Antonio Cipriano, Mika Abdalla, Ella Bright and Belmont CameliPhoto by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Prime VideoIf you want an indication of how much the entertainment news landscape has changed over the past several years, look no further than Prime Video’s Obsessed Fest.The event was billed by Amazon as “an inaugural summer tentpole event where the most talked-about titles and talent from Prime come together with fans for a day of programming, first looks, and can’t-miss moments.”Held as nya Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, the all-day event featured panels and events with a long stream of mostly young adult Prime Video projects: The Love Hypothesis, Overcompensating, Off Campus, The Devil's Mouth, Every Year After, Your Fault: London, Elle, The Last Sunrise, Drawn Together, Maxton Hall and Red, White & Royal Wedding.Obsessed Fest was targeted at fans, but there was also a bit of news being made, with several projects being announced or cast additions being revealed. And there were the unexpected moments, such as when Jennifer Lopez surprised everyone with a special performance of her new song “Everything’s Fine." ahead of the panel for Off Campus.But it’s notable that while the traditional Hollywood entertainment trade press was relegated to posting Red Carpet photo galleries and stories built around a sentence or two uttered at one of the panels, so-called “content creators” were flown to the event by Amazon. And the streamer also held a red carpet and cocktail party for them with the casts the day before the public Obsessed Fest.And it’s not as if the traditional entertainment news media didn’t want to cover the event more in depth. But after speaking with a few reporters at the various Hollywood entertainment news outlets, while content creators and influencers received direct access to the cast and interview opportunities, traditional reporters were merely invited to cover the public events.Which led to coverage like this somewhat passive-aggressive paragraph from Deadline’s coverage of the event:While Deadline spoke to a majority of the talent present at Obsessed Fest, a carpet was held Friday night with other outlets and influencers in a less hectic setting for interviews.
Why Amazon’s ‘Obsessed Fest’ Didn’t Make News In The Hollywood Press
Amazon's first annual festival for fans included everything from a red carpet to a surprise performance from J-Lo. Everything, that is, except for the traditional press.
Amazon granted exclusive cast access to content creators at Obsessed Fest, excluding traditional journalists. For tech leaders, this signals a communications strategy shift: 'safe' influencer channels reduce critical oversight, impacting brand reputation and stakeholder trust.







