Phantom Media

Phantom Media is a concept analogous to [[Phantom Urbanism]] - media properties that exist primarily as financial instruments rather than as actual content or news sources.

Characteristics

• Media properties devoid of actual news or content
• Designed as investment vehicles rather than information sources
• Ownership by investment firms, focus on metrics over quality
• Content farms, SEO-driven articles, AI-generated content at scale

Questions to Explore

• Are there media properties that fit this description?
• How does this relate to the decline of local journalism?
• What role do private equity firms play in media consolidation?

Related Concepts

• [[Phantom Urbanism]] - Origin concept
• Media consolidation
• Private equity in journalism
• [[Digital Garden]] - Contrast with authentic content

Source

• Tom Critchlow’s Digital Garden

Note: This is a developing concept exploring the intersection of media, finance, and urbanism theory.