Comment Text:
Dear Commissioners:
As someone who works full-time in the media industry, with an emphasis on GOP politics, each election has the potential to vastly alter demand for my services.
The feast and famine are real.
During the Obama presidency, I successfully established myself in Hollywood as a conservative-minded writer (and consultant) who could help TV shows create stories and characters that portrayed right-of-center characters in a nuanced way. I worked on shows like DESIGNATED SURVIVOR (ABC) and GRAVES (Lionsgate), both of which directly depicted US politics.
However, Trump’s election turned out to be a complete disaster for my personal business.
It sounds funny that a Republican president would hurt a GOP-aligned media guy, but it’s not that surprising if you really understand the TV business.
Had I had a hedging product for that election, a lot of pain could have been avoided.
So, what exactly happened?
As you know, Trump’s presidency reset everything, including the media.
Before the election, networks wanted nuanced thinkers to mirror the Obama era. After the election they wanted activists and provocateurs to mirror Trump’s.
There was minimal demand for someone like me.
All of this was foreseeable with a little knowledge about how media worked.
Had I had the opportunity to hedge directly on one election’s outcome, much pain could have been avoided.
That’s why Kalshi’s application is beneficial to professionals in the media industry, where audiences and programming mandates shift as the nation’s politics do.
Alex Keeney
