In spite of arts journalism (the profession at large, really) continuing to implode, and culture increasingly being reduced to content, America's largest newspaper publisher is offering reporting jobs centred on covering two of recorded music's biggest megastars in Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
This week, mass media giant Gannett put a call out for two reporters charged with covering the respective artists for newspaper The Tennessean, based in Nashville, and USA Today.
Gannett's job posting for the position of dedicated Swift scribe looks to attract a journalist who will "identify why the pop star's influence only expands, what her fanbase stands for in pop culture, and the effect she has across the music and business worlds."
Gannett's description for the Beyoncé reporting job, a posting that has since been removed, seeks someone to cover how the "international superstar and icon's impact is felt across generations," and how the former Destiny's Child member has gone on to become "a force in everything from how the country views race to how women think about their partners." [via The New York Times]
The job opportunities arrive amidst Beyoncé's ongoing world tour behind RENAISSANCE — a perfect album, in Exclaim!'s opinion — and a period of Swift's career that could best be described as "peak Taylor," which necessitates coverage of her massive Eras tour and forthcoming concert film, an equally ambitious catalogue re-recording project, loving and litigious fan behaviour, Prime Ministers and other politicos putting the MP in 'simp,' and every last vinyl record mishap or mispress.
Historically, it is rare that media companies — no matter the size — have employed arts reporters to focus on a single artist. But if you've followed music and arts coverage online within the last decade, you may come to realize these job postings are the big-moneyed media conglomerate equivalent of Exclaim! staffers furiously writing about a combination of Foo Fighters/Dave Grohl/Drake/Grimes/Nickelback/Jack White/pre-Wyoming Kanye/etc. more often than cranky Facebook commenters would like them to.
In a statement Tuesday (September 12), Kristin Roberts, Gannett's chief content officer, said the company's USA Today Network is committed to "providing our audience with content they crave," feeling that Swift is "shaping a generation and is relevant, influential and innovative — just like us." [via The New York Times]
Bleakly, recent reporting on Gannett's operations paints a picture similar to that of Canada's own media conglomerates. Last December, the company continued cutting jobs in local news markets by laying off roughly six percent of its 3,440-person US media division, while closer to home today, Metroland Media Group laid off nearly two-thirds of its workforce in ending print publication of its weekly community newspapers across Ontario.
As of press time, you have 11 days to sign up for free home delivery of Exclaim! Magazine in Canada to receive our forthcoming Fall 2023 issue.
If this is a possible future for music journalism, what sort of single-artist reporter positions would Exclaim!'s staffers be shoo-ins for? It isn't a spicy take to suggest that Editor-in-Chief Alex Hudson would continue to bring the heat as a dedicated Red Hot Chili Peppers beat writer, while Online Editor Allie Gregory would undoubtedly excel as a field reporter covering Dead & Company's next tour (make the call, National Geographic). And because I feel my colleagues imagine me rinsing the studio catalogue when I'm not in the office, save me a seat at the copy desk for only the most languid, bittersweet Steely Dan analysis.
This week, mass media giant Gannett put a call out for two reporters charged with covering the respective artists for newspaper The Tennessean, based in Nashville, and USA Today.
Gannett's job posting for the position of dedicated Swift scribe looks to attract a journalist who will "identify why the pop star's influence only expands, what her fanbase stands for in pop culture, and the effect she has across the music and business worlds."
Gannett's description for the Beyoncé reporting job, a posting that has since been removed, seeks someone to cover how the "international superstar and icon's impact is felt across generations," and how the former Destiny's Child member has gone on to become "a force in everything from how the country views race to how women think about their partners." [via The New York Times]
The job opportunities arrive amidst Beyoncé's ongoing world tour behind RENAISSANCE — a perfect album, in Exclaim!'s opinion — and a period of Swift's career that could best be described as "peak Taylor," which necessitates coverage of her massive Eras tour and forthcoming concert film, an equally ambitious catalogue re-recording project, loving and litigious fan behaviour, Prime Ministers and other politicos putting the MP in 'simp,' and every last vinyl record mishap or mispress.
Historically, it is rare that media companies — no matter the size — have employed arts reporters to focus on a single artist. But if you've followed music and arts coverage online within the last decade, you may come to realize these job postings are the big-moneyed media conglomerate equivalent of Exclaim! staffers furiously writing about a combination of Foo Fighters/Dave Grohl/Drake/Grimes/Nickelback/Jack White/pre-Wyoming Kanye/etc. more often than cranky Facebook commenters would like them to.
In a statement Tuesday (September 12), Kristin Roberts, Gannett's chief content officer, said the company's USA Today Network is committed to "providing our audience with content they crave," feeling that Swift is "shaping a generation and is relevant, influential and innovative — just like us." [via The New York Times]
Bleakly, recent reporting on Gannett's operations paints a picture similar to that of Canada's own media conglomerates. Last December, the company continued cutting jobs in local news markets by laying off roughly six percent of its 3,440-person US media division, while closer to home today, Metroland Media Group laid off nearly two-thirds of its workforce in ending print publication of its weekly community newspapers across Ontario.
As of press time, you have 11 days to sign up for free home delivery of Exclaim! Magazine in Canada to receive our forthcoming Fall 2023 issue.
If this is a possible future for music journalism, what sort of single-artist reporter positions would Exclaim!'s staffers be shoo-ins for? It isn't a spicy take to suggest that Editor-in-Chief Alex Hudson would continue to bring the heat as a dedicated Red Hot Chili Peppers beat writer, while Online Editor Allie Gregory would undoubtedly excel as a field reporter covering Dead & Company's next tour (make the call, National Geographic). And because I feel my colleagues imagine me rinsing the studio catalogue when I'm not in the office, save me a seat at the copy desk for only the most languid, bittersweet Steely Dan analysis.
