The Role of Media Critics in Cultural Industries

HEC - Montréal - Chair of Arts Management
The Role of Media Critics in the Cultural Industries

Author(s): Stéphane Debenedetti
Source: International Journal of Arts Management, Vol. 8, No. 3 (SPRING 2006), pp. 30-42
Published by: HEC - Montréal - Chair of Arts Management
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Research
fyIARKET
The Role ofMedia Critics

in theCulturalIndustries
Stéphane Debenedetti
Introduction tryandcontemporaneous withtheworksthey

critique.
managersand researchers in the Theircomplexlinkswithcreators andman-
culturalsectorrelyprimarily on indica- agersupstreamand withthe public down-
torsofpopularrecognition to evaluate streamput criticsat the centreof a system
thesuccessofcultural goods.Numbers oftick- of material and symbolic relations thatmake
etssold,box-office revenues, sellingprices and them key actors in the cultural industries.
measures ofsatisfaction areaccordedattention Yet researchin management has struggled
at theexpenseof otherformsof recognition to definethe critic'srole in artsand enter-
suchas recognition bypeersorbyexperts (see tainment - fortwo principalreasons.First,
AllenandLincoln,2004). However, successin it tendsto approachcriticism in termsof its
thearts,bothmaterial andsymbolic, is depen- impacton thepublic,withoutfirst lookingat
dentas muchon theartists themselves andon thecriticsthemselves as distinctactorswithin
independent experts as on consumers (Joyand thecultural field:defining them,determining
Sherry,2003). All three entities
take part in a the issuesthat areat stake,and examining the
complexnetwork of relations through which history of criticism and itsvariousfunctions
fame,reputation and commercial successare and forms.Second,ofthefunctions thatarts
constructed. criticsmayfulfil, only their direct and short-
This paperconsidersone componentof termeconomicimpacton revenues or profits
thecultural"system" (Hirsch,1972) or field hasreceived anyrealattention in themanage-
(Scott, 1995), media critics.I analysethe mentliterature.
critic's
positioning as a strategic intermediary A comprehensive analysisof media criti-
between artists,
managers and the public. Like cism,examining intrinsic
its characteristics, Stéphane Debenedetti
academics, whosharetheirexpertstatus,crit- how it functionsand its relationship with is associate professorof
in management at the Centre

icscanproducesymbolic for
profit artists and other actors the cultural industries,would
de Recherche D.M.S.P
otherartsprofessionals in theshapeof fame, make a valuablecontribution to the litera-
(Unité Mixte de Recherche
or
reputation legitimacy. But the critic's role ture. This a
paperpresents multidisciplinary CNRS 7088), Université
does notend there.Unlikescholarly analysts synthesis of relevantworksin the fieldsof Paris-Dauphine, France. His
of culturalgoods,who havenegligible com- management, economics, sociology andinfor- research and teaching areas
are cultural management,
mercialimpact(at leastin the shortterm), mationsciences, centred on thissingular actor
cultural practices and the
areintegral
critics to theeconomics ofthecul- in thecultural field.Myobjective is threefold: cinematic representationof
turalproduct, beingpartofthemediaindus- to definethecharacteristics ofmediacriticism the business world.
30 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTS MANAGEMENT

(Whatis mediacriticism?), to analyseitsfunc- market characterized byconsumer uncertainty Acknowledgements ¡
tioning(How do criticsgo about reviewing?) over the value of cultural
goods and bythedif- I would like to j
and to examinecritics'contribution shap- ficulty developingpracticalknowledgeto
to of thank FlorenceCaro,
ingthestructure anddynamics ofthecultural inform decision-making (eachartistic
creation Manuel Cartier, j
field( Whatmultiple rolesdoescriticismplay in beingunique). Alain Debenedetti, !
thecultural industries?). According to Shrum(1991), current criti- Fabrice Larceneux, j
Thesethreequestionsformtheframework cal discourse typicallyincludesthreeelements, Sophie Rieunier Í
and the anonymous j
ofthispaper.I concludebyproposing several corresponding closelyto Hatchuels (1995)
reviewersfortheir j
possible avenues for future research. typology ofinfluence:
- descriptive, constructivecom- |
informative elementsthat
ments. I
arefamiliar or easilyaccessibleto thepublic;
thesecorrespond to "factualguidance"(who
WhatIs Media Criticism? did what,when,where, withwhom,etc.)
- analytical elements thatsupplyan inter-
Definitionand Implications
pretative contextin whichto understand the
thissectionI attempt toestablish thefun- work; "technicalguidance"providingthe
damentalcharacteristics of artscriticism. readerorlistener withnewideas
The criticis definedas a journalist-informa- - evaluative elements in theformofposi-
tionprovider whoseindependence withinthe tive or negativejudgements;thesecan be
cultural industriesis opento question. understood as a formof"evaluative guidance"
the
(indicating "right" waytojudgethework).
Thisaspectofthereview encourages thereader
TheCriticas Independent Influencer orlistener to cultivatean affective
relationship
The wordcriticism comesfromkritikos, to withthe critic-journalist (as opposedto the
discernor judge,whichis itselfderivedfrom reporter-journalist), whichentailsa degreeof
krisis,a separation -
or rupture "thecritical trust(orat leastthefeeling ofsharedinterests;
momentthatdecidesthefateof a personor Hatchuel,1995)- together, withthe
ofcourse,
thing"(Creton,2000, p. 30; mytranslation). risk ofantipathy and
(Wyatt Badger,1990).
It was not untilthe 17thcenturythatarts When considering criticsas information
criticism its
acquired contemporary meaning providers, usuallydistinguishbetween
we
of evaluating creative worksat the aesthetic aestheticians - scholarlyor academic crit-
andphilosophical levels(Sgard,1994).Today, ics- and mediacritics. Whereasaestheticians
artscriticism is definedas theartofjudging drawtheirreferences fromhistory, mediacrit-
creative worksor,morespecifically in refer- ics are firmly rootedin thepresent, and are
enceto mediacriticism, as a formof evalua- constrained bypublication deadlines.Because
tivejournalism thatbothinforms aboutand the reviewis releasedalmostsimultaneously
evaluatesa work(Wyattand Badger,1990). withthe culturalgood, the critic-journalist,
In termsofmanagement, thecriticis viewed unlikethe aesthetician,1 directly
participates
i
moreas a specialprovider ofinformation in a in the economicfateof the product.While
This paper explores the role of critics in the cultural industries through a multidisciplinaryliteraturereview.
By synthesizingworksin the fields of management,economics, sociology and informationsciences, the author
raises three issues. He begins with a short discussion of the natureof media criticismand its relationshipto the
culturalindustries. He then tackles the question of how critical discourse is constructed: how do criticsevalu-
ate cultural products,knowingthat both the economic fate of the workand the critic's professionallegitimacy
depend on the evaluation? Lastly,he considers the multipleroles played by critics.The author explores how this
formof independent expertise plays a part in modelling the values and behaviours of differentactors in the
culturalfield. He concludes the literaturereviewby proposingseveral avenues forfutureresearch.
Media criticism,reviews,culturalindustry,legitimacy,marketing
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2006 31

theyoftendrawfromcurrent theoretical ideas notbeenable to guarantee theindependence
and transmit academicaesthetic ideasto the of theircriticsforlong.The media'sgrowing
public(Becker,1982), mediacriticshavethe preoccupation with economicconcernshas
privilege - in theshortterm- ofoffering the led the publicto doubt the authenticity of
firstpublicanalysisof a new work.In the reviews.The publicrecognizes that,in bowing
mediumterm,accordingto Janssen(1998), to market forces,critics
canbecomevictims of
the amountof interest thata workreceives whatRaymondeMoulincalls"moraldevalu-
fromcritics isdirectly relatedtothenumber of ation"(Béra,2003, p. 178). Someevenargue
timesit is reviewed whenfirst released. Their thatpromotional materialand criticism are
economicandsymbolic functions, intheshort distinguishable to
onlybycritics'efforts hide
and mediumterms, establish criticsas central the promotionalfunctionof theirreviews
actorsin thecultural industries. (Bourdieuand Delsaut,1975). This compro-
Another fundamental characteristic ofcrit- misingon thepartofcriticsmaybe seenas a
ics is theirindependence fromtheproducers cautionagainsttheveneerofauthenticity that
of culturalgoods.Criticsare expectedto be criticsbringto thecommercial worldso as to
freeto choosewhichworksto reviewand to ensuretheirviability (Boltanski andChiapello,
evaluatethemon thebasisofmerit. The critic 1999).
therefore has beenseenas the"ideal- type"of Thisgrowing collusionofcriticism withthe
independent actor- resistantto all forms of market hasledtothreeshifts inthenatureand
economic,political and religious influence function ofculturalreviews:
(Béra,2003, p. 156). The authenticity ofthe - Less media space is being allottedto
review - andconsequently thecritics credibil- evaluativereviews(thosethatoffer"techni-
ityand power- reston thistheoretical inde- cal" and "evaluative" guidance)and moreto
pendence. thosethatsimplyprovideinformation (enter-
tainment newsand features, or "factual guid-
ance").This phenomenon has beennotedby
and Promotion
Criticism both researchers and industryprofessionals
So, in theory, independent criticismis the {Inédits,1997;Saltzman, 2002; Béra,2003).
oppositeof commercial promotion. Whereas - This phenomenonis accompaniedby
marketersare employedby theproducers of the emergence of whatCreton(2000) calls
theculturalgood, are
critics not bound byany "promotional neo-criticism," or the replace-
overtcontractual relationship.Butsincetheir mentoftraditional criticism bya simplepara-
beginnings in the 17thcentury, mediacrit- phrasing ofmaterial suppliedin presskits.
icshaveincreasingly beendirectly affected by - Finally,criticsare now participating
commercial as the
considerations, publishers of directly in promotional activitiesmorethan
theirreviewsmustfulfiltheneedsofboththeir or
everbefore.Quotes snippets from their
publicand their (the"doublesale";
advertisers reviews areincorporated intopublicity mate-
Béra,2003). In order to maximize sales,the rialor on stickers affixed to thepackaging of
media have always tried to minimize contro- cultural 200
goods(Larceneux, 1).2 Critics also
versyand fractiousdebate,and therefore have contribute topromotional products bywriting
RÉSUMÉ L'articleexplore le rôle des critiques dans les industriesculturelles par une analyse documentaire multidisciplinaire.En faisant
la synthèse de travaux dans les domaines du management, de l'économie, de la sociologie et des sciences de l'information,
l'auteur aborde trois sujets. Il commence par discuter brièvementde la nature de la critique dans les médias et de sa relation
avec les industries culturelles. Il examine ensuite la manière dont le discours critique est construit: comment les critiques
évaluent-ils les produits culturels,sachant qu'à la fois le sort économique de l'oeuvreet leur légitimité professionnelledépen-
dent de l'évaluation? Enfin,il considère les multiplesrôles joués par les critiques. L'auteurcherche à déterminercommentcette
formede savoir-faireindépendant joue un rôle dans le modelage des valeurs et des comportementsde différentsacteurs dans
le domaine culturel. Il termine son analyse documentaire en proposant plusieurs voies pour la recherchefuture.
MOTS CLÉS Critiquedans les médias, analyses documentaires,industrie culturelle,légitimité, marketing
32 INTERNATIONALJOURNAL 0F ARTS MANAGEMENT

featuresaboutartistscurrentlyin thespotlight forma relationalnetwork in whicheachindi-
- and in suchcasesit wouldnot be in their vidualunitexistsonlyin relationtotheother
tojudgetheartistic
interests worksseverely. units.
This commercial compromising has not, I will firstexplorethe widelyaccepted
however, killedlegitimatecriticism. As Béra theory consensus
ofcritical andthenquestion
(2003) notes,negative criticism- which is by it,giving to
consideration critics'distinction
definition -
notpromotional stillexists,and and thepossibility
strategies of defining dis-
can evenbe usedas a meansof gainingvis- tinctsegments withinthisnetwork.
in themassmedia.Eachcultural
ibility indus-
try(cinema,music,literature, comic books,
Do CriticsAgree?The Originsof
etc.)nowhas itsown specialist publications, CriticalConsensus
in whichseriouscriticism is alive and well
(Heilbrun, 1997;Janssen,1999). Most authorsagreethatthereis solid con-
Letusnowconsider theproduction ofcriti- sensuswithinthefieldof artscriticism as to
caldiscourse.Howdoesthefieldofmediacrit- whichworksand artists areworthy ofcritical
icismfunction? Whatare theindividual and attention(Allenand Lincoln,2004; Bonus
collectiveissuesat stakein theevaluation of and Ronte,1997;Janssen, 1997, 1998, 1999;
culturalgoods? VanRees,1983).Forexample, Janssen (1997)
notesthat,despitethediversity of newtitles
beingpublished,literarycriticsfocuson a very
smallnumberof works,agreeingon which
The FieldofMedia Criticism: onesmeritattention.
CollectiveFunctioning and How toexplainsuchconsensus in a context
IndividualStrategies ofsuch numerous offeringsand limited media
to
space?According Janssen(1997, 1998,
reviewsthatappearconcurrently 1999), consensusderivesfromthe factthat
withthe marketreleaseof the cultural theattention
Critical givento a workdoesnotdepend
good can influence the product'seconomic purelyon critics'
subjective recognition of its
successin theshorttermanditssymbolic suc- artistic
merits, butis also influenced bya col-
cessin thelongterm.Therefore, in orderto lectionof institutional factors. In thefieldof
understand thedynamics oftheartsindustry, literarycriticism,Janssenfoundthattheatten-
we haveto examinethe processof creating tionreceived by an author or publisher in the
artscriticism:How do criticsgo aboutreview- past(interms ofnumber ofreviews) isstrongly
ing?The selectionsmade bya critic
are inher- and connected
positively to the attention thata
entlyrelated to thefunctioningof the fieldof new work by thesame author or from the same
mediacriticism - a microcosm in which"the publisher willreceive.3Repeating past choices
effectsofgossip,rumourand fad"reverberate and focusing on "surebets"leadsto reviewer
loudly(Serroy, 1994,p. 115; mytranslation). consensus and duplication. In explaining this
According to Bonus and Ronte (1997), critics phenomenon, most researchers reject the idea
RESUMEN
Este artículo estudia el papel de la críticaen las industriasculturales a través de un análisis de la literaturade diversas discipli-
nas. A partirde la síntesis de trabajos en los campos de la gestión, la economía, la sociología y las ciencias de la información,el
autor plantea trescuestiones. Comienza tratando brevementela naturaleza de la críticade medios y su relación con las industrias
culturales. A continuación se aboca a la cuestión de la construccióndel discurso crítico:¿cómo evalúan los críticosel producto
cultural,sabiendo que de esa evaluación depende tanto el destino económico del producto como la legitimidadprofesionaldel
mismo crítico? Para finalizar, el autor considera los diversospapeles que desempeñan los críticos. El autor del trabajo observa
también de qué forma la participaciónde este conocimientoexpertoy externocontribuyea formarlos valoresy comportamientos
de los distintosactores en el ámbito cultural.Su análisis de la literaturaconcluye con una propuesta de diferentescaminos para
las investigacionesfuturas.
PALABRASCLAVE Críticade medios, críticas,industriacultural,legitimidad,marketing

thatcriticssharea commonexpertise that CriticalDiscordiDisagreement
lendsconsistency to theirjudgements, argu- Strategies and Segmentation of
ing instead thatcritical consensus is explained CriticalOfferings
primarily in termsofcritical legitimacy. Each
criticalaffirmation is at oncean acknowledge- As we haveseen,mostof theresearch in this
mentofthelegitimacy oftheworkas a subject areahas focusedon consensus. But do critics
of discourseand an acknowledgement of the actuallyseekto aligntheirjudgements with
critic's
ownlegitimacy as a judge.But critical thoseof theirpeers?According to De Nooy
discourse aloneis notenoughto affirm ones (1999), criticstaketwodifferent approaches:
legitimacy; critics
must also the
gain approval agreement strategiesand disagreement strate-
of theirpeers.It is forthisreasonthatcritics gies.In theirevaluations theyaimnotonlyto
keepup withtheircolleagues'reviews. They inform readers, butalsoto addressartists and
can testthequalityoftheirownreviews only other critics- byexpressing feelings of affilia-
bycomparing theirarguments tothoseofother tion,deference orscorn.In so doing,theyhelp
experts(Janssen, 1997; Van Rees, 1983). In to defineor redefine theinternal structure of
so,
doing according to Louette (1994), critics the fieldof media criticism.
"cripplethemselves through reciprocal super- Disagreement strategiesseemtobethemark
vision,"leadingto standardization ofopinions of"superstar" critics.
Somecritics gaina higher
(p. 47; my translation). By considering the levelof legitimacy thanothersbyidentifying
assessments oftheirpeers,furthermore, critics a particular artistas theleaderofan identifi-
reducetheiruncertainty aboutwhichworks ablegroup(Wijnberg and Gemser, 2000), by
merittheirattentionand how theyshould actingas trailblazers, or by developingnew
attendtotheseworks. Thuscritics areinclined perspectives thatexpandupon and refine the
to repeattheirpreviouschoices,limiting the evaluations of otherexperts(Janssen, 1997).
riskto theirstatusas experts and reinforcing Becauseofherdominant positionintheworld
thepublic'sfaithin thelegitimacy oftheirpre- of filmcriticism in theUnitedStatesin the
viouschoices(Janssen, 1997). 1970s, Paul Kael exemplified the "superstar
In the normative approach, consensus is critic":her three favourite films of 1976 won
explained slightlydiiferently. Critics agreenotso all of theNew YorkFilmCriticsCircleand
muchbecausetheyaremonitoring eachother, NationalSocietyof FilmCriticsawardsthat
butrather becausetheysharecertain restrictive year.4Whencritics attaincelebritystatusthey
aesthetic and ideological beliefs. According to are freeto set themselves apart from theircol-
- -
AllenandLincoln(2004),auteurtheory the leagues forexample,bytakingan opposite
beliefthata filmshouldreflect itsdirector's per- viewforthesheerpleasureofreaffirming their
sonalvision- is an exampleofsuchrestrictive superior status(Färber, 1976).
schémas.Developedin Francein the 1950s, The theorythatcriticsseek consensusis
auteur theory hasinfluenced theattention that alsocalledintoquestionbyvariousworksthat
certain films receive throughout the world. attestto a highdegreeofsegmentation among
Lastly, a more materialist vision ofconsen- critics.Forinstance, Chang's(1975) quantita-
sussuggests thatwe shouldnotunderestimate tivestudyof New Yorkfilmreviews - based
thepowerofthemarket to standardize critics' on filmsreleased -
in 1972 resulted in a three-
choices.The fastpaceoftoday'smediaindus- class typology of critics:elitistcritics(those
tryfavourscoverageof "events,"regardless published in TheNewYorker, NewYork maga-
of theirspecific medium.Criticscan also be zine,Esquirey etc.), auteuristcritics
(thosewho
influenced by explicitor implicitsolicitation adheretotheFrenchauteurtheory) and,lastly,
fromcommercial interests - forexample,in entertainer critics(thoseassociatedwithtele-
the formof presspassesor advertising con- visionor radio).Debenedettiand Larceneux
tracts(Béra,2003; Cameron,1995;Eliashberg (2000) similarly delineatethreeverydifferent
andShugan,1997;Hirsch,1972). typesoffilmcriticinFrance:elitist critics(elit-
Yet the findings of some studiesindicate istin theirchoicesand in theseverity oftheir
thata variety ofcritical voicesand individual reviews), popularcritics(thosewhose tastes
strategies can be found within the relational are closest to thetastesofthegeneralpublic)
network ofmediacriticism. and benevolent generalist critics(thosewho
34 INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF ARTS MANAGEMENT

giveverypositive reviews ofa diverse rangeof - thecritic- helpsto shapethestructure and
films).5Finally,Zuckerman and Kim (2003) valuesof thefieldand thebehaviours of the
argue that film criticsfall into two categories other actors in the field. It looks at the dif-
onthebasisoftheirpreference foreither major ferent rolesthat critical reviews can play from
studiofilms orindependent films. theviewpoint of (1) thepublic,as consumers
In conclusion, we maywonderhowto rec- ofthecultural product;(2) theartists orthose
oncilethesearchforconsensus andfordistinc- responsible forproducingthe culturalprod-
tion,forhomogeneity and forsegmentation, uct; (3) artsmanagers;and (4) the cultural
in thefieldofcriticism. Yetthesearenotnec- fieldas a whole.
essarilycontradictory qualities.Considerthat:
- Homogeneity operates onlywithineach Criticsand thePublic
segment -
ofcritics thesegment beingthebase
oftherelational network andconstituting the Reviewscan influence the fateof a cultural
reference group from which the opinion of the
productby shaping public'spreferences.
eachcriticis formed. For the consumer,reviewscan reducethe
- Distinctionor discord strategiesare fundamental uncertainty associatedwithan
employedprimarily by the more legitimate experiential product, the qualityof which
criticswithineachsegment (the leaders within cannot be evaluated fully before purchase.In
thesegment), whouse themto reaffirm their a contextin whichthesupplyis large,timeis
superior status. limitedand markets aresaturated withcom-
- Critical attention (the number of reviews mercial messages,taking notice of reviews
thata workoran artist is
receives) distinguish- reduces one's risk of making poor choice
a
ablefromcritical evaluation (whether a review and simplifies the decision-making process
is positiveor negative). Studiesof consensus (LampelandShamsie, 2000). Numerous stud-
oftendeal with criticalattention(Janssen's ies,mostlyin thefieldofcinema,havefound
research is an example),whiledisagreement a positivecorrelation betweencriticalevalua-
strategiesand distinct segments are studied by tion and commercial performance (Basuroy,
the
considering preferences that critics express. Chatterjee and Ravid, 2003; Jansen,2005;
Criticscan agreeon whatis worthy of their Lampeland Shamsie,2000; Litman,1983;
attention whileatthesametimereviewing the Litmanand Kohl, 1989; Pragand Casavant,
workquitedifferently. 1994;Reddy, Swaminathan andMotley, 1998;
I shouldpointout thattheresearch I cite Sochay,1994; Zuckermanand Kim, 2003)
in thefieldof mediacriticism concernsonly and betweencritical evaluation and consumer
thosecritics who receivesubstantial extrinsic interest (Levin,LevinandHeath,1997;Wyatt
compensation for their work (status, legiti- and Badger,1984, 1990). The correlation is
or
macy salary). Amateur critics and critics particularly strong for works that have weak
whodo notconcealtheirpromotional roledo "signallingproperties" forthegeneralpublic6
notuse thosestrategies thatdistinguish rela- (Lampel and Shamsie,2000), low-budget
tionalnetworks to whichtheybelongonly works(Basuroy, Chatterjee and Ravid,2003;
marginally. Lampel and Shamsie,2000; Levin,Levinand
Regardless ofthetheoretical issuesinvolved Heath,1997;Reinstein andSnyder, 2005) and
in itsproduction, onceit is publishedor dis- worksthatbelongin unfamiliar genres(Desai
tributed a criticalreviewbecomesfreely avail- andBasuroy, 2005).
abletothemarket. Letusnowlookattheways The impactof a reviewalso dependson
in whichthe culturalindustries appropriate the critic'ssocial and culturalproximity to
thisinformation andareinfluenced byit. thereader(Bourdieu,19797),certainintrin-
sic characteristicsof the review(distinction,
coherence,consensus,etc.; d'Astous and
Touil,1999;d'AstousandColbert,2002), the
The Role ofMedia Critics medium(forexample,somenewspapers have
moreinfluence thanothers;Larceneux, 2001;
sectionexploresthe processesby Reddy,Swaminathan and Motley,1998) and
whichoneactorin thecultural industries theindividualcharacteristics of theaudience

ofthereview. On thislastpoint,studiessug- in effect ascribing it a specific genealogy and
gest thatconsumers do notall havethesame assessing its relative contribution (variations
attitudetowards criticism. It has beenfound on a theme,innovation in continuity, radical
thatconsumers whoaremoreinvolved (CNC, novelty, etc.; Becker, 1982; Joy and Sherry,
1989, 1992; Vézina, 1997) or moreexpert 2003).
(d'Astousand Colbert,2002) relyon reviews Byrevealing thequalityofartworks,criti-
morethanmostpeopledo. cal consensus playsa rolein establishing repu-
Fromtheconsumer's pointofview,a review tations- economists seethisas accumulating a
is morethana decision-making tool.Reading, formofcapital(Cameron,1995).Thisprocess
or
watching listening to a review can be a of reputation-building throughcriticism can
sourceof utilityin itself(Cameron,1995), ensurefameand posterity (in both the short
especiallyin relationto its intellectual and and thelongterm;Allenand Lincoln,2004)
societalfunctions (Predai,2004). According andcanalsotranslate intomarketable value,in
to SergeKaganski{Les Inrockuptibles) , criti- theformofincreased demandorsubsidies.8
cism"shouldserveto makeus think,to make Therefore, thereputation thatresults from
us question.The important thingis debate mediacriticism can serveto motivate or dis-
and discussion,morethanwhether thecritic
courageboth artistsand artisticdirectors
likesa filmornot"{Inédits^ 1997).The review (Shrum,1991). For example,theamountof
can serveas a pointof reference in everyday
encouragement thatpublishers give authors
conversation, notonlyon subjectsrelating to whom their
(on publishing programs depend)
art,but alsoindiscussionsof societal
problems is tied to the reviewsthe authors'workhas
(Shrum,1991).An exampleis thedebateover receivedin thepast(Van Reesand Vermunt,
RobertoBenigni s filmLifeIs Beautiful and
1996). Althoughcriticscan sometimesbe
its depictionof concentration camps. This
formof intellectual and socialappropriation
harsh,theydo nevertheless playa rolein an
successor failure.
artist's Becauseoftheirrole
ofreviews appliesespeciallytoconsumers who
in discovering newtalentand newaesthetics,
havea highlevelofcultural capital. reviews can be seenas a research and develop-
Lastly,in thecontextof ostentatious con-
menttool(Shrum,1991;Cameron,1995;Joy
sumptionor "snob appeal,"knowledgeable andSherry,
and respectedreviewers influencenot only 2003).
Criticscan also influence an artist'scareer
consumer choicesbut also thediscussions of
through their direct participation in institu-
thosewho seek socialdistinction by appro-
theirwords(Belk, 1987; Cameron, tionson thecultural landscapesuchas regula-
priating
1995). torybodiesand granting agencies.In France,
forexample,Predai(2004) notesthatcinema
criticshelptodefine schoolfilmprograms, par-
Criticsand Artists ticipateintheselection offilms tobe shownat
andartistic
Forartists reviews canbe festivalsand takepartin theselection offilms
directors,
seenas short-term measures ofartistic to be awardedtheartetessailabel.
quality
thatare important in establishing an artist's In conclusion,artistsand arts manag-
In describing thisrole,Allenand erswho seekscholarly or highbrow recogni-
reputation.
Lincoln(2004) refer to critics
as "reputational tioncannotafford to ignorecriticalopinion.
Criticalapprovalservesto enhancean art-
(p. 878).
entrepreneurs"
thequalityofa workofartis a ist'sstatusnot onlyamonghis or herpeers,
Evaluating
but also amongpatrons,experts, and public
complexprocessthatrelieson theassessments
ofvariousexperts in thecultural field(Bonus bodiesand institutions. Butwithinthelargest
andRonte,1997).Theseexperts, whoinclude swathofthecultural industries, wherepopular
havethecompetence
critics, tojudgethevalue approval is far more important thanscholarly
ofthework,understood sincetheend ofthe recognition, criticsplay a less central role.A
19thcentury as itsvaluein relation to arthis- goodreviewcanenhancean artist's reputation
tory(Mouraux and Sagot-Duvauroux, 1992; and a bad one can woundan artist's pride,
and
Wijnberg Gemser, 2000). Critics evaluate buttherealimpactofmediacriticism maybe
a workof artbycomparing it to pastworks, fairlylimited.

Criticsand Marketing advertising contracts withtheaffiliated media
outlet (Béra, 2003; Hirsch, 1972; Lovell,
Froman artsmanagement perspective, reviews 1997).
canserveas a formofindependent advertising Criticismdoes not have the same com-
thatiseffective becauseitisperceived as objec- mercial importancefor small, alternative
tive(Shrum,1996). A positivereviewis the artsorganizations as it does formassenter-
equivalent ofan advertisement (Hirsch,1972). tainment companies.Because theirpromo-
In exchange forfreepublicity, cultural organi- tional budgetsarelimitedand theycaterto a
zationsprovidecritics withfreeproducts and demanding publicin termsofartistic quality,
services in theformofsamples,screenings or alternative oravant-garde organizations might
visits.
Evena negative review cancontribute to relyheavily on critics topromote theirlessvis-
theartistic legitimization ofa workbydeem- ibleworks(Lampeland Shamsie,2000). But
ing it a validsubjectfordiscussion; authors in contrast to themassentertainment market,
agree that media coverage can count as much where negative reviews can be drowned out
as theevaluation itself(Hirsch,1972; Wyatt by an advertising campaign that presents
and Badger,1990; Zuckermanand Kim, theworkas not to be missed(Färber,1976;
2003).Astheartist Delacroixexplained, "even Lampeland Shamsie,2000), bad pressin this
inhurting youthey [critics]reveal to the world contextcan be deadly.Zuckerman and Kim's
thatyouarealive;without themyouwouldbe theory (2003) is more complex. A film thatis
insectssnuffed out beforereaching thelight" reviewed mainlybyspecialized mediadevoted
(in a May 1829 articlein La Revuede Paris, to independent cinema,theyargue,is given
quotedin Majastre,1994,p. 106; mytransla- thestatusof"independent" (incontrast to the
tion). Hollywoodblockbuster). Whilethiscan limit
In additionto constituting a formofdirect the film'ssuccesswiththe generalpublic,it
publicity- sometimespurposely(Inédits, can serveto promoteits distribution on the
1997) - reviews are frequently used as "raw art-house circuit.9
material" in advertising campaigns. We have Anotherpotentialfunction of criticsis to
seen thatcritics'commentsand ratingsare provideearlymarket signalspriorto distribu-
sometimesincorporatedinto promotional tion. Promoters can use critics'reactionsto
toolssuchas advertisements, labelsand pack- previews, forexample,to makecommercial
aging(CDs, DVDs, books).In additionto decisionsin termsofadvertising directions, or
itspotential influence on consumer decision- to estimatea product'sdistribution network
making,theuse of positivereviewsis likely or orderrates.In thisrole,thecriticactsas
to enhancerelations betweencriticsand arts a "predictor" as opposedto as an "influencer"
organizations. A critic'scelebrity is acceler- (Eliashberg and Shugan,1997; Färber,1976;
atedeverytimehe or she is quotedin this VanReesandVermunt, 1996).
way- whichcould well motivatecriticsto
producefavourable comments (Broydo,1997; Criticsand theCulturalField
Eliashberg andShugan,1997).
According to Becker(1982), the market- For the culturalindustries, criticism serves
ing role is divided between sellers,who exhibit two functions: the "institutional regulation
the work,and critics,who supplythe dis- of innovation" (Hirsh,1972) and theartistic
cursiveapparatus thatjustifies it and ensures legitimization ofthefieldas a whole.
thatitwillbe appreciated. Forartsmanagers, Because it mediates between supply
thechallenge lies in controlling thecriticas and demand,withinthe "culturalindus-
an independent intermediary who can either trysystem,"10 artscriticism can be seen as
promoteor hinderthe distribution of their an institutionalized in
process whichexperts
products to various audiences. That is why selectamong the works offered, or evenas an
artsorganizations sometimes resortto coer- organizedfiltration that
system regulates the
civemethods to ensurethe"collaboration" of influxof newproductsin a marketsaturated
critics:thesemethodsrangefromthesimple withprototypes (Hirsh,1972; Wijnbergand
publicreproach, to denyingthemaccessto Gemser,2000). This selectionprocessoper-
artistsand products, to threatening to cancel ates,fromcreation to reception, via a seriesof

thatallowcultural
filters worksto be discov- "direction" and "master." Baumannseesthese
ered,thensupported and finally presented to results as a reflection ofcinemas evolving role
thepublic.Itis notonlycultural organizations in theculturalhierarchy of theUnitedStates
thatdependon these"gatekeepers," but the duringthe late 1960s,a timewhenmovies
culturalfieldas a whole(Hirsh,1972). becamea legitimate artform.13
The secondroleofcritics at thelevelofthe The pivotalroleofcriticism in legitimizing
culturalindustries is associatedwithartistic artistic endeavours is notjustsymbolic: shifts
legitimization. Bourdieu (1971) argues that in the legitimacy of this cultural form have
thepurposeofspecialized criticism is to mea- economic and politicalconsequences.For
suretheautonomy -
ofa field in otherwords, example,criticscan helpto defendtheinter-
itsculturallegitimacy. This datesbackto the estsofa particular culturalsectoror promote
19thcentury, whentheprocessbywhichart an elementofa nationalculture, bothpoliti-
workswereselectedbecamedominatedby cally economically. and
experts insteadof by artists' peers(Wijnberg
and Gemser,2000). Since thattime,fora
cultural formto achieveartistic recognition it
mustbe seenas possessing a certainaesthetic Some AvenuesforFutureResearch
sophistication and its creators as beinginspired
by a sort of inner truth rather thanbypracti- literature reviewhas underlined the
cal considerations - "art for art s sake" (Regev, and
centrality complexity ofthe role that
1994). criticsplaywithintheculturalfield.I began
Anyonewho has the abilityto guarantee byexamining thespecific characteristics ofthis
thata cultural formmeetsthesethreerequire- singular actor,and thendescribed thechang-
mentspossesses considerable symbolic power. ingstatusof criticaldiscourse, fromthecon-
Sincethe1970s,culturalformsthathad pre- ditionsofitsproduction to thevariousissues
viously been referred to as -
"popular" espe- that result from its presenceon the cultural
ciallypopular music and film - have benefited information market.
enormously fromthiskindof legitimization The findings of thisreviewpointto cer-
throughcriticism(Baumann,2001, 2002; taindirections forfuture research. It is urgent
Heilbrun,1997;Janssen, 1999; Regev,1994). that we expandupon existing work on the
Janssen how
(1999) describes "legitimate" art behaviour of critics: What criteria do critics
(theatre, classicalmusic)had to increasingly usein selecting worksto review? What factors
shareitsplacein Dutchnewspapers withnew besidesthe aestheticand artisticdimensions
artisticareas (popularmusic,literature and comeintoplaywhena criticevaluates a work?
film)duringthe1970sand 1980s. A new arts In one approach to these topics,Debenedetti
hierarchy emerged, one that could be measured and Larceneux (1999), ina studyoftheFrench
the
by proportion of editorial spacedevoted to cultural magazine Télérama, foundthatthey
eachartform.11 In theUnitedStates, Heilbrun could definethemagazinescinematographic
(1997) madea similar observation whenmea- preferences fromobjectivecharacteristics of
suringthegrowth in thenumberofarticles in thefilmsit featured (genre,country oforigin,
the New YorkTimescovering"popular"cul- presenceof a star,thenumberof cinemasin
tureagainstthenumberdedicatedto "high" whichthefilmis screened, etc.).Theyfound
culture from1988 to 1993. Baumann(2002) that Télérama preferred auteur filmswith
notedthesamephenomenon whenexamining strongcommercialpotential. Hsu (2003),
theuse of reviewer quotes in film advertise- in analysing the influence of critics' evalu-
mentsin theUnitedStates.Baumannstudied ationstandards in theirselectionof filmsto
2,326filmadvertisements from1935to 1980. review, foundthatcriticsweremorelikelyto
He foundthat the use of reviewer quotes selectfilmsfromcategories forwhichtheyhad
increased steadily throughout theperiod,with already drawnup a coherent criticalstructure.
a spectacular 20% increase between1965 and Finally, to better understand howcritics make
1970, which has since stabilized.12 The period their choices and judgements also requires
of dramatically increasedgrowthsaw a cor- a typological approachto thefieldof media
responding increasein the use of termslike criticism.

In additionto studying critics'
behaviours, consumers' motives? The measurement ofthe
valuableresearch couldbe carried outin three influence ofreviews on consumer choicesalso
specific areas: the ambiguousrelationship points urgentto methodological challenges, in
between cultural and
organizations critics, the particular forstudiesbasedon fielddata.How
mutualinfluence of criticsand theirpublic, can criticaldiscourseand publicresponsebe
andtheevolution ofartscriticism. measured whentheyarebothso
quantitatively
With regardto the relationship between Should we
segmented? tryto relatethesetwo
criticsand culturalorganizations, one inter- to each other data?
aspects usingaggregated
estingarea of studywould be the diversity Do themanymoderating and mediating vari-
and effectiveness of the varioustacticsthat ablesentailedin thecorrelation ofreviews and
culturalorganizations employ- both for- consumer choicesthreaten thevalidity ofmany
mally(rangingfromlavishmultimedia kits
fieldresults? In termsofinformation
andmediacruisesto rejecting mediacoverage process-
ing, it wouldalso be interesting to examine
and cancelling advertising contracts, or even
therelative effectsofreviews, reviewer quotes
law suits)and informally (publicreproaches, featuredin
- promotional materials and on
implicitsignals, etc.) to controlmediacriti- -
cismwithinthe variousculturalfields.The packaging, and even"scorecards" whereby
characteristicsof the particular fieldwould critics rate cultural productson a predefined
haveto be takenintoaccount,in termsofits scale. When their evaluationis reducedto a
size,itsdegreeoflegitimacy, howthecritical simple score or a snippetof praise,eventhe
most criticsarereducedto the
apparatusoperateswithinthe relatedmedia knowledgeable
organisms and thelevelofpublicsubsidiesit statusof consumer guide.Finally, whilecrit-
receives.This impliesa parallelreflection on ics have an influence on the public,research
the ambiguousrelationship betweenmedia in several areas suggests thatthepublicalso
criticismand commerce.Additionally, the has an influence on critics.Forexample,the
conceptofcritic-predictor, oftendiscussedin "usesandgratification model"fromtheinfor-
thecontext ofthefilmsector, couldbe consid- mationsciencesproposesthatconsumers con-
eredin othercultural sectors.The artistic and tinueto use a mediumonlyiftheyfindin it
strategicchoicesentailedin theacceptance of thesourcesof gratification theyseek.People
thishypothesis shouldbe evaluated.Lastly, whousemassmedia,then,actively participate
although theimpactofreviews on thestatusof in determining its content(Martin,1991).
artistsor artistic
directors hasbeenexamined,
Althoughanchoredin the mythof absolute
theirimpacton thebehaviour of thosewho criticsare as subjectto their
independence,
supportthemfinancially (throughgrantsor readers' opinionsas theyareinfluenced bythe
publicorprivate donations andassistance) has decisions ofmediaexecutives andtheproduc-
notreceived muchattention. Thisisa research ersand distributors ofthecultural
direction thatiswideopen. goodsthey
review. How do thesediverse sourcesofinflu-
Themanystudies describing criticsas influ-
enceinteract to guidethecritic's work?
encersof attitudes and consumption behav-
A finalareaforresearch relates to theques-
iourshavenot exhaustedthe subjectof the
tion of culturallegitimacy. While the role
relationshipbetween critics
andthepublic.An
criticism in
in-depth qualitative approachto thisquestion playedbyindependent legitimiz-
is particularly ing a cultural sector has been documented, sev-
lacking.Suchresearch couldgo
eral questions remain. Does this legitimizing
beyondtheshort-term consumption decision
to considertheplaceofcriticism function carry weight in postmodern society,
throughout
theconsumption where the hierarchical and
ordering symbolic
process:How do consum-
ersappropriate reviewsduringthe decision- statusofcultural forms hastendedto become
makingprocess?What impactdo reviews blurred, oratleastto change?14 Coulda weak-
have on consumers' evaluations of the cul- eningofthetraditional function ofreviews in
turalproducts theyexperience? Whatroledo favour of a more purely informative function,
reviews play,in themediumand longterm, as citedby manycommentators, lead to the
in consumers' involvement andexpertise with reverse process- thatis, couldit delegitimize
regardto cultural products and in modelling theartistic valueofcertain cultural sectors?

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HEC - Montréal - Chair of Arts Management

The Role of Media Critics in the Cultural Industries

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