Steve Smith discusses arts reporting with Zachary Woolfe, classical music editor at the New York Times, in Friday’s (4/21) Log Journal. Q: Culture coverage at the Times has been in a state of flux for a long time now, but some of the most recent changes seem so dramatic and different. A: The charge that has been placed on everyone at the Times … is the idea that key to the sustainability of the operation in the long term is a dramatic rise in digital subscribership. Q: We’ve seen a marked decrease in the number of standard concert reviews running in the Times. A: The print newspaper was an amazing technology for lots of small things…. In an environment in which URL after URL is sort of flung out into the ether to rise and fall as it would, we see much more vividly what are the things that engage readers. Q: I have to ask about … ‘The Week’s 8 Best Classical Music Moments.’ A: Don’t think of this as a review…. If I go to Mitsuko Uchida’s recital, I did a full review of it, and my also putting it in ‘Moments’ allows me to link to the full review. So the thing becomes more of a newsletter or digest.”
Posted April 25, 2017
