Substack as Canon Maker

Legacy outlets like the New York Times still solicit expert judgments, but independent platform authors (Substack newsletters, podcasts) are increasingly the visible venue where those judgments are published, debated, and canonized. When high‑profile contributors withhold material from legacy institutions and publish on platforms, the platforms themselves become rival arbiters of cultural status. — This shift changes who gets to define 'greatness' in culture, decentralizes cultural authority, and alters how reputations, markets, and institutional power form around artists.