The idea of this blog has given me a week-long insomnia as I wrestled in my mind about writing it.

I believe that with the fall of journalism, particularly in Vancouver the lofty job of arts publicist is in the imminent process of extinction. Last week it was about the demise of the arts critic.

In the 20^th century when rock records were at their apogee local record company reps were the kings of the block. They could at a whim deny any access to their visiting stars to any arts or newspaper publication that did not play by their rules. During my long stint as photographer for Vancouver Magazine I worked with rock writer Les Wiseman whose credibility was so good that record reps granted us access (particularly for back-stage interviews with their corresponding photo sessions) to almost everything. As records became second fiddles to CDs and with the advent of digital recordings record companies and their reps lost their importance.

As a member of the board of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in the late 90s I once called up CBC Radio Arts Reporter Paul Grant on a Wednesday with the following tease, “How would you like to interview a grown baritone who sings in falsetto?” He nicely and graciously took the bait. He interviewed countertenor Matthew White (now Executive and Artistic Director of Early MusicVancouver) on the Thursday. The interview was aired Friday morning and the Friday night concert sold out. This sort of thing would be impossible now as the CBC in Vancouver no longer has a a reporter dedicated to the arts.

Representing several local publications as an assigned photographer I dealt with many arts publicists. In that 20^th century any decent arts organization had a full-time publicist who was savvy.

The most savvy of them all was Vancouver Opera publicist Doug Tuck. He was never pushy. He was urbane, knowledgeable and inventive. When I had to photograph an opera star he arranged for makeup and wigs just for me. As a pre-opera commentator he was the best. What I was never able to tell him is that he got covers and articles in publications because editors and arts editors like him. For me the retraction of the season of the Vancouver Opera into the present began when they promoted Tuck to marketing and starting hired free-lance publicists.

How did film company’s promote their films in that 20^th century? Film writers and film critics were sent on junkets (that’s the word!) to La and put up in the best hotels. Press conferences where planned in large hotel rooms where the writers sat near the film star or director. They all placed their recorders on a central table. Writers shot their questions. Local Vancouver writers then wrote essays that were supposed to be exclusive interviews. With the advent of cheap phone communications and the internet/email interview the glorious junkets all but disappeared.

One version of it still survives in Vancouver. An editor or good writer, as an example, is sent to South Africa (First Class naturally) by let’s say the De Beers Group in South Africa to interview company principals. De Beers provides the magazine with first class photographs. Then the magazine publishes a lovely and wonderful “article” about the diamond industry.

In the 80s and 90s magazine or newspaper articles that were hidden adds were called service pieces. A new variation appeared in the Wednesday October 26 Vancouver Sun. In its first section it boast four full-page section on interior design “sponsored by the likes of Inspiration Furniture, Jag’s Furniture & Mattress and La-Z-Boy.

In this dying attempt to keep paper with ink my wife tells me that she refuses to read the local arts weekly because of the jumble of ads. Clean design disappeared years ago.

This finally brings me back to the publicist. Let us say you are a publicist at a theatre company and you are full-time. What do you do?

The publicist might attempt to communicate with overworked arts editors or with publications that do not have such a thing. Then the publicist if indeed a yes has been received is faced with the unwritten fact that if a publication does a preview they will not do a review (or the opposite). And if you count the fact that you might have around 3½ publications that mention the arts (the Vancouver Sun on Wednesdays exclusively features food as “the arts” attempting to fill seats in a concert hall is a tough proposition.

So what how do arts organizations survive in our Vancouver? Consider this: You go to an Early Music Vancouver concert. In the venue lobby you are handed a program that includes a little sheet of paper where you are asked to write your name, phone number (and very important you are asked for your e-mail). You are told that there will be a draw before the concert begins where you might win two tickets for upcoming concerts.

The purpose of the above is to enlarge their base of would-be concert goer’s base. This is what now helps to fill seats in Vancouver.

Because it is the responsibility of artists and art organizations to call up  city publications to inform them of coming events (very little chance that that a press release might have then call you) artists have found that the best way to promote upcoming concerts, dance performances and small theatrical productions is via their email base.

I am on the e-mail list of Turning Point Ensemble, ColinMacDonald, Marina Hasselberg, Early Music Vancouver, the Pacific BaroqueOrchestra, John Oliver, Vancouver Symphony/Jocelyn Morlock, La Modestine/MarcDestrubé , the Microcosmos Quartet and many more. Plus many churches including St.Philip's Anglican in the Dunbar area have very good musical programs.

I never miss anything. Plus every year the UBC School of Music mails me their season’s brochure of concerts especially the noon ones.

As an example how would you know about this interesting concert to be held at the Orpheum Annex on Saturday(how many of you reading this know of the existence of the Annex?):