The Work of Expertise

On the necessary demise of the "fitness writer," the "gaming writer," and more

Do the work

The kiddo with the laptop writes about powerlifting but can't deadlift three plates. He covers MOBA games without making it out of bronze tier. His gaming stories get posted under a famous masthead, but nobody reads them.¹ The world changed while he was busy learning AP style.²

Time was when being a writer meant something. You'd learn the craft, pay your dues at smaller papers, work your way up. The public trusted publications to tell them what mattered. Writers with access to the printing press interpreted the world of sports, games, politics — everything that moved people. They were the bridge between the experts and everyone else.

That bridge is falling now. Eddie Hall, once the World's Strongest Man, can talk directly to millions through his phone camera. He doesn't need a writer to explain strongman or powerlifting to the masses. The former pro gamers streaming on Twitch have more viewers in an hour than gaming sites see in a month. They know their stuff because they spend all the livelong day doing it.