traditionally host gatherings during the high-profile weekend.
Darcy chatted with Passionfruit about why he’s bringing his newsletter community into the IRL world, the media landscape under Trump, tips for aspiring creator journalists, and what consumers are looking for these days in creators.
Oliver, what made you want to host a White House Correspondents’ Dinner party this year?
This is our first year in existence, we’ve been outspoken about our desire to do live events. We write the newsletter and cover a lot of these figures and interesting media personalities in print. But it’s really cool when you can get people together in one room.As an independent outlet not owned by a corporation, we’re a pretty neutral spot to gather people from all corners of the industry. I’ve been working with Fish Shop Bar & Restaurant, they’re sponsoring the event.
Why is the theme of your party the First Amendment?
I think everyone is very aware of the shadow that Donald Trump has cast over D.C.. It certainly feels like a chill in the air because of Trump and the attacks he’s leveled against the fourth estate. We wanted to bring people together to celebrate the First Amendment.
Has Trump’s focus on independent creators helped you at all? He’s really mainstreamed this shift in media that’s been happening.
I think Donald Trump has been pretty terrible for independent creators. Unless you’re aligned with him and he’s boosting you, I guess.
There’s been a lot of economic uncertainty, and uncertainty certainly doesn’t help subscription-based businesses. People wonder whether they’re going to have a job tomorrow, or that the economy is going to go into a recession, and they start to evaluate their subscriptions and purchases.
The constant threat of lawsuits from figures like Elon Musk, Bill Ackman, or some of these other MAGA type figures has made it very difficult, I think, for independent journalists who want to do reporting to operate. You now need a sizable amount of defamation insurance, and that’s very expensive. It’s hard to get. And even if you have it, you don’t really want to be sued by some of these people.
What about on the Democrat side or the general public? It does seem like the creator industry has become more mainstream since the election.
I think that there’s certainly a warming up to talking to creators and talking to independent outlets, and not just going to the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN. I definitely think that’s happening.
But I also think it’s just a recognition from everyone that the media landscape is changing very fast. Digital creators have a huge audience and an influential audience, and people want to reach those people.
These people [in politics] want to reach the decision makers, so they still come to us. But, you know, I wonder if 10 years ago, whether that would be the case. I do think that big brand names don’t matter as much as they did. Maybe Trump has played some role in that.
But I really think that people are just opening their eyes and saying that we don’t live in 1995 anymore. There are more options than just going on broadcast television and going to the big three newspapers.
In case you haven’t heard, 4chan got hacked. It’s been a week since the site was taken down following the hack, and it’s starting to look like it may be gone for good.
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