Day Eight founder Robert Bettmann was recently involved in several professional arts journalism events.
On June 23 he moderated a panel, “The Future of Arts Journalism”, at the National Dance Critics Association conference in Philadelphia. He wrote about the panel for Americans for the Arts, and here’s an excerpt of that article:
Attendees agreed that today, as opposed to even ten years ago, there is uncomfortably both less and more criticism written by professional writers. Individuals that have been covering our profession for generations are being drowned out, and silenced. Will a similarly professional pool of dance critics exist to convene in twenty years?
The week following the conference, Robert was the featured guest on the It’s All Journalism podcast, hosted by Michael O’Connell. You can listen to the podcast on the It’s All Journalism site.
Most recently, Ann-Marie Miller, executive director of ArtPride, blogged about Robert’s Americans for the Arts piece for the Dodge Foundation. Her post, “A Call to Reinvigorate Arts Journalism in New Jersey and Beyond” includes,
So what is the future of arts journalism, separating it from the context of all journalism? Rob Bettmann, Board Chair of DC Advocates for the Arts and publisher of Bourgeon, poses that question in a recent ArtsBlog and hits the heart of the issue.
You can read the full post on the Dodge Foundation site here.
If you’re interested in the future of arts journalism, join Day Eight this fall for a public conversation on the topic with Robert and Phillip Kennicott (Washington Post Culture Critic and 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner.)