💣 TOP OF THE WEEK: The fall of crypto exchange FTX is a big media story as well.
#mediaweek, vol.1

What’s going on: The third largest crypto trader’s platform FTX collapsed a couple of weeks ago. Sam Bankman-Fried (the founder of FTX) was a hero, but became a zero in a day. Almost $1 billon of FTX clients funds missed. And it appears that nobody expected this.

Why it is matter: The problem is — nobody expected the collapse, almost everyone was pretty sure (or ambivalent) about FTX. Media wrote about Bankman-Fried, made a profile of him and his product. And missed everything.

What’s now: Media are going to deal with this news.

— Amazon and Rousso brothers plan to shoot an eight-episode limited series about FTX fall next spring.
— The author of «Moneyball» Michael Lewis are going to sign a deal with Apple about his book, covering FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried.
— The Information and Vice Media will do the documentary about FTX. «SBF and the End of Silicon Valley» will be delivered in Q2 2023.

The news about FTX gave birth to a lot of stories:

— In May 2022 Elon Musk wanted Bankman-Fried to add $100 millions to help him to buy Twitter. And now Kara Swicher calls Elon Musk «my greatest disappointment».
— New media of ex-Bloomberg media CEO Justin Smith — Semafor is under the fire for staying mum about whether it will return the now-bankrupt crypto firm’s money.
— In late September, the Sequoia Capital website published a long, meandering profile of Sam Bankman-Fried called «Sam Bankman-Fried Has a Savior Complex — And Maybe You Should Too». And no correction has been made after the FTX collapse.

What’s next: It’s complicated. Because someone wrote that FTX scam is not the end of crypto. But someone wrote that the crypto bubble is already bursting. But in terms of media this story is a great opportunity. It is even bigger then story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes (sentenced to prison «with a minimum security» for 11 years).