secret life of a restaurant critic...

I wonder with so many blogs and forums (such as this one) if things like this become something of the past. With EVERYONE being a critic these days and having the ability to post on line to their own blog/forum/facebook page, how will the general public sift through so many reviews? Will the better writer win out over the better palate?

Robin, you know this business better than anyone. How, or do you, see the business of critiquing changing?

[Robin Garr]

Robin, you know this business better than anyone. How, or do you, see the business of critiquing changing?

Good question, Carla. I'll need to think on that one. In the CJ, it seems to me that the Saturday dining pages in Scene, save only for Marty's review, seem to be basically a compilation of news releases and uniformly positive reports. Marty will ding a specific point or two in a review, and will occasionally dump on a place that really deserves it, but by and large it seems that "criticism" is taking on a more PRish tone, and people have to turn to this forum to find folks talking about the good, the bad and the ugly as justified.

That's an excellent point Robin. The marketing side of newspapers are very reluctant to publish anything even remotely negative for fear of offending potential advertisers at a time when advertising dollars are scarce. What newspapers (or any news medium for that matter) forget is that a glowing review of a substandard business can potentially KILL the reputation and validity of the paper.

That's an excellent point Robin. The marketing side of newspapers are very reluctant to publish anything even remotely negative for fear of offending potential advertisers at a time when advertising dollars are scarce. What newspapers (or any news medium for that matter) forget is that a glowing review of a substandard business can potentially KILL the reputation and validity of the paper.

Hmmmmm. Good points Carla. I hadn't thought of things from that perspective before but it certainly makes sense. Thanks.