Where have all the film critics gone?

Full disclosure: we used to be a struggling - aspiring, you might say - film critic, so we might be a tad biased where the following issue is concerned.

Local film critics are on their way out. The American Journalism Review says so right here. Part of us wants to say this is a good thing, because the trimming of newspaper staffs will allowed the industry to live on in the printed form for another few years. Another part os us thinks this is a travesty and further evidence that the globalization of the American media is the kick in the kneecaps before the death blow to the throat.

We can't decide; all we know is that we enjoy - nay, crave! - film commentary. We ourselves are only mediocre at it at best. We won a few awards in college for our movie reviews, but that was college. Gino Torretta won a few awards in college, too. Local film critics are necessary - for those towns with a local film scene. Our hometown has a population of 3,000 and recently renovated a theater that shows one second-run film per week. Needless to say, their weekly paper does not require a film critic.

But take the town(s) of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, the metropolis we most often visit when we fly home for the holidays. They have a population of 100,000-plus, five theaters - one of which is an art/classic theater - and two universities that offer film degrees. Their local film scene could be described as sputtering at best, but how will people every become aware of events and films playing in their area without a neighborhood voice?

It's a sobering thought. So is being a journalism graduate in today's job market and economy. But that's what happens when you have parents who support your drive to become a writer.