The Rock Critic as Endangered Species

In lieu of composing anything original, here's yet another article I'm citing from somewhere else. I spotted this item on Slate today and it shook my inner dormant rock journalist to the geeky core. While I'm not exactly weeping about the demise of music mags like Vibe (where I had a laughably disastrous interview in 2007) and Blender, I can't help but fear for the more legitimate magazines I do actually read and respect; even inarguably tired ones like Rolling Stone and Spin (where I interned two decades ago). I've been saying for ages that the world doesn't really need music critics, but that doesn't mean I want to live in a world without them. From Lester Bangs to Legs McNeil, John Leland to Kris Needs, there have been legions of grizzled writers who have informed and helped shape my enthusiasm for music. I know there are scores of new, similarly-inclined scribes out there. Here's hoping they'll still be able to find the right forums/periodicals/bully-pulpits from which to spread their gospel.