The Playgoer: Guardian on Arts Blogging

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Guardian on Arts Blogging

Many thanks to Maxie Szalwinska (aka Webloge) for mentioning Playgoer in her post at Guardian's Culture Vulture on theatre blogging. Naturally I have a vested interest in increased MSM awareness/coverage of arts blogs. But aside from that, I feel I can objectively say it's a pretty good thing, no?

We now have two UK papers devoting space to that (previously Clive Davis in the London Times) but little ink in NYC. The Guardian seems to be especially practicing what they preach by hatching something like Culture Vulture. How long before the Voice, Time Out, New York Mag develop equally rich blog-sections? (Forget about the Times, naturally.)

5 comments:

PeonInChief said...

Wow, Playgoer. Pretty soon you'll be too well-known to hang with the likes of us.

Tom Loughlin said...

Of course, I think it's excellent that you and George and Alison got these mentions, and that the burgeoning blogosphere is getting ink, but I am afraid that like everything else theatrical, the whole thrust of theatre blogging will become New York City centric. I can see it happening already to some degree. At some point I'll need to write a piece on the curse of NewYorkCentrism and how it's killing theatre nationwide. Such a big city, so much talent, so crammed into one location while the rest of us starve. I noticed your piece on Cincinnati got no comments. Not surprising. We cannot expect the theatre to grow much if our regional scenes begin to die off. -poorplayer

Tom Loughlin said...

PS - I think time will prove you wrong about the NY Times (no pun intended). The Times has been pretty efficient in terms of their web development, especially in the technology section. Look at what became of David Pogue, a good free-lance tech writer whose style became popular in the tech world (basically the Apple world) and now he has numerous blogs. Same for sports writers. I predict at some point either you or George, as literate theatregoers, will be co-opted by the Times for some sort of daily blog on the arts. They'll recognize that neither Isherwood nor Brantley have the proper style. It will replace the Theatre Notes which I believe appear on Friday? Tuesday? Believe me, it will happen. If MSM is good at anything, it is good at co-opting success. -poorplayer

Playgoer said...

Dear "Poor Player"--I agree arts coverage is too NY-centric. I do what I can, but at the end of the day, here I am in NY so that's what I write most about.

The answer, though, is more arts blogs from all over. Write about what's going on in YOUR home town. That would be *extremely* valuable on the web, to read what's NOT being covered.

I truly believe that the web--and blogs--in particular have the potential to finally nationalize the arts in the US in a positive way.

As for the Times, notice how some of their blogs are--ironically!--firewalled. (Like Suellentrop's The Opinionator.) So much for the cutting edge of the web....I also hope they'll recognize George's gifts and see the wisdom in perhaps hosting Superfluities. I must say, though, that I'm not holding my breath for them to come to me, after some of the things I've said about the paper here...

And to Peon, all I can say is: even if I did become a haugty asshole after a few more MSM links... the beauty of the web is: no one can hide and any reader can virturally "hang" with anyone.(Except at Times Select, of course!)

PeonInChief said...

Watch out, Playgoer. You could find lowlifes like me coming over at all hours of the day and night, making ourselves at home on the couch and chattering on topics like the discovery of the delay feature on the dishwasher.