RTP-area local music and culture

[editor AT capefearmercury.com]

I'll stand by what I say about institutional fatigue. To get a little
more meta 'bout it, the whole idea that a show preview should be
entertainment bothers me because I see so much of journalism shifting
in a similar direction. You get the snark before and often in place of
the facts. It's a question of balance.

(Note: I'm speaking in generalities, here and not out to slam anyone
in particular)

Much of journalism, music and otherwise, seems to be stuck on the man-
bites-dog paradigm - the dazzle the reader with your cleverness, your
ability to find the odd twist and the unusual.
Entertaining, maybe. Helpful, eh, not always.
Then there's the whole idea of creating new sections with their own
rules and twists.
Not a bad idea in general, but some publications seem to be in
constant makeover mode and at the same time wondering why readers just
don't get that cool new section.
My personal belief is that it's one of the things that television did
to print.
Here is what I've learning in four decades of doing this:
1. Publications that do well tend to be the ones that deliver the
goods every week, day, month.
2. Consistency and integrity are highly valued by readers.

As far as the Indy is concerned, I took on the section when it was in
shambles and tried to build it into something that was dependable and
would support local music. My philosophy on it is pretty close to
James'.
I think it's fine if people who are in charge now want to try
different things. That's the fun of having the editor's chair. (Maybe
the only fun.)
Yes, the Indy reflects this community and I think people there will
listen if folks tell them something sucks.

One minor point on the percentages, G. I don't have a copy of the
section in front of me, but if you're including ads in that page count
-- and maybe calendars and club guide -- you're not going to get
apples to apples. Probably should use total words and word count to
figure that right. Good luck on all this.

kmr