This is why a project like Italian Disco Stories exists: to create proof of concept, and to fully develop a beat without hearing “ok but what about the KPIs?” “how many people clicked on our affiliate links?”
In 2006, the dream of journalism was alive (sort of, but you had an in); in 2016, Rory burnt out freelancing and completely bombed an interview at a content mill; in 2026, Andy loses her job at a “serious” outlet and, even as a features’s editor, she has to write listicles and commerce articles with affiliate links.