Everybody’s talking about arts journalism

After last Friday’s summit on new media affecting those who write, read and listen produced by the National Arts Journalism Program/USC Anneberg Center, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s Future of Music Coalition session “Critical Condition: The Future of Music Journalism.”

Here’s are questions I’ve been asked to consider by the two moderators:

a) How, in such a noisy media
environment, can artists win the attention of music writers? 

b) What’s the value of music writing
when listeners can rapidly access the sounds themselves?

c) How is niche music coverage faring
in the age of American Idol? Should it be left to the citizen and fan blogs or
is there a reason for maintaining coverage “beats” at trad outlets?

d) What impact has user-generated
reviews at Amazon, etc. had on criticism? Is there a need for professional
arbiters of culture?

A) As we fret over the crisis in
journalism, it’s worth asking: Were traditional media really doing such a great
job to being with? What were we not doing well before that new outlets and
sources provide?

B) Given that the old business model
for journalism is broken beyond repair, how will we pay for the kind of music
journalism — be it criticism or reporting on the music industry — that new
sources (amateur, logarithmic, etc) don’t consistently provide?

C) How has the form changed the
function? How has the change in how we access music as listeners/consumers
affected the job writers and critics perform? Is the tweeted record review
really useful? How about the 10,000-word essay?

 

I understand though our condition is critical, we will NOT be webevised, but perhaps audio-documented. I’ll either blog from the panel, or report after it’s all over. Panelists are encouraged to come up with our own questions, too (good thing) and we’re going to have general statements followed by smaller group action-oriented brainstorming. If you as readers, writers, listeners have questions you’d like me to bring to the august group, post them here, please, for consideration . . ..