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Topic: Letters Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 10/17/2008 4:55:31 PM
Title: Ebert gets zero stars from this critic
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From MARGARET NOWAK: After learning that Roger Ebert defends writing a full-column review based on an 8-minute scrap of film, I don't feel so bad about not reading movie reviews. I give a cursory glance to the score rating the movie received, and move on.

That's my choice, as a reader. Ebert should not have that choice as a critic. These people are paid -- some quite handsomely -- to judge bodies of work, not 8-minute sound bites.

The newspaper industry has been battered by storms of reporters who fabricated, columnists who plagiarized, and advertising/circulation managers who cooked books. We've had a few concert reviewers write about shows they never attended, but none at Ebert's level of syndication that I can recall. He and his "wise and expert" editor (his words) have given readers another reason not to trust the "morally dishonest" (her words) review.

Let us hold our collective breath to see if papers across the country will drop his reviews from their slate of columnists. [Permalink]

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