The Critic Of The Future

There is a lot of talk in the blogsphere lately of the downsizing in the printed newspapers art and critics section, obviously a large portion of the critics being booted are the classical music critics….
As Charles Noble from Daily Observation says:

Newspapers are one of the primary ways that orchestras communicate and market to their target audiences. Check out these statistics, courtesy of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA):

* 74% of newspaper readers are 45 years of age or older
* 51% of newspaper subscribers earn more than $50K
* 53% of newspaper subscribers have attended college and/or have earned advanced degrees

Sounds a lot like the average symphony attendee, doesn’t it?

Alex ross says that so far, the only Printed Newspaper going against the trend, is The Washington Post, who just hired Anne Midget as a full time replacement for Tim page.

Part of the reason for this, obviously, is the complete change in the Newspaper world. With free on line newspapers the editors are using the hits to gage popularity of critics and writers, so if you have favorites and you want to keep reading them - click on there stories, submit comments email the articles and so on….
Or - on the other hand, you can take the advice Justin Davidson gives Critics on Musical America:

So what’s a poor critic to do? For one thing, don’t cling to a leaky tub. The future of arts criticism may be as an extension of the arts world, rather than as a neglected corner of journalism. Museums, orchestras and performing organizations in each community could come together to set up an independent, hyper-local, on-line-only arts bulletin staffed by a formerly ink-stained wretch. The consortium could provide seed money, mailing lists, advertising and - most important - a guarantee of editorial independence. It would take a while for an ensemble to get used to the idea of funding negative reviews, just as it would be difficult for critics to negotiate potential conflicts of interest. But it’s possible to set ground rules, and the payoff would be an invigorated conversation about the arts, a built-in audience of readers who have been betrayed by the local paper and the beginnings of a strategy for surviving the implosion of traditional news. Treating the wounds to democracy is a far more challenging - and crucial - task.

Food for thought (good, tasty food!)