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If an internet petition couldn't save Freaks and Geeks, can one possibly save the arts listings from the Sunday Arts & Leisure section in the New York Times?
Probably, because the current petition in question is not being generated by a group of fans, but by the influential theater ad agency Eliran Murphy. The Times public editor has chimed in on the situation with an editorial piece that says the powers that be are reviewing the matter in response to consumer reaction in support of the listings. What would a reinstatement of the listings mean for the fate of Choire Sicha's The Guide? Would they would just run his selective events guide with the bigger listings?
What the Times piece doesn't mention is the buzz going around Broadway that the theater ad agencies are threating to boycott advertising in the Times on behalf of their clients, big theatrical producers. They spend a bundle on ads in the Arts & Leisure section, and can't bear to lose a freebie. Do you miss the listings? Are you going to sign the petition? Or do you prefer to get your fix from Time Out, The Village Voice, NY Press, The Onion, and the scads of other local publications that run arts listings, not to mention the abundant listing-heavy websites.
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Choire Sicha must be smarting from Okrent's smackdown.....
I would encourage anyone in the arts to sign the petition. As someone who has had to mount their own work Off Off Bway, the adage is true: The Times is still The Times, and a two-line listing in the Times is still worth more than anything you can get in Voice Choices or (with apologies to my friend Dave) The Onion. Please go and sign it.
As the booking agent for a downtown club, Voice & Time Out listings/picks are our bread and butter but we get *enormous* response from listings in the Times. One of our ongoing weekly shows is a big band jazz group and we could always easily tell that the sales (or lack thereof) were directly linked to whether or not we had a listing in the Times.
I've seen the same jump in sales thanks to the handful of times Choire has picked one of my shows, but the steady and more-complete listings page was always reliable since it was more inclusive and didn't ignore long-running events the way "picks" pages often must.
I don't see why they can't have both (well, aside from page count and salaried-employees-who-compile-listings type problems)--the Voice and the Press both have critics' picks as well as listings, and Time Out is able to mix the two successfully.
I sing with a large symphonic choir and the Times listings really, really matter.
With over 1,000 performing arts events every week in the city, any publication with an Arts & Leisure section should be ashamed of itself for not doing listings. My understanding is that the NY Times is trying to be hipper with more global appeal, though you would think that 30 A&L editors could maintain some sort of local support.