A Correction on Noah Fearnley, and What the Reaction Showed
VPAA has formally retracted its earlier report on a Noah Fearnley deal over sourcing standards. The response to it proved something the association did not expect.
Sometimes the biggest stories are the ones audiences want to become reality.
VPAA has formally retracted its earlier report that Noah Fearnley had signed an exclusive multi-series deal. The report did not meet the association’s sourcing standards, and it should not have run. The original post has been updated with a correction, and the association apologizes to Fearnley and to readers.
What the reaction showed
The response to the original post was the largest the association had seen. Thousands of viewers commented, shared and tagged, and the overwhelming sentiment was not about the deal. It was that audiences are ready to see vertical stars like Fearnley make the jump to mainstream television and film.
That is worth recording even as the report itself is withdrawn. A performer who has led more than fifty vertical series has an audience that follows him across platforms and would follow him off them. The traditional industry’s interest in that audience is real, and the question of when and how vertical’s leading men cross over is a live one.
The standard going forward
The association publishes news about an industry it is also part of. That makes sourcing discipline more important, not less. Going forward, reports of deals and castings at The Vertical Desk cite a named outlet or a party to the deal, or they do not run.
The correction stands. So does the observation it produced: the audience is waiting.