So bad that the Times-Picayune, which laid off one-third of its staff yesterday, also laid off its widely respected food critic.
How on earth do you have a food town of the stature of New Orleans without a newspaper food critic?
(By the way, hello from 10,000 feet. I love in-flight wi-fi…)
Joe Magarac says: How on earth do you have a food town of the stature of New Orleans without a newspaper food critic?
Quite easily. I trust reviews on websites like yelp and urbanspoon as much or more than I do reviews in the Pittsburgh papers. The newspaper reviews are good, don’t get me wrong – but they’re not better than people who provide similar content for free online.
A better question is: why in the world would a local newspaper, presumably behind the 8-ball financially, stray from its core task (reporting news) by paying restaurant reviewers, movie reviewers, fashion reviewers, and etc. when there are websites and magazines that specialize in those areas and do a much better job than the newspaper people do?
NOLA Gian says: Apparently, the T-P is relatively strong financially. This purely an arbitary decision by the current owner of the paper, Advance Publications, under the direction of Steven Newhouse, who wants to concentrate on digital media. The fool is wielding his ax on a number of other print newspapers, as well. I expect it will end badly for Advance Publications.
It will end badly for Advance Publications.
It, unfortunately, will end worse for New Orleans.
WhollyRoamin says: There’s a Marilyn Haggerty joke in here somewhere.
David J. White says: There is also the possibility that online reviewers might have less of a vested interested in giving an undeserved positive review than a critic working for a newspaper that is dependent on advertising from local businesses, including restaurants, theatres, etc.
Having said that, I don’t think I’ve ever based a decision on where to eat on a restaurant review, except to get an idea of the price range and type of cuisine offered. I tend to go with recommendations from friends. But, I have to admit, I’m the sort of person who is mostly interested in the type of restaurants that feature things like meatloaf or liver and onions, served by waitresses who call everyone “Hon”, so I’m not really in the demographic targeted by most restaurant reviews.
Nergol says: Good.
I’m glad the traditional media is dying. Good riddance to bad rubbish. The day the New York Times finally folds up and blows away, I’ll celebrate with a chocolate cake and a bottle of spiced rum. Any conservative who mourns the death of traditional media needs to get their head examined.
Floridan says: The decision is somewhat inexplicable, particularly in New Orleans, and especially since the increased interest in all thing cuisine.
I guarantee that the N.O. restaurateurs are not happy with this decsion — a good newpaper review is like money in the bank for a restaurant, whereas the opinion (positive or negative)of some unknown eater on Chowhound will rarely move the needle.
Ethan C. says: I agree with Sam M.
If the critic really is worth what the T-P was paying him, he hopefully has built his personal reputation and can go into business for himself. He’ll definitely have to hustle, but I would bet that if he works hard he can make it as an independent.
Theoretically, the demand for restaurant reviews in New Orleans hasn’t decreased any, right? So he just needs to figure out another outlet to get people reading his reviews, and a way to generate revenue for it, and he’ll be good.
At least I hope it works out for him.
MH - Secular Misanthropist says: The Times-Picayune has apparently done a good job exposing corruption within the New Orleans government. So it sounds like it is providing a valuable service. The problem is most people don’t want their news in dead tree form anymore.
Geoff Guth says: Any conservative who mourns the death of traditional media needs to get their head examined.
There’s something so delightfully oxymoronic in that statement.
Anyways, this is absolutely a huge milestone on the road to the death of traditional media. Restaurant critics symbolize the involvement of the paper in every aspect of a community. Their absence means that the new media has no intention or ability to be a one-stop shop for everything of note that happens in town, covering all forms of human activity.
Here’s why I mourn the passing: I like generalists. I like people and institutions with wide-ranging interests and expertise. The web seems to be accelerating this drive towards more and more high specialization. I’m not at all sure that’s necessarily a good thing. In fact, I think it encourages greater and greater fragmentation and division.
cka2nd says: To Joe Magarac:
Local newspapers have traditionally strayed from their core task for the simple reason that doing so drives either circulation, advertising or both. Given the T-P’s continued strength and still amazing market penetration, this whole move seems short-sighted.
To: David J. White
I was lucky enough to have the best meal of my life in a restaurant I found through a review my local alternative weekly. One of the nice things about living in Albany, NY is that the restaurant reviews in both the daily and weekly papers run the gamut from pubs to fine dining, and the fine dining establishments are WAY more affordable than those in big cities.
David J. White says: cka2nd: I live in Waco, Texas and grew up in Akron, Ohio, so I can easily believe that the better restaurants in Albany are more affordable than even mediocre restaurants in big cities.
I acquired the daily newspaper habit early and love reading the paper with breakfast or lunch (depending on when I get it). That said, I have been reading more and more news online over the years, and the parts of the paper I tend to turn to first — the parts that I think I would find really irreplaceable should the daily paper disappear completely — are the comics and the puzzles. Doing a crossword or sudoku online is possible — I’ve done it — but is just not the same as doing it on paper with a pen. It’s a tactile thing. But I admit that that attitude is probably generational, and that I would probably adapt if I had to. In the 80s and early 90s I used to write a lot of letters by hand, and couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t. But I don’t so much anymore.
“How on earth do you have a food town of the stature of New Orleans without a newspaper food critic?”
Short answer: Google.
If I was visiting New Orleans, I wouldn’t even consider picking up a Times-Picayune. A few weeks before going I’d Google about food there and I’d get a ton of stuff about where to eat, mostly from people writing for free. The issue is gatekeeping. Who’s reliable? BUt there are little clues, ones I can’t even describe, about website design that tell me a lot about the writer.
The food critic could become one of these people. Start a website. Sell ads. Build a brand. I know. One in a million shots.
But are the odds all that better than getting to be the food critic for the Times-Picayune? There’s a lot that’s arbitrary about that kind of gig-getting.
The person probab;y had to have a passion for the subject. Willing to do it for nothing or for free to build a clip book. A lot of luck with this person retiring at the right time, that guy dying, standing in the right place.
How’s that different that seeking success on the web?
Yes. It seems odd that the mail paper doesn’t care to write about food in the area. But it’s probab;y because there’s no paying market for that. The info is too easy to get somewhere else.