I was thinking today about the recently deceased film critic Roger Ebert. I was struck by the notion that there will probably never be another critic like him, both in his depth of knowledge but also as a celebrity in his own right. Growing up I watch Siskel and Ebert, and I've been reading Ebert's reviews for literally my entire adult life. The world was so different then; if you wondered about a movie you relied on a professional critic. Nowadays you just Google the movie and check out the Rotten Tomatoes score. The internet has democratized criticism, and probably also reduced it to the lowest common denominator.
Of course by the time the 'net was in full swing, Ebert had already built a large following and massive credibility. How will a journalist accomplish this nowadays? Do you folks think a critic will ever again have the kind of prominence Roger Ebert had? I don't really see it. Newspapers are in decline along with all forms of print media. Certainly there are critics that publish online but in an electronic era I fee like it's really a diluted, watered-down pool.
This isn't unique to movies, of course. It's hard to imagine a news anchor mustering the kind of gravitas of a Walther Cronkite...heck, even a Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings.
I'm not complaining, just observing. Where is the future of criticism heading?
