New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Letter From The Publisher: The Future of Arts Journalism


By Gary Wien

originally published: 12/19/2014


In the past year, many arts leaders have joined in a debate about the future of arts journalism. It's easy to see the writing on the wall. Newspapers have been laying off writers (especially those covering the arts) for years and are struggling to survive. Meanwhile, a movement towards Internet based blogs and digital publications has clearly taken root. Unfortunately, many arts leaders still cling to the idea that the best way to get news coverage and promote their shows is to find ways to work with traditional media rather than to support new media.

This is a shortsighted plan and one that does not account for future growth. The key to any arts organization, whether a theatre group or a venue, is finding and building a sustainable audience. Traditional newspapers may currently have larger audiences, but print media is not a long-term solution anymore.

Think about this for a minute. Kids in junior high or high school may never buy a newspaper in their lifetime.

As recently as two or three years ago you probably saw newspaper boxes on street corners, but those boxes are largely gone today. Many newspapers are trying to replace print boxes with website paywalls that force readers to purchase subscriptions in order to read more than say ten or twelve articles a month. This runs counter to the fact that kids today are growing up with much of the Internet available for free. When they come across a site with a paywall they're likely to simply go somewhere else — that is if they aren't getting their news from RSS feeds or links from websites like reddit.com or their Facebook newsfeed anyway. If they are reading the news online, chances are they're reading the news at Google or Yahoo instead of a newspaper site.

One of the keys for arts promotion these days is recognizing that the majority of people will no longer come from the “front door,” but from search engines. Traditionally newspapers and magazines have sold ads on premium pages — those expected to get the best results because they were either inside or back covers or located early on. Premium pages do not exist in the new media world. Ads on the main page of a website are no better than those located throughout because search engines bring the traffic, not a website's home page.

Another key for arts promotion involves reaching the mobile audience. Some people think that only teens are surfing the web on the phone, which is ridiculous. More and more adults are using their smartphones as their main gateway to the web these days. Chances are you do as well. Meanwhile, mobile advertising has generally been difficult because the ads are so small.




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



A few months back, a popular comedy club in New Jersey asked its customers on Facebook how they learned about events. The survey results are obviously skewed in favor of those who learn about events via the Internet, but the responses were revealing. The younger the audience, the less likely they even thought about reading a newspaper. It's a generational gap that is getting wider every year.

As someone who grew up loving newspapers, this hurts. I think most people wish that newspapers would remain around forever, but change has already occurred. Print is simply too expensive and is too outdated for today's times when stories are written and circulated around the clock. Websites and digital publishing (instantly changing newspapers) will undoubtedly replace print sometime in the near future.

Some arts organizations across the country have gone so far as to purchase editorial space simply to keep traditional newspapers relevant. Rather than struggle with archaic life-support, why not advance with the mission of new media? To work with publications and websites that devote all or most of their editorial to the arts rather than a tiny percentage? To work with those who embrace technology rather than fear it? To reach out to a younger mobile audience and grow with the next generation of arts patrons?

As New Jersey Stage wraps up our sixth issue, we believe we have made significant moves in our first year to establish ourselves as a partner of the arts. We have continued to grow every month despite working with a very limited budget. We're not part of a giant media company. We're just people who love the arts and are artists ourselves.

We believe there are better ways to promote events. Instead of stories printed a day or two beforehand, as is traditionally done in newspapers, we think event previews published weeks before will sell more tickets. Not only does it allow for longer promotion, but it reaches people before their plans are made. Likewise, stories in our magazine offer a longer shelf-life as opposed to that of a daily newspaper.

New Jersey Stage magazine is a new media company that looks forward. We are designed for the mobile user with ads that look great on mobile devices and are highly effective. We believe in utilizing the full power of the Internet and take advantage of social media and search engines rather than block their services through ineffective paywalls. And we offer arts organizations the greatest value for their marketing dollars anywhere.

We believe that the best way to promote events is via a series of different ads, which is why advertisers seen in our magazine get ads here as well as online. They also receive complimentary banner ads on NewJerseyStage.com as well — all for prices less than they're paying for traditional media. Our ad rates were designed with the arts in mind with prices for every budget. We do this because we're not trying to make a profit, we sincerely want your arts organization and your shows to succeed.

Our goal for 2015 is to continue to grow and to build partnerships with arts organizations across the state. We believe we have something special going on here and we want you to be part of it. Spread the word about this digital magazine and help us grow. The bigger we become, the more people around the state will learn about your arts organization and the great arts community we have in New Jersey.


Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.



Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Art

Art on Screen: The Danish Collector

Monday, July 14, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Monmouth University - Pollak Theatre
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: art


 

Tuesday

Tuesday Night Record Club - Crowded House

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Monmouth University - The Great Hall
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764




 

FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Despicable Me 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901



FREE

FREE SUMMER MOVIE: Despicable Me 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 10:30am
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901



Curtis

Curtis Salgado

Wednesday, July 02, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087



John

John Lee & Friends

Thursday, July 03, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Union

Union County presents "Art of All Abilities Exhibit" in Celebration of Disability Pride Month

(ELIZABETH, NJ) -- July is Disability Pride Month, and in recognition of the occasion, the Union County Board of County Commissioners invites residents to visit the 2025 Art for All Abilities Exhibit. This special exhibit features 20 original works created by Union County residents of all abilities and will be on display throughout the month of July at the Commissioner's Gallery.



West

West Windsor Arts to Honor Artist Priscilla Snow Algava's Legacy with New Exhibition and Healing Workshops

(PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ) -- West Windsor Arts will host a very special art exhibition this summer celebrating the life and legacy of late Princeton artist Priscilla Snow Algava. The show, "See Beauty Everywhere: Art by Priscilla Snow Algava," will be on view at West Windsor Arts from July 15 through August 8, 2025, and will benefit the scholarship fund established in her name.



The

The Art House Gallery presents "Art Outside of Architecture" - a group exhibition featuring the Architects that designed The Hendrix

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions presents "Art Outside of Architecture," a group exhibition showcasing the work of the architects that designed The Hendrix building where Art House Productions resides. The exhibition will be on display at the Art House Gallery from July 5-27, 2025 and features twelve architects stepping out of the structural realm and into a world of personal expression in this dynamic group exhibition.



Novado

Novado Gallery presents "Summer Mosaic" Group Show

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Novado Gallery presents Summer Mosaic - a group show from June 29 - August 23, 2025. ​​​​​​​Summer Mosaic is a celebration of diversity, not just in backgrounds or styles, but in the ways artists see, think, and translate their inner worlds into visual form. This group exhibition invites viewers into a layered experience, where every artwork holds a personal logic, every technique becomes a language, and every image carries the trace of intention.



Ellarslie

Ellarslie Open 42 Awards Prizes to 10 Exhibiting Artists; Exhibition On View Until September 7th

(TRENTON, NJ) -- Ten of 119 exhibiting artists received awards during the Artists and Members Reception for Ellarslie Open 42 on Saturday, June 21 at the Trenton City Museum. The 2025 edition of the annual juried exhibition showcases 124 diverse works by artists of the greater Trenton and Bucks County areas and throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York – and one from North Carolina.