Tessera

kayti burt

@kaytiburt.bsky.social

61 Posts196 Follower 391 Folgt

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last mo.

As a longtime fanfiction reader (and occasional fic writer), I am deeply concerned about the way AI is impacting fandom spaces. @fansplaining.bsky.social was the perfect place to explore this anxious curiosity in the context of the booming Heated Rivalry fandom.

Elizabeth Minkel@elizabethminkel.bsky.social · last mo.

I've been looking at AI in fic spaces since these tools were released to the public, and it's not surprising that HR—huge numbers of new readers & writers in fandom, a promise of Manacled-like deals in the air—was where this melted down. @kaytiburt.bsky.social does a fantastic job reporting this:

Freelance Solidarity Project @fspnwu.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The muffling of critical voices compromises consumer choice. A dollar a word would help critics make a living wage. nwu.org/join Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

Quote on the graphic reads "Criticism is an essential part of a functioning literary ecosystem, and it takes an enormous amount of time, effort, and care. We get the quality of criticism we pay for, and we should pay more for it" by Ed Yong. Illustration is by Colleen Tighe, showing a cartoon person in a green shirt that reads "The Prestige Mag" swiping a card; the card reader shows a big red X and a loaf of bread and two apples are nearby, implying that the person's card was declined while buying groceries. FSP-NWU Book Critics Working Group is noted at the bottom left

The TCA @tvcritics.org · 7mo ago

TCA EOY Spotlight | @kaytiburt.bsky.social "For this piece about Netflix docu-series 'Pop Star Academy: Katseye,' I spoke to director Nadia Hallgren about what it was like to get to know and follow the teen girls competing to be in one of the biggest musical acts of the year."

time.com

The TCA@tvcritics.org · 8mo ago

We once again invited TCA members to select their favorite piece of writing from the past 12 months. The entries listed represent a wide swath of journalism and criticism, and spotlight an impressive range of TV — from long-running series to the latest releases.👇 www.tvcritics.org/tca-2025-end...

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Ranking the Best K-Dramas of 2025 for TIME is a near impossible task, but I tried my best. Here are the 10 dramas that had me thinking, feeling, laughing, and crying—in the best cases, all at the same time—this past year. time.com/7340988/best...

The 10 Best Korean Dramas of 2025

From 'Trigger' to 'When Life Gives You Tangerines,' these are the best K-dramas released in 2025.

time.com

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 8mo ago

"The best of fandom isn't transactional. It’s moments of unlikely connection between strangers or friends who might not have crossed paths, let alone traveled them together, if not for loving the same thing." @kaytiburt.bsky.social on fan tourism—and how to make it collaborative, not extractive:

Can Fandom Make Us Better Tourists? — Fansplaining

In an era of overtourism, South Korea’s Jeju Island and international BTS fans are building bridges of mutual respect.

fansplaining.com

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · 8mo ago

I continue to be grateful—as a writer, reader, lifelong fan—that Fansplaining exists as a space to properly wonder about how fandom shapes modern life. In this piece, I am wondering about how fandom can make us better and worse tourists, with the editorial guidance of @elizabethminkel.bsky.social.

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Our final piece of 2025 is live! 💞 @kaytiburt.bsky.social writes about fan tourism: the good, the bad, and...the basis for deeper cross-cultural connection? On Purple Festa, an event that brings fans of Korean pop culture closer to traditional Korean culture. Read or listen to an audio version:

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 8mo ago

We're putting the finishing touches on the final Fansplaining article of the year, by the inimitable @kaytiburt.bsky.social! Out tomorrow—here's a sneak peak. 😘

Image of a BTS book being wrapped in bojagi—here, a silky cloth that's blue on one side and white on the reverse, with small floral patterns.

Alexis Gunderson @alexiskg.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This sucks SO HARD, and I am so sad to lose my criticism-writing home of nearly a decade. Solidarity to all my fellow Paste TV alumni!

Lacy Baugher Milas@lacymb.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Today, Paste Magazine shuttered all its non-music verticals, a choice I am both professionally and personally heartbroken about. Sadly, I am once again looking for a place that wants to let me write about Books and TV on the regular, so hit me up if that’s you or anyone you know.

Lacy Baugher Milas @lacymb.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · 9mo ago

thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting. now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.

As Condé Nast Folds Teen Vogue Into Vogue’s Website, NewsGuild Condemns the Plan

The union, which reps staffers, says the move was "clearly designed" to blunt the journalism of the brand, which has leaned in to progressive politics.

hollywoodreporter.com

Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · 9mo ago

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · 9mo ago

Dramas Over Flowers: A K-drama Podcast @dramasoverflowers.bsky.social · last yr.

We talk to the PD and writer of #TheFirstNightwiththeDuke about the challenges and pleasures of adaptation, why we’ve fallen in love with isekai stories lately, and what it’s like to work with stars Taecyeon and Seohyun: open.substack.com/pub/dramasov...

Q&A with the production team of The First Night with the Duke

Director Lee Woong-hee and screenwriter Jeon Sun-young answer our questions about the isekai web novel adaptation starring Taecyeon and Seohyun

open.substack.com

👩🏻‍💻 Hanhonymous @hanhonymous.bsky.social · last yr.

Highlights of the #KpopDemonHunters interview: 😈 👩‍🎤 Insight into Korean folklore that informed #SajaBoys & #Huntrix ⚔️🔪✨ A breakdown of Huntr/x's weapons and characters (yes, there was more Mira & Zoey backstory) 🚦Lorde's song that inspired "What It Sounds Like" 💞The inspiration for Romance Saja

Kpop Demon Hunters boy band of demons: Animated image of 5 alluring men in long dark gowns, tall black hats and glowing eyes against a stormy backdrop

Kpop Demon Hunters animated image of girl group Huntrix: Three young women in colorful sporty attire holding weapons. The girl on the left has two black braided hair buns, a crop top, loose pants and yellow sneakers and is holding three glowing daggers in each hand. The girl in the middle has an oversized long purple braid, white crop top, yellow cropped jacket, black shorts and calf-high black boots. She's holding a glowing sword. The girl on the right has long flowing red hair, a cropped black t-shirt, yellow miniskirt and black thigh-high boots on. She is wielding a woldo, a Korean lance that has a blade on the end.

Kpop Demon Hunters band the Saja Boys: Five attractive young men in various shades of pink attire. From left to right, the first has a pink sweater vest on over a white t-shirt. He has lavender hair covering his eyes. The one next to him has short tousled maroon hair and is wearing a pink polo shirt. His arm is leaning on the shoulder of the middle guy, who wears a pink button-down shirt that is open to a pink t-shirt. He's accessorized with a neck chain and rose-colored oversized glasses, and he has short dark hair. The person leaning on his other shoulder has a fuzzy pink sweater on over a white collared shirt and turquoise short hair. The last guy on the right is wearing a blush button-down shirt, a neck chain and his pink mulleted hair makes the shape of a heart. His hands are clasped over his heart as well as if he's swooning

👩🏻‍💻 Hanhonymous@hanhonymous.bsky.social · last yr.

Obsession unlocked! #KpopDemonHunters has been my personality for the past week. In my interview for @salonnewsroom.bsky.social w/ the filmmakers, we discuss how this film understands K-pop fandoms. Also, I found out one director's #SajaBoys bias! Guess which www.salon.com/2025/06/29/k...

Meghan O'Keefe @megsokay.bsky.social · last yr.

I think I'm probably in the minority of really liking the third and final season of SQUID GAME, partially because I'm a sucker for the "Battle Royale" genre and partially because Lee Jung-jae's whole run as Gi-hun is one of the all-time great TV performances. decider.com/2025/06/27/s...

'Squid Game' Season 3 Review: The Netflix hit gets a twisted, poetic ending (that also teases a new beginning)

What Lee Jung-jae has accomplished this season, and throughout Squid Game’s entire run, is one of the greatest television performances of all-time.

decider.com

Middle East Eye (Unofficial)@middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · last yr.

‘My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game’ - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/my-journey-aid-gaza-like-squid-game

‘My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game’

Going to the US-backed aid distribution centre was the hardest day of my life. I’ve never felt humiliation like that

middleeasteye.net

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last yr.

If we were living in a better timeline, Hwang Dong-hyuk would have had less inspiration for the final seasons of Squid Game: time.com/7298235/squi...

A screenshot of the article reads: For the Squid Game creator, the VIPs' more active Season 3 role stems from his real-world observations. “In the past, those that really controlled the system and maintained power, they were hidden behind the curtain, almost like this big unseen conspiracy. However, it's no longer the case, especially in America," Hwang says. "We talk a lot about oligarchy these days, but these so-called big tech owners, they step up, telling everyone who they're backing with their money. The people who really control the power and the system, they no longer hide behind a curtain. They willingly take their masks off, almost as if to declare, ‘We're the ones running everything. We're the ones in control.’"

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last yr.

if you need me this weekend, i'll be listening to the lost in starlight ost. www.denofgeek.com/movies/netfl...

Netflix's Lost in Starlight: Korea Makes an Animated Sci-Fi Romance for Adults

Netflix’s slice-of-life sci-fi love story is a visually stunning animation about human connection.

denofgeek.com

Simone de Rochefort @doomquasar.bsky.social · last yr.

anyway here's the email I sent to jim bankoff last week. i'm still heartbroken. I have been insanely, destructively angry for weeks, and I think I will be for a long time.

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last yr.

I've really been getting a lot out of these exit interviews Pete has been doing with the laid-off Polygon staff, including this piece, in which copy editor Kallie talks about the immense work and skill that goes into games/entertainment journalism.

A bolded heading reads: "What’s your wish for the future of gaming journalism?" The following answer reads: "I wish more people would consider it important. A lot of us will joke like I have a cousin who's a doctor, and clearly their job is more important than mine. Part of me agrees with that, and part of me is like, well, we can't all be doctors. There are different jobs for different people, and I still think that media criticism and investigative journalism and service journalism provide a reader service. They do matter. Especially when a lot of people get their news, not just entertainment news, from people who are not trained in journalism, who do not have standards of ethics or standards of reporting, or don't know what a leading question is. There's a lot of training that goes into being able to do this, and not everybody we work with has a background in journalism, certainly, but you learn a lot on the job about how to handle it properly and how to do justice to the material. Our skills do matter, and the void that is left with the slow decimation of gaming media does result in a cultural vacuum that is not easily filled."

Kallie Plagge@inkydojikko.bsky.social · last yr.

I had a great time chatting with Pete for this!! please also enjoy this picture of me that I have no recollection of taking but I happened to be wearing my Polygon hoodie in it

Tom @nowwearealltom.com · last yr.

Here's the extremely delayed fifth and final week of my blog series on Naoko Yamada, covering her latest film The Colors Within (2024). The upside of this being so late is that the movie is now on demand and I highly recommend you watch it, it's so good!

[Week 5] The Colors Within

For the final installment in our Yamada series, we watched The Colors Within (2024).

nowwearealltom.com

Pete Volk @petevolk.bsky.social · last yr.

my final piece for Polygon is now live: part two of my interview with Chad Stahelski about Lazarus www.polygon.com/anime/552380...

John Wick’s director breaks down how he got to design action on Lazarus, ‘the funnest job’ he’s ever done

Here’s the story behind one of the year’s most exciting (and surprising) collaborations

polygon.com

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last yr.

I was part of the team who helped draft NWU's statement following Vox Media's sale of Polygon to Valnet, and the subsequent gutting of the site's staff. This decision, made by the corporate leadership at Vox Media, is a gut punch. I am angry & upset—for my editors, for myself, for this industry.

National Writers Union@nwu.org · last yr.

We condemn Vox Media’s May Day decision to lay off a majority of @polygon.com staff w/o warning as part of the sale to known media-brand-destroyer Valnet. We stand in solidarity with the staff who were laid off, and with @voxmediaunion.bsky.social in their ongoing contract negotiations.

National Writers Union @nwu.org · last yr.

Statement of solidarity with workers at Polygon and the Vox Media Union. Read the full statement at nwu.org/polygon

Vox Media Union @voxmediaunion.bsky.social · last yr.

Our GoFundMe to assist our former colleagues at @polygon.com is now live! Please support them if you can, and share widely even if you can't! Thank you all for the kindness and care you've shared with Polygon and the union over the last 2 days — it means the world to us all. gofund.me/a21cbbdc

Donate to Support Polygon Workers and the Vox Media Union, organized by Ashok Selvam

On Thursday, May 1, Vox Media announced the sale of beloved video game s… Ashok Selvam needs your support for Support Polygon Workers and the Vox Media Union

gofund.me

David Lumb @outonalumb.bsky.social · last yr.

Vox has a successor clause in its 2022-25 WGAE contract, meaning any buyer would need to abide by the contract [https://www.wgaeast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/10/Vox-Editorial-WGAE-CBA-2022-2024.pdf]. Rather than do that, Valnet liquidated everyone represented by WGAE. Hideous villain shit.

AmericanTruckSongs10@ethangach.bsky.social · last yr.

WGAE confirms all union members of Polygon were fired as part of the sale to Valnet.

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last yr.

One of the best shows "on TV" right now.

Tyler Schirado@tyrawrrnosaurus.bsky.social · last yr.

Maomao made it in TIME by @kaytiburt.bsky.social

kayti burt @kaytiburt.bsky.social · last yr.

If you're in NYC this Thursday, I am hosting a casual @fspnwu.bsky.social meetup to take part in the rate-sharing challenge. It will be from 4-6pm at Spring Cafe Aspen. Bring your laptop to enter rates into the challenge's Google form, and get to know fellow freelance workers! RSVP: bit.ly/41OXdjg

A digital flier with information about the event says "FSP Rate-Sharing Meet-Up! New York City Edition" at the top of the page. When: Thursday, March 20th from 4-6pm. Where: Spring Cafe Aspen at 14 West 4th Street in New York City. The RSVP link is "https://bit.ly/410Xdjg"

Who Pays Writers?@whopayswriters.bsky.social · last yr.

And even more 🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠 If you want to help your fellow freelancer friends (& any ex-VF enemies) understand what the actual freelance media worker $$ landscape is these days, come add YOUR rates to WPW & the @fspnwu.bsky.social Rate Sharing Database! freelancesolidarity.org/actions-camp...

tuck woodstock@tuck.bsky.social · last yr.

hard to get excited about $2/word.... lol lmao lol lmao lol

I am aware of peers who did just as well. Nowadays, though, such windfalls are a distant memory. Today, for a rare magazine article, I’m lucky to receive two dollars a word, or $20,000 for that same ten-thousand-word story. (Don’t even ask what they’re paying me for this piece.) People sometimes wonder why I don’t write more. It’s a chore to explain that, at these rates, it is hard to get that excited.

Lara Witt @femmfeministe.bsky.social · last yr.

Prism is looking for a freelance reporter to cover inequities affecting marginalized students in public education in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut. Prism pays $0.50/word within 2 weeks. You can learn more about us here: prismreports.org

Leigh Soucy @thicketleigh.bsky.social · 2y ago

Joy as an Act of Resistance: Feb 4: worked on this design idea in my sketchbook (quote from @chappellroanbr.bsky.social at The Grammys) & had some very good & affirming chats with sweet folks in my community—including the wonderful @kaytiburt.bsky.social! Love how small this city feels sometimes.