I’m flattered to be mentioned in AJ Schnack’s recent post, Wither the Doc Blog Cabal? It means that someone is reading and wondering where I am. Let me see… I just recently finished an article for an upcoming Documentary issue and I’ve been consulting on a new blog project with the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, in addition to my day job with the Austin Film Society and my regular contributions to Tribeca Film Institute’s Resources blog. On a personal note, I went home for the holidays and took a break from my online life. I’m sad to say that my dog Jasmine passed away while I was traveling – she was 12 years old and she was with me her whole life. She was a good friend and I’m sad that she is gone.

I think that it has come up here and there, but it is important for blog readers to note that the economics of blogging are not on the blogger’s side. I’ve been very fortunate to land other gigs based on the work I do. I feel confident that I wouldn’t have my fingers in so many pies now if I hadn’t started writing here. Some bloggers are lucky to land sponsors and advertisers as well. And while getting a free press pass to a festival is a nice perk, for most of the writers I know, the cost of travel and lodging to a festival is barely offset by the money earned covering the fest. Most folks need other means of making a living. I know filmmakers are no stranger to this sad song so I won’t cry you a river on this one, but I guess I’m not surprised that bloggers come and go. I agree with AJ, it’s depressing.

Anytime you can, you should click on ads on blog sites and offer tips when there are options to do so on websites you like. And as for me, I’ll be at Sundance from January 20th to the 25th checking out films, taking pics and blogging. I’ll be manning the Austin Film Society outreach table on Wednesday, Jan. 21 from 10 – 2 PM in the Filmmakers Lodge – stop by and say hello!

Thom Powers, filmmaker, programmer of Toronto Film Fest docs and NYC screening series Stranger Than Fiction, is looking for real documentary critics. His advice from Wanted: Documentary Critics:

A few words of advice to the aspiring Documentary Critic: 1) ignore the way most periodicals divide their reviews by formats of theatrical, television and DVD. These boundaries prevent meaningful connections. Good documentaries show up in many places besides theaters, including HBO, POV, Independent Lens, Sundance Channel, and straight to DVD via the festival circuit. All these works should fall under the same purview. 2) Don’t obsess over pegging a review to a release date. That timing had more relevance when a film played only one week in a theater or one night on TV. Now audiences are more likely to access at their own will on DVD or download. As with books, a review has just as much relevance published weeks or months after its debut. 3) Keep in mind what Rosenbaum said at the New York Film Festival, “I think it’s important, when you’re writing about a film, to think about how it connects to the rest of your life, to other arts, things that are happening to you. I think that film criticism tends to be way too much cut off, when it seems to me if it’s an important art form, it’s important because it addresses the way we live.” Read the entire article>>

Quick note to let you know, if you haven’t received it yet, that the new issue of Documentary magazine is on stands. It’s an election films issue to which I contributed a short piece on Jeffrey Tuchman’s The Man From Hope. My article isn’t online, but there is one by Paul Stekler, Reality Candidates: Documentaries on the Campaign Trail. Check out the issue and be sure to vote! Pretty please!