Cutline Speaks

The Audience is the Editor

posted by The Cutline Team on June 5, 2008

On Wednesday TechCrunch announced a new concept for pitching the site called “Elevator Pitches”. Companies create and post a video online and then TechCrunch will link to it for their audience to decide if the company deserves a post. No doubt there will be some amazingly creative videos produced - and some flops.

I’m fascinated to watch this process play out because it has the potential to create change in how companies, and by extension PR agencies, communicate with the media. While this is presently just for startups looking for coverage on TechCrunch, it could easily extend to anyone making a pitch to a media outlet.

It also brings up some interesting questions about the responsibility of a media outlet – don't we visit TechCrunch because the editors bring a unique and expert perspective to their readers? Or will "new media" mean the audience is the editor?

TechCrunch is one of my regular sites and you can bet I’ll be checking in on this to see how it works out. After all, I might have to break out my video camera soon.