by Alison Myers

Created on: May 24, 2008

In the early age of print media, music journalism was practiced by music journals or general newspapers. Music journalism has also been known as music criticism: the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of music and its performance. Today it covers popular music, profiles rising musicians, and album and concert reviews.

The first official music journalism piece was written in 1752 by English composer Charles Avison. He criticized the work of Handel in an Essay on Musical Expression.

In the 1840s, less music critics were musicians and there was increasing interest in this journalism sub genre among general newspapers.

Ralph Gleason began his music journalism career in the 1940s after moving to San Francisco and freelancing with the San Francisco Chronicle. He initiated the first coverage of jazz and pop music in the mainstream U.S. media and was also the first critic to review folk, pop, and jazz concerts with similar attention on the level of classical music concerts. He also produced series on jazz and blues music for PBS and an Emmy-nominated documentary on Duke Ellington.

Al Aronowitz is referred to as the godfather of rock journalism. His best work was published in the 1960s when he first wrote about the Beatles for the Saturday Evening Post. He also wrote for the New York Post and the Village Voice during the 60s and into the 70s; forming relationships with several musicians along the way.

In 1967, Rolling Stone magazine was founded in San Francisco by Gleason and current editor and publisher Jann Wenner. Rolling Stone immediately established itself with political coverage and helped launch the careers of journalists such as MTV's Kurt Loder. Over the years, it has changed its image to a more sex-driven publication. Over 1000 issues have been published and the magazine is constantly updating its website with new message boards, mp3 files, and encyclopedia style articles.

In March, Maxim magazine printed a review of the Black Crowes' newest album without listening to it. They claimed the review was an educated guess of what the yet to be released album would sound like. The Black Crowes were outraged; saying the fake review lowered Maxim's credibility and wondered how far the magazine would go next; perhaps reviewing concerts they never attended.

Throughout history, music journalism has tried to focus on music with a political angle and make popular culture seem more serious. However, not all music journalists practice their craft properly. Common

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