Where Gossip Girl Comes From

I feel like I've been incredibly behind in blog posts--and everything else--since the whirlwind of MIP in October. Here, for instance, is a New Yorker profile of Alloy Entertainment, the midtown teen media company responsible for such fare as the television version of Gossip Girl, the cast of which is seen here.

The article, by Rebecca Mead, ran in the October 19 issue, meaning that I'm a full month behind here. You can read a long abstract, but a digital subscription is required for the full text. It's worth digging up, though, for those interested in teen literature and television; I don't think the profile was biased in any direction, but it does take a critical look at the kind of story factory environment that produces a lot of kids' and teens' entertainment. We're somewhat used to that in publishing--where certain houses commission authors to fulfill projects according to their preexisting specs--but moving the formula into television and, now, feature films, seems to be a new creature than we've seen in the past. Creation by formula isn't always anathema to art, and heaven knows Gossip Girl is popular enough, but it's worthwhile for those of us interested in the quality and artistic merit of youth media to examine how this production model will impact future shows and books. That model will probably prove more pervasive and influential over the next five to seven years than the Twilight phenomenon or anything else, except interactivity (which is a subject for a different post). If you're interested, Alloy's website is here.