iCritic Detroit uses video medium to create arts engagement

Two longtime writers from the New York Times are headed to Detroit with a vanguard video concept for promoting the arts.

iCritic Detroit brings a mobile video booth to arts and entertainment events; seeking critical analysis and feedback from citizens, not paid journalists. Audience reviews are shared on websites and across social media channels. The iCritic is the brainchild of Jennifer Conlin, a longtime Style and Travel section contributor to the New York Times; along with Dan Shaw, a former NYT editor and reporter. iCritic was a winner of this year's Knight Foundation/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge.

A smartphone app will allow users to track the iCritic's wherabouts on any given night; high school iCritic competitions and a Moth-style slam are also in the works.

Excerpt:

"Video is the new lingua franca and citizen journalism is an increasingly important element in covering news all over the world. This project will make it possible for conversations about the arts to go viral in a way that has never happened before."

Find out more here.
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