Letter from the editors: Arts journalism wants independence

Over the previous 50 years, The Stanford Every day hosted plenty of minutely totally different sections that every claimed to have a finger on the Bay Space’s cultural pulse: “Leisure,” “Arts & Leisure,” “Intermission.” At the moment we name it Arts & Life. 

The commonality between all of those sections is the robust dedication to reporting and reviewing artwork at Stanford and past. Although the character of our protection has modified over time — as you’ll be able to see with Greta Reich’s ’26 historical past of artwork opinions — the ideas that information our part stay steadfast. Particularly, we attempt to assist artists, present significant opinions to those that want them and report honestly on occasions and tales within the arts. This letter argues that The Every day’s independence from Stanford is essential to the Arts & Life part’s integrity.

Arts & Life treads precariously between reporting (factual, informative information) and reviewing (opinion items). This flexibility is each our power and our weak spot; a blurring of the 2 sides is the rationale we started attaching this editor’s word to the top of each evaluation:

“Editor’s Notice: This text is a evaluation and contains subjective ideas, opinions and critiques.“

As artwork critics, our job is barely oxymoronic: we attempt for the inconceivable objective of unbiased subjectivity. Artwork opinions grow to be meaningless when their authors are swayed by the opinions of the artist, so we do our greatest to maintain writers away from any conflicts of curiosity. Consider how your greatest good friend (or worst enemy) would write about your band’s live performance, or the way you may evaluation your artwork professor’s present, realizing they management your grade.

Right here, we are able to additionally tackle our part’s tendency towards optimistic opinions. Our current dialog with Chicago Tribune critic Lori Waxman revealed this concise piece of knowledge: “by no means punch down.” As a university newspaper, we stand nearer to smaller artists than most publications; nonetheless, our objective is all the time to assist and uplift artists of their pursuits. And with a lot artwork being made, it’s inconceivable to cowl the great and the dangerous wholly! 

When the manufacturing turns into organizational, nonetheless, we really feel justified in leveling criticism. Establishments want actual critique for change to happen, even when that change is only inventive.

We focus our critiques on artworks solely as an alternative of their respective establishments. We distinguish ourselves from the Opinions part in that we search to make clear the standard of the artwork being produced in an unbiased method, steering away from customized opinions on establishments and artists.

Then again — as arts journalists — we have now the identical duties as information reporters: search and confirm the reality, deal with sources with empathy and report tales with our greatest judgment. The worth of independence is immeasurable on this regard. If a pupil artist misrepresents their efficiency or work, we truth verify them; if an arts group has a problematic historical past, we offer that important context. And if an artwork division suffers a scandal, we have to report independently of the College’s desired consequence — essential protection can’t be achieved if its topic controls what will get printed. We’ll pursue the reality to the very best of our skill, whatever the private emotions of our topics.

We don’t all the time meet these beliefs. Arts & Life is comprised of human editors and writers, a lot of whom are new to journalism. Errors are made: we make factual and replica corrections if wanted. However we stand by the content material of our opinions and reporting as a result of, as a part of an impartial publication, we have now the proper and duty to defend our voice. 

By the identical token, our part may present a degree of entry to the myriad sectors of the native artwork scene. We goal to make it a web site for studying in regards to the craft of writing, but in addition the wealthy histories behind every artist, work and style that we cowl. Visibility is an instrumental impact of journalism. As a media publication, The Stanford Every day has the ability to information the native public eye. By constructing dialog across the impartial inventive innovation that populates the Bay Space, Arts & Life performs a job in pulling collectively the threads of our native artwork scene.

Stanford is an epicenter of inventive expertise, from slam poets to ceramicists to up to date electronica composers and all the things in between. Admittedly, Arts & Life doesn’t at present have the capability to succeed in each nook of each scene; we acknowledge this limitation as one in all our best shortcomings. Whereas conversations round range, fairness and inclusion stay on the middle of our editorial conferences, we ask you — the artists and artwork lovers — to be vocal when our part shouldn’t be fulfilling its mission. And, when you have the time, we ask you to affix us in serving to to understand this mission.

And, critically, we ask you to carry us to the benchmarks we’ve outlined right here. It will be unfair to rely on readers for accountability, however we wish to be a piece that serves the humanities group, not a piece that makes use of it. We’ll proceed to tell you of the most recent in Stanford’s tradition; in return, we hope you perceive the significance of what we do and the requirements required therein.

Peyton Lee ’24 and Aditeya Shukla ’23 have been the Quantity 262 managing editors of Arts & Life. Linda Liu ’25 and Sofia Gonzalez-Rodriguez ’25 are the part’s present editors.