Bad News at the Tribune
After the Tribune supposedly revamped its arts department last fall, John Twohey, who was then overseeing the department, said the quality (if not the breadth) of the paper’s cultural coverage could compete with the New York Times or any paper in the country. But two examples from last week’s Tribune have proven him wrong and shown that the paper’s attempt to clear the cobwebs hasn’t exactly succeeded.
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But these little gaffes were nothing compared to the Tribune’s February 22 coverage of John Frohnmeyer’s surprise “resignation” as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Michael Kilian, the gadabout social and cultural reporter best known for his chatty pieces about subjects such as author Kitty Kelley and east-coast society trends, produced a misleading front-page take on the NEA chief’s sudden departure that consisted mostly of quotes from Frohnmayer’s carefully worded resignation letter. At the end Kilian threw in a few paragraphs about the NEA’s recent achievements and pro forma comments from a couple of politicos and Chicago arts executives. To compile this sorry excuse for a story about a development that could have a far-reaching impact on the cultural community nationwide, Kilian required the assistance of reporter Kamin as well.
When the Tribune revamped its arts department last fall, Twohey suggested that the paper would take a more hard-news approach to covering the cultural scene. But these last two failed attempts at timely reporting indicate that it isn’t yet taking arts coverage as seriously as the rest of the news.
