http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/9995236.htm Critics take critical look at arts news coverage Elaine Guregian, Akron Bacon Journal, Oct. 24, 2004 How do you like your arts news? Are you looking for lots of reviews, or other kinds of stories? What is the function of a critic: consumer adviser, educator, arts advocate? How has the blurring of boundaries between artistic categories changed what critics need to do? Last weekend, I joined music critics from around the world at Columbia University for a conference to talk about the role of the music critic, and how it has changed in the years since a similar session was held at Harvard in 1948. The symposium, organized by the National Arts Journalism Program and the Music Critics Association of North America, consisted of speakers and panel discussions set up to look at trends in music criticism, specifically of classical music. Some of the things we talked about: - Most cities now have just one newspaper. Even in New York City, the New York Times is the only paper to devote significant space to classical music and the other arts. This magnifies the impact of the comments any single critic makes. Visiting European critics said that with many journalists at any given event, they know that a variety of viewpoints will be aired. - According to a survey completed in August, classical music critics tend to be male (74 percent) and white (92 percent), with a median age of 52. Nearly two-thirds hold graduate degrees, and 96 percent have formal training in music. For the record, I'm a white female a bit younger than the median, with training as an oboist, a bachelor's degree in music history from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in music history from the University of Chicago. - Do reviews matter to performers? Conductor James Conlon, who will visit the Cleveland Orchestra next month, told the critics that 2 percent of his colleagues admit to reading reviews. "The other 98 percent lie," he said. Conlon sees a paradox in that music schools in the United States are turning out the best musicians ever, while performing organizations are worried about declining audiences. Not only that, but cutbacks in school music programs mean that listeners have less background than they used to. What can critics do? Don't just correct and admonish in their reviews, but try to raise the consciousness of readers, he said. Don't just talk about performances but the issues surrounding them. - Classical musicians need to come down from their ivory towers, more than one speaker said. Conductors who are comfortable talking to audiences should do it. And in the spirit of opening doors, critics need to do a better job of educating audiences who want to understand the art form but don't have a way into it. - Newspapers are more interested than ever in the business of the arts, but staffs have not grown to accommodate this coverage. Reviewers often have to write about deficits or labor negotiations. When organizations are having financial problems, as many are today, reviewers can feel pressured to temper negative comments about the artistic deficiencies, so as not to damage the organizations. Conlon suggested that splitting these functions between two people could help ease the tension between newspapers and arts institutions. - More performances of world music, and more fluid boundaries between all styles of music, means that critics need to educate themselves beyond classical music. Osvaldo Golijov, an in-demand composer whose music can't be neatly classified, said critics should think about the context of a composition before they start evaluating its success. Meredith Monk, a long-established artist, said newspapers never know who to send to her performances, because they're about theater, dance and music. Critics who are equipped to see things from a broad cultural context will be the best able to handle a review of Monk or the many others now who cross boundaries. - The trend at newspapers everywhere is away from the traditional model of previews and reviews. Arts news stories, advances and creative new ways of handling stories are seen by editors as more compelling ways to draw in readers than reviews. Editors said critics can be traditional and resist change, but argued that to do so is not in the best interest of readers. Elaine Guregian is the Beacon Journal's classical music critic. She can be reached by phone at 330-996-3574 or e-mail at [log in to unmask] Janos Gereben www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]