Interesting question! For what it's worth, I got my first (and critical)
job as a film critic, at the college paper at the age of 17, because I was
best friends with the wife of the editor, at a moment when the regular
film critic didn't show up.
Some of the film critics I've worked with from major papers got their jobs
by graduating from doing the TV listings or obits or something else like
that at the newspapers.
Some critics I've known have wanted to get into the business, and
eventually did, often as scriptwriters.
When I stopped doing regular criticism, after around 20 years of doing it
for newspapers (Mn Daily, In These Times) and magazines (American Film)
and for a host of free papers, magazines and journals, I was being paid
the same or less than I was paid starting out ($25 a review) and there was
a never ending supply of newbies with as little knowledge of film or film
history as I had starting out, coming up and eager to write.
Pat Aufderheide, Professor and Director
Center for Social Media, School of Communication
American University
3201 New Mexico Av. NW, #330
Washington, DC 20016-8080
www.centerforsocialmedia.org
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202-885-2069
Lou Thompson <[log in to unmask]>
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07/25/2008 08:24 PM
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[SCREEN-L] film critics
The announcement today that "Ebert and Roeper" were going off the air came
at one of those serendipitous times for me, as I've been thinking a lot
about film critics--who they are, where they come from, how (or if) they
are trained or schooled.
I was wondering if those of you on the list would be interested in sharing
your list of the top film critics/reviewers (not scholars), past and
present.
__________________________
Lou Ann Thompson, Ph.D,
Professor of English
Texas Woman's University
_____________________________
"One Law for the Lion and the Ox is Oppression."--William Blake
_____________________________
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing."--Attributed to
Edmund Burke
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"It could be worse. I could be Sting."--Ozzy Osbourne
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