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For years, I have relied on The Miami New Times for guidance about where to go, what to see, and what’s going on in. Much to my chagrin, those days are over. To be clear, the New Times is still reliably thorough in listing its goings on. However, it is the critical journalism that has slipped.
I suspect they would defend themselves vociferously, going so far as suggesting that they simply harvest events and report what Miami is offering. If this were true, it would be sufficient, but that isn’t what they have come to do. I’m desperately trying not to be mean here, but it’s most evident in its edible sections.
Like most food websites, Eater in particular, what they do is praise, gush, market, and let both industry and establishment get away with whatever they want to promote. Trying to get a candid assessment amid the openings and expansions heralding the latest food fad from New York or Tokyo to grace our streets is impossible. Save for the Infatuation and occasionally the Herald, what readers get is gushing pre-approval, and restaurants a free pass. So, essentially, there is no difference between something good and something awful as long as it is new or populated by chefs with well-known names. This is the danger of writing the pieces in advance, something I am also plagued by and guilty of.
Given that we live in a culture which has invented something called an influencer, someone with an Instagram page, a tidbit of TikTok knowledge, a smidgen of PR personality, a dash of something something indefinable, and an incomprehensible speck of ability to attract people willing to endure and hypnotically click, perhaps it should be no surprise that truth and honesty, even if opinions, would take a backseat to attracting readers who will generate income by any means necessary. It’s a form of the old Golden Rule; those with the gold, rule. And since it is essential and hard to generate income, everyone must play along.
This all said, I am extraordinarily grateful to the Community Newspapers crew who have NEVER edited or asked me to edit anything I have written here, which may be a mixed blessing, hopefully not suggesting that nobody reads it to begin with so why bother to censor the dude. However again, in an age of such massive distrust, contempt, fear, and loathing, finding sincerity and embracing factuality seems pretty important. I pray it isn’t outdated.
What does this have to do with the Arts and culture of Miami? IMHO, it’s essential that we not silence truth tellers and elevate public relation experts even if the silence is simply omission. The hype, the spin, the endless promotion, and the story planters do just that; they pose as the arbiter while the less media savvy and deeply pocketed have to find success the old fashioned way – by earning it.
This is not to say that many of our biggest players, the Arsht and Miami Art Week for example, are not unworthy because they are absolutely not enough superlatives to describe their effect on the city. But the mom and pop theater, the school play, the unconnected painter, and the strip mall restaurant also deserve time of which I hope to be able to provide a bit. I hope somebody reads it.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. It need not be the silver spoon or legacy that garners praise while we ignore the strivers that have always risen from the project, the block, the country, and the neighborhood. Imagine how beautiful it would be if everyone stopped kissing the ring and pretending that mediocrity was excellence.
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