Arts and Culture Reporting with Eli Glasner

Photograph Source:

Pexels.com, Una Laurencic

Learning about arts and culture coverage from film critic and arts reporter, Eli Glasner, was eye opening. Arts and culture are something that has always interested me and after learning about it from someone with firsthand experience, I’m more intrigued.

One of the things I found most interesting was that you always have to look for the second layer of the stories, like all news stories. Sure, things can be fun and fluff, but If you want a complete story, you have to pull back the layer and find what’s underneath.

For example, Glasner explained his story on KPOP‘s first layer was; sure KPOP is popular and making a lot of money. Which I mean could be seen as interesting, but there has to be more, there has to be something there to really entice the audience.

The second layer of the story was what CBC ran with, explaining the pressure laid on the KPOP stars. The why’s and how this is damaging to them.

Entertainment stories main purpose is generating tension, not being fluff. Glasner made this very clear.

The second thing I found interesting was the difference between reviews and reporting on arts and culture.

I wasn’t confident if there was room for your own opinion to seep through.

Glasner told us when reviewing, there is a lot of room for your opinion while when you report. You have to honestly reflect, provide context and the ‘holy grail’ of it all is to be authentic in your reporting.

The last thing I found interesting was the beat of the industry when It comes to arts and culture. It’s really hard to report entertainment from your desk, despite what some may think. As an art and culture reporter, you have to get out there and discover stories. You have to go beyond facts and find real people to establish a human connection.

Finding sources, meeting them, grabbing coffee and gaining trust all make the story.

I learned that reporting for arts and culture isn’t any different than reporting for anything else. It’s all about finding the story and creating that human connection. Grabbing people’s attention and making a story out of a potentially weak idea.