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Grrr. Why I Hate the Star System and Content Sharing

Posted on February 23rd, 2009 9:42am by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Restaurant News, Reviews

What happened to you people? I step away for a few days and you let not one, but two new dining critics roam free? Leslie Brenner, I expected. Welcome to the party, Miss B. But June Naylor? Hello? She of Fort Worth Star Telegram and Texas Monthly fame reviewing Fruia’s Tre Amici? Do not get me wrong–even though I know you will–I know and like June. We have worked together. However, here is the problem I have with June, a free lancer for the Star-T, subbing for a DMN staff writer and writing the lead review—the star system.

June gives Tre Amici four stars. (I have eaten there three times and if I had a gun to my head would give it three.) Under the current DMN star system, semi-reconstructed by Bill Addison (Hi, FF!), that puts Tre Amici alongside Nana, Craft, Charlie Palmer, and Fearing’s to name a few.

I know the Dallas Morning News and Star-T are sharing sports content, but did I miss an announcement that they would be sharing dining content? If so, boo hiss. The Star-T doesn’t use the star system, so how do the two papers determine the number stars? How does this serve the reader? Boy, I am full of questions.

8 comments

  1. I wondered who that writer was. Why would they hire a new person and use another citys critic?

    @ 10:24 am on February 23, 2009

  2. I like Tre Amici and I love the tre amici that own the place and are there regularly working the customers, but if it gets 4 stars then the whole system is meaningless. Next thing you know the DMN’s baseball writers (now residing where the West begins) will be telling us that this year’s team is World Series bound.

    @ 10:28 am on February 23, 2009

  3. Huh. So the DMN leads with the review on 2/20, and the Telegram printed it on 2/4? Sounds like something got cut last minute.

    @ 11:09 am on February 23, 2009

  4. it’s called content sharing. if you hadnt heard, newspapers are in the crapper. I guess the just dont have the revenue stream from plastic surgery ads, like magazines do.

    @ 11:57 am on February 23, 2009

  5. The special advertising sections only go so far, magazines are folding, laying off and freezing salaries also.

    @ 12:18 pm on February 23, 2009

  6. Marco, you’re right. Gastro-banding advertising is so much more profitable.

    @ 12:40 pm on February 23, 2009

  7. $5 says some line editor arbitrarily assigned a star value to the review. It happens all the time with movie reviews pulled from the wire.

    @ 12:47 pm on February 23, 2009

  8. Gee, the DMN screwed something up? What a surprise!

    @ 2:52 pm on February 23, 2009