Intro
The “machine” is not neutral. It selects for what’s legible to committees, friendly to forecasting, and safe for reputations — long before an audience ever sees the finished work.
Replace this intro with your final prose. Keep paragraphs short and concrete; let each claim land cleanly.
Critique
Where incentives quietly edit meaning out of a story.
Greenlight logic favors what’s easy to justify
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Notes converge toward consensus
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Packaging turns stories into product shapes
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- Risk management becomes a writing partner.
- Consensus is a solvent: it dissolves sharp edges and hard truths.
- Brand logic prefers familiar shapes over new perception.
Fix
How to protect meaning inside a system built to smooth it out.
Define the non-negotiables early
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Align incentives with the story’s truth
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Use craft as armor: consequence, clarity, coherence
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Impact
What a healthier incentive structure would make possible.
More variety in “successful” stories
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More trust between audience and creators
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More meaning survives contact with the machine
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