DR. PANGLOSS, EDITOR

posted by James Reel

    Hank Klibanoff, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's managing editor for enterprise, tells Alex Ross that he’s shocked—shocked!—by the uproar over his paper’s plans to revamp its arts coverage, requiring respected critics to re-apply for jobs that may or may not involve substantial criticism: “I really thought the arts community would be pleased to hear that we'd be writing more about artists, their lives, arts institutions, behind the scenes, etc.” Well, the arts community will most certainly not be pleased if serious criticism is going to be supplanted by puff pieces about over-exposed soloists, feel-good stories about cute kiddies at the symphony, and “reviews” by newbies who aren’t equipped to pass informed judgment on professional artists. Alex Ross seems mollified that the Atlanta paper is sorting things out properly, but it’s still up to Klibanoff and his colleagues to prove they’re not making the same blunder that’s already been made by many other papers, including those right here in Tucson. You can find the full Ross-Klibanoff interview here.