The departed - No. 53, Lawrence Toppman
Roger Moore - the Cricket's counterpart at the Orlando Sentinel (and possibly the coolest name among movie critics, being similar to the name of a former James Bond) - reports that his friend Lawrence Toppman, the movie critic at the Charlotte Observer, has been reassigned.
One of Toppman's last reviews, of "Adventureland," ran today.
That puts the tally of print-publication movie critics who have lost their jobs - to layoff, buyout, reassignment or defunct papers - to 53 since January 2006, and nine since the first of this year.
Time for a reminder of why this list is being compiled.
It's the Cricket's belief that a multitude of critics' voices helps foster a dialogue about movies across the country - and the more critics reviewing movies, the better.
But the trend in a contracting newspaper industry is to eliminate jobs - particularly in the arts fields - and rely on national news wires for movie reviews, book reviews, and the like. Unfortunately, such job cuts silence regional voices in favor of monolithic viewpoints from the media centers of New York and L.A.
As Roger Ebert recently opined, movie critics "are the canaries in the coal mine." As the plight of movie critics gets more dire, so does the plight of newspapers in general.
Here's the updated list:
1. Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, buyout, 2006
2. Steve Ramos, Cincinnati CityBeat, position eliminated, April 2006
3. Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer, reassigned, spring 2006
4. Jami Bernard, New York Daily News, contract not renewed, May 2006
5. Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News, buyout, fall 2006
6. Bonnie Britton, Indianapolis Star, reassigned, fall 2006
7. Dennis Lim, Village Voice, laid off, October 2006
8. Michael Atkinson, Village Voice, laid off, October 2006
9. Mark Burger, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, laid off, November 2006
10. Barbara Lester, CityLink (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), position eliminated, early 2007
11. Bob Ross, Tampa Tribune, laid off, April 2007
12. Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News, buyout, May 2007
13. Phoebe Flowers, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, reassigned, May 2007
14. Dave Gathman, Elgin (Ill.) Courier-News, staff reorganization, May 2007
15. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, buyout, summer 2007
16. Jack Garner, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, retired, June 2007
17. Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune, quit, July 2007
18. Rob Nelson, City Pages (Minneapolis-St. Paul), position eliminated, August 2007
19. Matt Soergel, Florida Times-Union, reassigned, October 2007
20. Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle, buyout, October 2007
21. Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press, buyout, December 2007
22. Jack Mathews, New York Daily News, retired, December 2007
23. Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader, retired, December 2007
24. Ed Bradley, Flint (Mich.) Journal, buyout, January 2008
25. David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune, laid off, January 2008
26. Jan Stuart, Newsday, buyout, March 2008
27. Gene Seymour, Newsday, buyout, March 2008
28. Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News, reassigned, March 2008
29. Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times/Oakland Tribune, buyout, March 2008
30. Nathan Lee, Village Voice, laid off, March 2008
31. David Ansen, Newsweek, buyout, March 2008
32. Kevin Crust, The Los Angeles Times, buyout, March 2008
33. Glenn Kenny, Premiere, terminated, May 2008
34. Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post, buyout, May 2008
35. Desson Thomson, The Washington Post, buyout, May 2008
36. Hap Erstein, The Palm Beach Post, buyout, July 2008
37. Lance Goldenberg, Creative Loafing (Tampa Bay), laid off, August 2008
38. Bruce Bennett, New York Sun, paper ceases publication, October 2008
39. S. James Snyder, New York Sun, paper ceases publication, October 2008
40. Craig Outhier, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.), laid off, October 2008 (effective January 2009)
41. Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle, buyout, October 2008
42. Carina Chocano, The Los Angeles Times, laid off, October 2008
43. Betsy Pickle, Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel, laid off, November 2008
44: Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Daily News, laid off, December 2008
45: Ella Taylor, LA Weekly, laid off, January 2009
46: Andy Klein, LA CityBeat, laid off, January 2009
47: Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York, laid off, January 2009
48: Larry Ratliff, San Antonio Express-News, laid off, January 2009
49: Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News, reassigned, February 2009
50: William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, laid off (paper folded to online only), March 2009
51: Soren Andersen, The News-Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.), buyout, March 2009
52: Daniel Neman, Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, laid off, April 2009
53: Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer, reassigned, April 2009
One of Toppman's last reviews, of "Adventureland," ran today.
That puts the tally of print-publication movie critics who have lost their jobs - to layoff, buyout, reassignment or defunct papers - to 53 since January 2006, and nine since the first of this year.
Time for a reminder of why this list is being compiled.
It's the Cricket's belief that a multitude of critics' voices helps foster a dialogue about movies across the country - and the more critics reviewing movies, the better.
But the trend in a contracting newspaper industry is to eliminate jobs - particularly in the arts fields - and rely on national news wires for movie reviews, book reviews, and the like. Unfortunately, such job cuts silence regional voices in favor of monolithic viewpoints from the media centers of New York and L.A.
As Roger Ebert recently opined, movie critics "are the canaries in the coal mine." As the plight of movie critics gets more dire, so does the plight of newspapers in general.
Here's the updated list:
1. Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, buyout, 2006
2. Steve Ramos, Cincinnati CityBeat, position eliminated, April 2006
3. Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer, reassigned, spring 2006
4. Jami Bernard, New York Daily News, contract not renewed, May 2006
5. Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News, buyout, fall 2006
6. Bonnie Britton, Indianapolis Star, reassigned, fall 2006
7. Dennis Lim, Village Voice, laid off, October 2006
8. Michael Atkinson, Village Voice, laid off, October 2006
9. Mark Burger, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, laid off, November 2006
10. Barbara Lester, CityLink (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), position eliminated, early 2007
11. Bob Ross, Tampa Tribune, laid off, April 2007
12. Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News, buyout, May 2007
13. Phoebe Flowers, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, reassigned, May 2007
14. Dave Gathman, Elgin (Ill.) Courier-News, staff reorganization, May 2007
15. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, buyout, summer 2007
16. Jack Garner, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, retired, June 2007
17. Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune, quit, July 2007
18. Rob Nelson, City Pages (Minneapolis-St. Paul), position eliminated, August 2007
19. Matt Soergel, Florida Times-Union, reassigned, October 2007
20. Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle, buyout, October 2007
21. Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press, buyout, December 2007
22. Jack Mathews, New York Daily News, retired, December 2007
23. Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader, retired, December 2007
24. Ed Bradley, Flint (Mich.) Journal, buyout, January 2008
25. David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune, laid off, January 2008
26. Jan Stuart, Newsday, buyout, March 2008
27. Gene Seymour, Newsday, buyout, March 2008
28. Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News, reassigned, March 2008
29. Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times/Oakland Tribune, buyout, March 2008
30. Nathan Lee, Village Voice, laid off, March 2008
31. David Ansen, Newsweek, buyout, March 2008
32. Kevin Crust, The Los Angeles Times, buyout, March 2008
33. Glenn Kenny, Premiere, terminated, May 2008
34. Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post, buyout, May 2008
35. Desson Thomson, The Washington Post, buyout, May 2008
36. Hap Erstein, The Palm Beach Post, buyout, July 2008
37. Lance Goldenberg, Creative Loafing (Tampa Bay), laid off, August 2008
38. Bruce Bennett, New York Sun, paper ceases publication, October 2008
39. S. James Snyder, New York Sun, paper ceases publication, October 2008
40. Craig Outhier, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.), laid off, October 2008 (effective January 2009)
41. Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle, buyout, October 2008
42. Carina Chocano, The Los Angeles Times, laid off, October 2008
43. Betsy Pickle, Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel, laid off, November 2008
44: Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Daily News, laid off, December 2008
45: Ella Taylor, LA Weekly, laid off, January 2009
46: Andy Klein, LA CityBeat, laid off, January 2009
47: Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York, laid off, January 2009
48: Larry Ratliff, San Antonio Express-News, laid off, January 2009
49: Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News, reassigned, February 2009
50: William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, laid off (paper folded to online only), March 2009
51: Soren Andersen, The News-Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.), buyout, March 2009
52: Daniel Neman, Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, laid off, April 2009
53: Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer, reassigned, April 2009
Labels: disappearing critics
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1 Comments:
Sad to see this happening, since it doesn't bode well for my journalism students. Also the trend you describe represents a great loss of independent voices reviewing films. I will personally miss reading Richmond's Dan Neman and hope he lands in a place where his erudite and enjoyable writing will be accessible to all.
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