In the recent article in the Daily News, “Philadelphia art galleries add bands to their exhibits,” by Molly Eichel stands out to me, mostly because of personal interest. Eichel talks about a new phenomenon of art exhibits in Philly – putting on concerts in art galleries.
This isn’t new in Philly. I have been to art exhibitions where there were bands performing and alcohol serving. The reason Eichel brought up the topic is not clear, but considering what readers would like to see and to know, the article lacks appeal.
Upon seeing the title of the article, I was expecting to see something exciting, something descriptive and full sounds and scenes. When I started reading the article, I disappointedly found out that other than the quotes of information from many sources, there is not much going on in this article. It reads like a piece of promotion for different art galleries and bands than an informative piece of writing.
It would be great if readers who have never been to one of these venues or events can have the desire to go out there and find out more after reading this article.
As of balancing the news and opinions, Eichel didn’t provide much about the pros and cons for this specific practice. What readers would expect to see is why it is a good thing to bring music into arts, what the downside is to have a group of spectators who don’t really go there to enjoy arts but free concerts and drinks, what about other cities, successful/failed examples, etc.
This could be a better piece if the writer considered expanding the angle of the story and the way of approaching the readers. Overall, it does not serve the purpose of introducing the topic to reader, especially an interesting topic like this.
– Text by Ning Shao. Image via philly.com.
Temple Journalism Review 