The Death of Criticism

Well, that's a rather dramatic headline, but I want to put on here, so everyone knows, something I received in an email. It's extremely disturbing:

The Village Voice has dismissed its dance critic, Deborah Jowitt, leaving the weekly with no full-time staff dance writers. Ms. Jowitt began at the newspaper in November 1967 and was one of its senior arts writers. She said in a telephone interview that she learned on Tuesday that her position was being eliminated ''for economic reasons,'' along with that of the film critic Nathan Lee.

Julie Lichtenstein, a spokeswoman for the paper, said in an e-mail message: ''Financial constraints force us to convert two full-time positions to freelance jobs. Both Deborah Jowitt and Nathan Lee have been asked to continue writing for The Voice.'' Ms. Jowitt said, ''I was told that the dance page would continue to exist,'' adding that her dismissal ''came as a complete shock to me.''

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