Our full-time movie critic (Shawn Levy) has been gone for more than a year, but this week we said goodbye to our theater critic, Marty Hughley. Last week it was the music guy, Ryan White, a reporter I always read, even though I never listened to the music he was writing about, because he was such a good writer.
The point of having a full-time critic is that I get to know their preferences and that helps inform a decision if what they are talking about is something I might be interested in. Having a bunch of part-timers is not helpful in getting anything done but giving a summary.
The thing I hate most about this transition is that the Oregonian refuses to acknowledge that they are settling for a lesser product.
Aww, this makes me sad. I totally agree with you. One of my favorite movie critics wrote for the Willamette Week (can't remember his name). I knew that he & I had similar tastes, so if he liked something, I would probably like it, etc. And that's important. Perhaps this will pave the way for more professional critics online? I guess we'll see how it plays out.
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