2. Arts and Entertainment
Journalists
Arts and entertainment journalists are different from most
other types of journalists because they are allowed more
expressive freedoms. Unlike most people in other fields of
journalism, arts and entertainment reporters are allowed
and encouraged to make interpretations and form
opinions about what they report on.
“…arts reporters elevated themselves above the regular news journalist,
suggesting that they must be able to not only write in an informed manner, but
also „translate their passion and knowledge in a way that will both interest and
inspire audiences/readers‟” (626)
Source for information on arts and entertainment journalists
3. Culture of Critics
• “Their professional identity is tied to their ability to
pass judgment on cultural products, and their role
in mediating the arts” (622).
• “Arts reporters…do not fit comfortably into the
professional category of the journalist” (623)
• Three major “subprofessions”
• Arts journalist (local and national)
• Arts editor
• Freelance critic
4. Culture of Critics Continued
• “although the authority of critics often hangs in the
balance, journalistic authority generally holds firm”
(624)
• What determines “authority”?
• Size of audience
• Journalistic platform
• Passion for the subject
• Education on the subject; specializing (ie a degree)
5. Advertising: Effects on Critics
“The mass media exist for only two reasons. One is that people read us or watch us;
the other is that people and companies use us to advertise. These are, of course,
connected. If people don't read or watch us, advertisers won't use us. But if
advertisers don't use us--for whatever reason--then we will lose our audiences.
Advertising pays the bills. Newspapers, for example, receive 70 to 80 percent of their
revenues from ads (circulation is most of the rest). If ads evaporate, the mass media
won't be able to afford the programs and news staffs that attract audiences.”
Personal narrative from freelance journalist:
"The problem is that a lot of editors see criticism as an adjunct of marketing. They're
happy only when it's a positive review, because then you have a writer who's with
the program," says Charles Taylor, a critic of film, books, and music who until
recently contributed to the Newark Star-Ledger on a freelance basis. According to
Taylor, he nearly lost one of his gigs (not his gig at the Star-Ledger, which was
eliminated in a mass purge at the paper last year) because he wrote a critical review
of a popular movie.“ There's a common point of view," he explains. "You don't assign
a review to someone who doesn't like the work. Oh, really? That's publicity; that's not
criticism. There is a pressure on the critic to be positive, and, in terms of print, at
least, it's tied to advertising dollars."
6. Tabloid Entertainment Journalists:
A Different Set of Ethics
“I was waiting in the checkout line at
the market and on the cover of a
tabloid was a picture of Kobe
Bryant's accuser. Not exposing a
rape victim is something we learn in
Journalism 101.”
-Jeff Alan (author of “Responsible
Journalism”) in Television Week
Picture Source
7. The Nature of Arts and
Entertainment Journalism
• “When it comes to ethics in journalism, the ugly
usually grabs the headlines.”
-Robert Leger in Quill
8. Lorne Manly (seen on the left), the entertainment editor of The New York
Times answered viewers‟ questions about entertainment coverage. An
aspiring arts journalist asked for career advice, and Manly responded
indicating the future for arts and entertainment journalists is bleak.
