Arts without journalism is like a tree falling center stage | John Moore | Arts & Entertainment [Video]

When the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts recently asked me to lead its board of directors in a discussion on the overall state of local arts journalism, I said, “Sorry.”

I wasn’t turning them down. I was offering my one-word assessment of the sorry overall state of local arts journalism.

We’re not talking about a crisis. More like a massive crisis that coincides with the overall decline of an industry continues to lose jobs faster than the coal industry – to the dread of some and to the grave-stomping delight of many others who have willfully turned away from principled journalism in favor of agenda-driven disinformation, propaganda and brainless TikTok videos.

Nearly 3,100 journalism jobs were lost in 2023, according to Politico – and another 500 in January alone. But this is not a new story. More like a death march over the past 15 years.