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The changing face of arts journalism: an embedding experiment with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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The changing face of arts journalism: an embedding experiment with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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Content Copyright 2015 Vanessa Wilson

THE CHANGING FACE OF ARTS JOURNALISM:
AN EMBEDDING EXPERIMENT WITH THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
MUSEUM OF ART
by
Vanessa Wilson
______________________________________________________________________________

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM: THE ARTS)

May 2015

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to Sasha Anawalt who essentially created embedded arts journalism, made it
possible for me to become an in-house journalist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
(LACMA), and whose careful eyes worked tirelessly with me on perfecting this thesis.

My thanks to Terry Morello for allowing me the opportunity to work at LACMA as the
museum’s first embedded arts journalist and for her continuous support throughout my time
there. Thanks as well to Miranda Carroll without whom I would have floundered at LACMA; I
am so grateful for her encouragement and unflagging optimism during this experiment of ours. A
shoutout to the wonderful Linda Theung for her patience when listening to a number of my
pitches, her dedication when editing my posts for Unframed and for pushing me to pursue my
stories even when my confidence wavered.

Finally, I am especially grateful to my parents, Bany and Jorge Wilson, without whom I would
neither have had the opportunity nor the inspiration to pursue a graduate education.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iv

Introduction 1

The Proposal 6

The Platform 9

Narratives from LACMA 16

Currently 22

Reflections 25

References 32

iv

ABSTRACT
The origins of the idea for embedding arts journalists inside arts organizations or
institutions where they ’d work on staff or as part of paid fellowships covering the arts can most
strongly be traced to Sasha Anawalt, director of USC Anne nbe r g ’s arts journalism masters
program, and her colleague, Douglas McLennan. They have been developing the model since
2010, simultaneously with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) whose press and marketing
team was the first to implement the idea and hire an experienced arts journalist in 2013 to cover
stories for its internal media outlet. In addition to the CSO, the concept has since been picked up
by two other significant organizations —the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Geffen
Playhouse. In both instances, Anawalt and McLennan played major roles in hatching this novel
journalism experiment. Then, in September 2014, Anawalt succeeded in convincing the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to take me on as an in-house arts journalist, to
produce stories that measured up to the standards of professional journalism that would mostly
be published by its internal media outlets that were seen by the public. This thesis is a
chronicling of what I learned about journalism while there (what worked and what didn’t), and
an analysis of how my interaction with LACMA staff members shaped the content and quality of
my work.

1

INTRODUCTION
In 2010 Sasha Anawalt, director of the Specialized Journalism (Arts) Masters program at
USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and Douglas McLennan, founder
and editor of ArtsJournal.com, began brainstorming ways to improve the state of arts reporting.
The need for change was evident, “ I n 2007, fifty percent of arts journalists had lost their jobs,”
explained Anawalt.
The two looked at Human Rights Watch (HRW), a non-profit organization dedicated to
reporting on human rights conditions worldwide. Inspired by HRW ’s dedication and the editorial
freedom granted to its staff writers, Anawalt and McLennan began modeling a similar approach
for the arts.
What emerged were a number of experimental projects. Among these were Engine 28,
29, and 30, a series of pop-up newsrooms in downtown Los Angeles from 2011 to 2012. These
were staffed by professional journalists and editors, as well as, USC arts journalism masters
candidates, all reporting on creative events and employing digital content to do so.
Then, in August of 2013, Laura Emerick, veteran arts editor of the Chicago Sun-Times,
was employed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) as its first digital content editor. In
the past, Emerick had worked closely with Anawalt and McLennan; she was a USC
Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow in 2008 and 2011, as well as a collaborator on Engine
29. As such, Emerick was familiar with Anawalt and Mc L e nna n ’s idea of “ e mbedding , ” before
the C S O’ s marketing team approached her. Em e ri c k’ s position at the CSO charged her with
generating “ n e w ways to reach the or c h e stra ’s global audience through new forms of digital
content —written, aural and visual” (Lazare, 2013). She took over what was then the “ L ist e n &
W a tch” tab on the C S O’ s website, and with the marketing team newly titled it, “ S ounds &

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S torie s.” Thus began what Anawalt called “ e mb e dde d arts journa li sm,” referring to trained
journalists hired by art institutions to produce relevant content.
Not long after, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) approached McLennan and asked
for help. McLennan suggested the concept of an in-house journalist to reinvigorate the B S O’ s
web-content and media presence. In 2014, the BSO announced it was seeking someone to come
onboard for an “ Embe dd e d Reporter F e ll owship” to tell the stories it felt weren ’t being told by
the press. “ Dou g worked closely with the BSO and was instrumental in the wording of that
fe ll owship,” states Anawalt. The BSO advertised the position as a year-long fellowship and
declared that the selected candidate would receive an annual salary of $38,000 in exchange for:
Orchestra-related news, features, trends, profiles and enterprise work; it will not include
reviews, personal essay or opinion writing. The fellow will have access to rehearsals,
performances and everything that happens off and on stage, including after-hours talks,
meals and drinks with musicians, staff and the community. (Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra, 2014)

Learning of this development, Judith H. Dobrzynski, esteemed independent journalist,
published “ The BSO And Arts Journalism: Don ’t Let This S pr e a d” on her blog Real Clear Arts
at ArtsJournal.com. Dobrzynski was formally an editor of the Sunday "Money & Business"
section of the New York Times, senior editor of Business Week and, most recently, the executive
and managing editor of the cable channel CNBC (Dobrzynski, “ B io g ra ph y ” ). Her post on Real
Clear Arts criticized the BSO ’s call for an embedded journalist. As Dobrzynski put it: “ Tha t’s
not a journalist; that’s a PR re pr e se ntative ” (Dobrzynski, 2014). She posed a series of inquiries
questioning the validity of the embedded journalist:
Who ’s going to edit the work? Who ’ll have control? What if the embed turns up
information the BSO does not want disclosed? Will the embed quit? And why would a
legitimate news outlet want to take articles form an embed? (Dobrzynski, 2014)

3

Shortly thereafter, Peggy McGlone, arts reporter for the Washington Post wrote, “ A rts
Organizations are Hiring Pros to Tell Their S torie s,” which addressed why art institutions were
carving out a niche for on-site journalists. In it John Schreiber, president and chief executive of
the New Jersey Performing Arts Center explained: “ W e as arts presenters understand that we
c a n’ t depend anymore on third parties to tell our stories” (McGlone, 2014). S c hr e iber ’s comment
revealed that there were stories waiting to be told despite cuts in arts and culture sections at
media outlets. By hiring professional journalists, art organizations were eliminating the middle-
man and third-party media in favor of strengthening their online presence.
In July 2014 the BSO hired Ricky O ’ B a nnon, University of Southern California (USC),
Annenberg alumnus, to come on board as a fellow. O’ B a nnon was also involved with Engine 30,
as one of An a wa lt ’s masters students in 2012. At Engine 30 he exercised his considerable data-
gathering skills and learned how to do data visualization. He also tested the practices of what
was then being called, “ Ope n Journali sm.” Reflecting on O ’Ba nnon’ s success, Anawalt
commented: “ R ick y was trained in how to think about embedding, about data gathering and
visualization. He knew how Doug and I thou g ht” (Anawalt, 2015).
In a very similar fashion to Laura Emerick’s arrangement at the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, O’ B a nnon ’s narratives live on the B S O ’s webpage (bsomusic.org) under a section
titled “ B S O S torie s.” His contributions offer an in sider ’s look into topics ranging from
instrumental design ( O’ B a nnon, “ W ha t’s in a S ha pe ? ” ) to the architecture of concert halls
(O ’ B a nnon, “ Ar e Mod e r n” ). His “ The 2014-15 Orchestra Season by the N umber s” series marries
data with graphic design to create a visual demographic of the classical music programs across
twenty-two of the largest American symphony orchestras. O’ B a nnon ’s findings can be filtered
by gender, nationality, or mortal status (living versus dead). Significant results include

4

spotlighting the gender gap among composers. Elements of his infographics have since been
picked up by other online publications, including mention in The New Yorker ’s article “ The
Search for Mrs. B a c h ” (Ross, 2014), allowing it to circulate beyond the audience of BSO
webpage visitors, and demonstrating how these narratives can serve the community at large.
Related to Emerick and O ’Ba nnon’ s hiring, Joseph Yoshitomi, director of marketing and
communications for the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, put out a call for a Communications
Editor in August of 2014 (Yoshitomi, 2014). The Communications Editor is described as having
the responsibility to “ g a t he r and generate content of the in-house program (up to 32 pages per
production with at least eight productions each y e a r) ” (Ibid.). The position would be paid
$40,000 and have health benefits (Ibid.). In December 2014, Yoshitomi hired Rebecca Haithcoat,
a former theater critic for the LA Weekly and USC Annenberg alumna who had graduated from
Ana wa lt ’s Arts Journalism program in 2010.
++++++++++++++++++
Anawalt determined that some of the benefits of embedded arts journalism might be
especially true for students, because they would see how an organization functioned from the
inside, learn about the process by which art is curated and presented, and meet key players in the
field. In short, they would have the kind of access otherwise usually denied them as students. I
came to her as a prospective student in the summer of 2014. I was a University of California,
Berkeley graduate with a bachelor ’s degree in art history. I had spent the year following my
graduation interning at two museums, The Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice, Italy) and the
Museo Inka (Cuzco, Peru). I had aspirations to attain a job I wa sn’t entirely sure existed: an art
museum staff member who writes about the in sti tut ion’s art and artists, but not necessarily for
the PR and marketing division. I wanted to make art accessible and interesting to the general

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public, yet also convey information that would enlighten the art enthusiast. When I joined the
Maste r’ s program in arts journalism, I had had no prior journalism training. Anawalt responded
to my interest in museums and writing by introducing me to the concept of an in-house
journalist. At the time, O’ B a nnon had recently been hired by the BSO. She suggested I explore a
possible embedding at the USC Pacific Asia Museum (USC PAM) which had just hired a new
director —Christina YuYu —and, as a result, would likely be undergoing some changes.
However, by the time we revisited the idea in the fall, I had decided that the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (LACMA) would be the institution better suited to me.
LACMA housed compositions representative of various movements and locations that
would offer me more opportunity to produce narratives about which I was more knowledgeable
and passionate. Additionally, the encyclopedic institution had a history of community
engagement and educational initiatives, which we suspected would make its communications
department leadership more inclined toward participating in the project Anawalt and I intended
to propose. These were key factors to us making an approach with the embedding plan.

6

THE PROPOSAL

On the afternoon of September 18, 2014, Anawalt and I visited LACMA to meet with the
communications department representatives and pitch the concept of an on-site journalist.
Miranda Carroll, director of communications, and the person with whom Anawalt had
largely been discussing the idea, received us. She lead the way through a labyrinth of
underground offices and cubicles until reaching Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Terry
Morello ’s office.
Anawalt introduced me to those present, including: Scott Tennent, director of executive
communications, and Linda Theung, editor. She summarized my experience with museum work,
my interest in art history, and briefly addressed the concept behind embedding before inviting
them to question me. At the time of the interview, I was concerned about my lack of familiarity
with the city of Los Angeles and LACMA. I presented myself as a fresh-eyed art enthusiast who
could offer LACMA new perspectives perhaps overlooked by a local Angeleno.
A number of ideas were discussed, including my interest in art and technology, desire to
address the issue of art institutions ’ relevance in the age of new tech, and familiarity with Latin
American art. We mentioned the Boston Symphony O rc he str a ’s recent hiring of O’ B a nnon as a
paid journalism fellow. By taking on our proposition, LACMA would join the early pioneers of
a new movement in journalism and art institutions, working towards revolutionizing the way we
create, share and consume art news —and, in my case, all of this free of charge.
The logistics of the potential LACMA embedding at this stage were complicated by my
schedule as a graduate student. I could only commit to being on-site once a week for a total of
seven hours. Although I would not be paid, Anawalt repeatedly made it clear that I should not be
thought of or treated as an intern, specifying that my presence at the museum should be as if I

7

were a staff member or a consultant. My purpose would be to observe what goes on “ be hind-the-
sc e ne s,” meaning access to staff members (curatorial, conservation, education, etc) and meetings,
all as a resource for developing stories. In exchange, LACMA would have coverage on USC
outlets and I could occasionally produce content for its blog, Unframed. There was some
discussion of moving my stories out and seeing if they could be published by the Los Angeles
Times or LA Weekly, if I had an idea that might appeal to these outlets. However, we decided, for
the time being, that we would cross that bridge when the opportunity and appropriate story
presented itself. In the meantime, my work was to be done primarily inside LACMA and for
LACMA, with the USC Annenberg media outlets as the most logical alternative distribution sites
(including Annenberg Radio News, Neon Tommy and the freshly minted Ampersand).
We also discussed the advantages of having a journalist work on LACMA staff, and the
agreement among those at the table mirrored the sentiment expressed by John Schreiber,
president and chief executive of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, in the Washington Post
article about arts institutions embedding journalists: “To have a journalist as part of the team
assures me the quality is first rate, and then it ’s up to us to be enterprising, to get those stories out
to the publi c ” (McGlone, 2014).
At the time, I also realized that my embedding at LACMA would be an on-the-job
learning opportunity. I was utterly new to journalism, so my experiment would be different from
that of Emerick ’s at the CSO and O’ B a nnon’ s at the BSO.
The following day I received news via email that LACMA had approved my proposal
and looked forward to me joining their team. By mid-October I had a LACMA ID that read
“ int e rn” on it. Carroll assured me that this was just a technicality as it was the most fitting
category under which the department could issue me an ID. I was an unofficial staff member

8

with my own cubicle and a “@lacma.org ” email address. With no shortage of ideas or energy, I
quickly filled my schedule with staff meetings to become familiar with my new colleagues.

9

THE PLATFORM
By my third week at LACMA, I had several stories lined up for publication on the
museum’s blog, Unframed, as well as occasional radio features for Annenberg Radio News
(ARN).
“Unframed is the mouthpiece of L ACMA, ” explained Linda Theung, editor and curator
of Unframed, “ I t ’s always on the front page of lacma.org and is an outlet for anyone at the
museum, from curators to security, to talk about the museum that’s e soter i c .” She described the
posts as “ infor mal” and “ c onve rsa ti ona l ” and its audience as, “ pe ople interested in arts and
culture, not necessarily in LACMA, but in the source of cultural pr odu c ti on.”
++++++++++++++++++
My first LACMA press event on was the preview for Samurai: Japanese Armor from the
Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection, an installation that came to the museum on
October 15, 2014. Before the event, Theung expressed a desire to have a snippet about the
Samurai show written for Unframed. So, I approached L ACMA’ s Curator of Japanese Art,
Robert Singer, who was present at the event.
I began by complimenting his tie, decorated with a periwinkle blue fish pattern laid over
a salmon-colored background. Not long into our tie conversation Jessica Youn, the
communications associate who organized the gathering, and Miranda Carroll appeared to
introduce me formally as the “ ne w hir e ” and L ACMA’ s very own “ on-site journa li st.”
I found myself struggling to keep my cellphone as close as possible to Singer’s face (I
was using a recording application that didn’t have the most sensitive sound pick-up.) He quickly
paced among the displays, sharing his thoughts on samurai and pointing out his favorite pieces.
On the topic of these ephemeral warriors, Singer proclaimed his intent with the exhibition was to

10

“ show the fantasy, [and] humor of Japan ’s art in a traditional, three-dimensional wa y .” Before I
could get a word in to ask a question about what he meant by the “ humor ” of samurai, he
scurried away, coming to a stop in front of a case displaying multiple headpieces alongside an
assemblage of armor. Among them was a cone-shaped helmet with vegetative qualities, to which
he pointed, “ This is my favorite case here. I mean you know, wh a t’s behind a samurai and on it,
wearing an eggplant, a sculpture of an e gg pl a nt,” Singer chuckled, “ You know, it ’s not
something we would think of as battle related, warrior related—it ’s [an] eggplant sc ulpt ur e .”
Afterward, I told Theung that I had had the opportunity to chat with Singer. I complained
he hadn’t let me get a single question in edgewise as he raced through the installation. Then was
pleased, stating: “ Tha t’s great, he never wants to sit down with me for Unframed .”
I finished writing my blog post, “ F unc ti ona l Art: Armor of the S a mur a i” by mid-October
and submitted it to Theung. It was not posted on Unframed until December 1st, with the by-line
of “ Va n e ssa Wilson USC Annenberg Journalism F e ll ow.” At the time I was mystified by the
delay, having worked hard to meet my deadline. But Theung explained that postponements and
the occasional dropped story are not uncommon with Unframed, in part, because anyone from
the museum can generate content for the blog. She schedules posts based on exhibition
calendars, programs and specific events, like galas, which she says, “ h a ve to be in line with those
ti melines.”
++++++++++++++++++

Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist was an exhibition with which I became enamored.
Prior to the press preview, I had little knowledge of Motley —what I did know was based on a
minimal amount of research done in preparation for the event. I knew I wanted to speak with the
show’ s curator, Richard Powell, about why Motley and why now. At the time I was learning how

11

to do radio stories and interviews, and was beginning to think seriously visual audible. I hoped
the following question would yield promising results: “ De sc ribe your favorite piece [in the
show] and why you like i t.”
Powell, who is also an art history professor at Duke University, told me that Motley had
the ability to “ look at the ordinary and bring out the spec ta c ular . ” He spoke about Mot le y ’s
relevancy and energetically guided me through a powerful, visual description of his favorite
piece, Portrait of My Grandmother (1922):
This is a woman, who in 1922 is close to death, she had lived as a slave in Kentucky,
makes her move with her family from Kentucky to Louisiana and she ends up living with
the Motley family in Chicago when the painting's done [ …] so he sees his grandmother,
this old woman, and he paints a portrait of her, head on, looking straight out at us with
her hands in her lap, with a broach on her chest that is black and gnarled, that has a drop
of redness in the middle of it. And when I see that, when I see her hands, when I see the
wrinkles on her face, when I see the apron on her body, when I see the shadow behind
her, I just see this as the ultimate love painting. (Wilson, “ Ar c hibald Mot le y , ” 2014)

I recorded our conversation with a Tascam and decided that because of his sonorous voice,
vividly descriptive language and an almost palpable energy, Powell would make for an excellent
radio segment for both Annenberg Radio News (ARN) and Ampersand (a multi-platform arts
and culture news site at USC Annenberg that I was helping create as part of my course with
Anawalt). Listening to his interview easily conjured the painting he so admired, you could see it
in your mi nd’s eye, and for this reason I believed I had my first radio piece that could do justice
to visual art.
One of the things that had captured my imagination with the Motley show was the use of
jazz music playing in the third gallery. Its festive tunes reverberated through the galleries and
seemed to emanate from the paintings, especially underscoring the vigor of the lively, free form,
seemingly carless bodies that occupied Motley ’s nightlife paintings. The fiery eyeballs of his

12

jazz musicians burrowed into my mind and left me wondering if it was mania, passion, or
something else demonic that Motley intended to depict.
Although my interview with Powell was ready to air by October 21, I wanted to run the
exact same jazz music from the soundtrack LACMA was using in the third gallery. I requested a
copy of the soundtrack and was told by Claire Kim, senior music programs coordinator at
LACMA, that she was sure I could. I was able to download the sound files to my USB before
receiving an email from Sue Ellen Smyle, L ACM A’ s assistant general counsel, stating:
Unfortunately, LACMA does not have a license covering use of this music for your radio
piece to air on ARN radio or its website. As I'm sure you can understand, since we have
no license, we cannot permit you to access the song from our T drive to use in the piece.
Should you have any questions, I'd be glad to discuss this further with you.

Having received that bit of disappointing news, I ran the piece on ARN without the
accompanying jazz music. On October 28, I met with Smyle to discuss why the songs c ouldn ’t
be included in my piece in spite of the fact that USC Annenberg student work is protected under
licensing across ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. Her verbal explanation was that the songs did not
belong to LACMA and therefore could not be cleared for broadcast. She stated that LACMA had
permission to implement the songs in live performances or for use on the museum’s campus, but
could not authorize outside use. This lead to a discussion with Anawalt and our class about
copyright laws and fair use, and the realization that what ARN and Ampersand are allowed to do
as student publications is potentially —and under some circumstances —not the same as what
LACMA is allowed to do.
The Archibald Motley radio piece was also the first time I would take my LACMA-
specific stories beyond the walls of LACMA. Publications within LACMA had been signed as
“ Va ne ss a Wilson, USC Annenberg Journalism F e ll ow.” My title had been a subject of
conversation and debate, because Anawalt and I wanted to find a way to distinguish my work as

13

being that of a journalist, rather than an intern in marketing and public relations. For some
reason, when I produced pieces for Annenberg media outlets, I dropped that title and signed off
simply as “ V a ne ssa W il son.” Although Anawalt, editor in chief of Ampersand, and I did not
have the discussion about transparency until mid-March —whether or not to be fully transparent
that my LACMA related pieces for ARN and Ampersand should disclose that I am an embedded
journalist —we agree, in retrospect, that they should have. But at the time, we let them run on the
radio without announcing my in-house status.
++++++++++++++++++

On November 4, 2014, I received a phone call from Anawalt informing me that there was
a lot of excitement at Annenberg regarding an article published that day in the Los Angeles Times
on L ACMA’ s future. The article stated that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors was to
vote the next day (November 5) on whether or not to use county money to fund the museum’s
$125 million building project. Additionally, Willow Bay, Director of USC Anne nbe r g’ s School
of Journalism and Communications and a vice-chair on L ACMA ’s Board of Trustees, had heard
there would be a press meeting on November 6 to discuss the Supervisory B oa rd ’s verdict. I was
tasked by Anawalt and other ARN editors with finding out when and where the press review
would occur and with securing a seat for Annenberg.
Anawalt ’s phone call changed the dynamics of my in-house status. In addition to serving
LACMA, I was now expected to report back to Anawalt and Bay. At the time Miranda Carroll
was out of the country on business, so when I arrived at LACMA, I asked Erin Yokomizo,
communications associate, about the press event. She reacted with surprise and asked how I
knew about it, after which she informed me that the specifics had n’ t been worked out yet but
she’ d let me know after her meeting. Later that afternoon, having not received word from

14

Yokomizo, I stopped by The ung’s office to inquire about the event. Theung advised that I wait
for Yokomizo to get back to me. The next morning I got a response from Yokomizo: “ Hi
Vanessa, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We would love for you to join us for a press
preview tomorrow at 10 am in the B P GE.” I relayed the information to Anawalt who told me that
Stephanie Case, a colleague of mine and fellow ARN reporter, would be accompanying me on
the day of the event.
Later that day, LACMA released a media alert: “ L ACMA Announces Historic Gift of Art
by Anonymous Donor, Significantly Transforming the Museum ’s C oll e c ti on.” The alert
followed the Los Angeles T ime s’ announcement that the Board of Supervisors had approved
L ACMA’ s request for a $125 million cash fund of county money to go towards the
reconstruction of the Museum’ s campus by famed Swiss architect Peter Zumthor (Boehm, 2014).
On the day of the press event, Case and I were expected to create a “ d a y of a ir” segment.
We were allowed to plug into a mult-box and record L ACMA’ s announcement that Jerold
Perenchio, Southern California businessman and philanthropist, was the “ a n on y mous donor ”
who would be gifting his private collection to the museum. Also present was a panel including
LACMA CEO and Director, Michael Govan, County Supervisors, Zev Yaroslavsky and Mark-
Ridley Thomas, and LACMA Trustee Vice Chairs, William Ahmanson and Lynda Resnick. The
revelation of the “ lar ge st gift of art to LACMA in its hist or y ” (LACMA Press Release, 2014)
was preceded by speeches from the Supervisory Board members regarding L ACMA’ s building
project and the decision to partially fund the initiative using county money. Case and I were able
to speak with Govan, Yaroslavsky and Thomas before leaving the event. Since the radio
segment involved breaking news, the piece aired later that afternoon as part of ARN daily
(Wilson, Case, 2014)

15

Whenever I attended a LACMA press preview, my hope was to find something suitable
for two of the three outlets I was working for: Unframed, ARN and Ampersand. I ’ve since
learned that these events most closely resonate with ARN, both because of its audience and the
nature and brevity of AR N’ s podcasts, which were mainly news-driven. The press previews
provided media attendees with a general introduction to an upcoming exhibition or event. Most
of them would then take that information and publish the announcement for their readers. The
stories that I published while covering these events were factual; they gave information about the
exhibition —who, what, when, where —and touched upon why readers/listeners should attend. By
comparison, narratives for Unframed concerned the goings-on at LACMA and were intended to
be somewhat academic. For Ampersand the aim was to “ di g de e p, ” as Anawalt often reminded
us, and to tell stories that “ moved” people, just as the art we were covering had “ moved” us as
reporters. Ampersand was the place that put a multimedia spotlight on creators exploring “ wh y
and how they move, shape and influence our wo rld” (Ampersand, 2014). Out of these three
media publications, ARN with its daily news podcast yielded best to information gleaned from
L ACMA’ s press gatherings. Knowing this, and beginning to discern the differences between my
three media outlet options signified a huge step in my growth as a journalist. I was learning on
the job how to do straight news and light interest stories for a focused audience, and how to
approach long-form arts storytelling mostly for radio, as in the case, for Ampersand.

16

NARRATIVES FROM LACMA
There were days at LACMA I spent wandering the campus grounds, searching for
inspiration. One time, while chatting with Tim Deegan, former director of guest services at
LACMA, he pointed out Jim Campbell ’s Untitled (for the sun) casually hanging inside
L ACMA’ s Coffee and Milk café. I was surprised I ha dn’t noticed the analog clock before and
wondered how many others had overlooked it. Staring at it, I wondered what C a mpbell’s piece
was tracking as the five-digit numbers escalated, 75.504, 75.505, 75.506. I decided to include it
in an email to Theung. The message proposed topics for Unframed or facts that could be
included in a “ 10 Things You Didn’ t Know About L ACMA ” post. Beside the bulleted point
regarding C a mpbell’s installation, Theung wrote: “ W e have a lot of questions about this work.
Can you do some investigation on it and perhaps write a stor y ? ”
I was shocked that Campbell ’s Untitled (for the sun) had not yet been written about for
Unframed and even more perplexed when I failed to find much information about the work
online. At the time I was vaguely familiar with Campbell from working at a gallery in Northern
California; there I had heard that he is considered a leading figure in new media art. I set-up a
phone interview with Campbell to discuss the piece. A wonderful conversationalist, he gave me
more insight into what may have been viewed as a simple timer:
I wanted to build a clock that didn ’t need to be set; it sets itself, just based on sunlight.
Like our bodies do. In the winter during the day the display goes very quickly, because it
synchronizes itself to sunrise and sunset, like we do—we try to get things done before
dark, whether it ’s unconscious or not. (Wilson, “ S olvi ng ,” 2014)

Narratives like the Campbell piece, which offered readers more information about an artist or
composition, were the kind of stories I most enjoyed producing. Interviewing artists quickly
became one of my favorite things to do and allowed me to practice the techniques my professors

17

at Annenberg were simultaneously teaching. I discovered that speaking with artists was
relatively easy for me. These interviews were conversational and bore a fluidity I could
comfortably maintain. The experience was unlike other interviews where I’d get caught up
thinking of the next question, then panic when my interviewee would pause and stare expectantly
at me. As an in-house journalist at LACMA I had the opportunity to speak with artists and
curators collaborating with the museum, improve my interviewing skills, and practice my
writing. I was quickly beginning to appreciate what this embedding afforded me, namely real
practice with real consequences, and felt that it was an essential compliment to the USC
Annenberg arts journalism curriculum.
++++++++++++++++++

Between interviews and meetings, my time at LACMA was spent brainstorming stories,
determining whom I wanted to interview, why I wanted to speak with him/her and what we
would talk about. Although I enjoyed being somewhat of a loner —I am an introvert by nature —
this may not have been the most effective use of my time. After all, wa sn’ t having access to all
the knowledgeable people at the museum as resources one of the advantages of being embedded?
Who would know better about what stories ha ve n ’t been told than the curators or head of
departments themselves?
Recognizing this, Miranda Carroll began, in January, to arrange meetings with various
department heads and curators to discuss ideas for publication. However, this updated approach
is only now being implemented as I complete writing this thesis in late March 2015.

18

++++++++++++++++++

In November 2014 I inadvertently butted heads with a curator while working on a series
profiling individuals from LACMA’s conservation department for Unframed. Theung proposed
this idea at the beginning of my embedding. Slow to achieve lift-off and involving a series of
emails and re-scheduling, I made initial contact with Mark Gilberg, Suzanne G. Booth and David
G. Booth Conservation Center director on November 20.
Gilberg is educated in the preservation of shipwrecks. Although no shipwrecks have
found their way into LACMA ’s exhibition spaces, he has put his experience to good use
elsewhere, mainly tracking ongoing projects in the various sub-fields (textiles, painting,
sculpture, and armory, to name a few) within the department.
After my initial interview with him, Gilberg offered to take me on a behind-the-scenes
tour. In the painting quarters Gilberg showed me two recently acquired casta paintings that were
being restored. They were beautifully vivid examples of this genre signed by the famous
Ecuadorian painter, Vicente Albán. I made a note to include them in my planned piece.
I immediately set to work on a draft for Unframed, based on my interview and tour with
Gilberg. The draft introduced his role and briefly covered a number of ongoing projects on which
the conservation department was working. Among those mentioned were an original Damascene
room, the acquisition of the casta paintings and ongoing restorative work at the Watts Towers.
When the piece reached its final stages, I decided to email Ilona Katzew, head of the Latin-
American Collection, to get the exact names and dates of the paintings. It wa sn’t long before I
received the following response from Katzew:

19

Hi Vanesa [sic]-
I'm the Curator and Head of Latin American Art who acquired the 2 casta paobtings [sic].
I've been working with paintings conservation on the works for several months. Last
week I traveled with the head of paintings conservation to Madrid to further our research
on the two paintings. All this to say that we expect and are planning to release a serious
blog and press release about the pictures in January/February to coincide with their
installation in the Latin American galleries. Please **do not** write or publicize these
pictures in UNFRAMED or other media as it will preempt our plans to announce this
recent acquisition and all our research and conservation discoveries. We really would
prefer to release this information in a different way from curatorial.
Thank you for your understanding,
Ilona

The message above —the first in my experience at LACMA to ask me not to publish
something —elicited a tense yet comical thread between Linda Theung, editor, and Katzew.
Feeling that I had overstepped a line, I decided to stop by The un g’ s office to apologize for the
tension I had inadvertently created. To my surprise, she brushed off my concerns, stating that
Ka tz e w’ s “ pr ickliness ” was a great sign, “ I t means y ou’re doing your job ri g ht.”
At LACMA, Theung was my editor and a wonderfully supportive one at that. We largely
communicated via email as first and second drafts flew back and forth until the final product was
just right.
I was reminded that Dobrzynski, in her article arguing against the concept of the
embedded journalism fellow proposed by the BSO, posed the following questions that I now
understood to be major, “ W ho ’s going to edit the work? W ho’ll have control? What if the embed
turns up information the BSO does not want discl osed? ” (Dobrzynski, “ Th e B S O,” 2014)
Now I found myself in the position of asking these questions myself. My own concern
was elevated about the validity of an embed ’s reporting. How can an editor, provided by the host
institution, remain fair when reviewing a piece? In my experience, for the most part, The ung’s
corrections were limited to catching grammatical errors or suggesting additional information on a
given topic. Occasionally, she sent me an email asking me to cover an event (as was the case

20

with the Samurai exhibition) or requesting that I draft a piece on a specific program (as with an
Art+Film piece). Theung demonstrated continual support. She pushed me to find stories that
would create a dialogue or discourse on a subject. Rather, the challenge had so far been
appeasing other members of the LACMA family, mainly the curators and lawyers. As a result of
avoiding stepping on the toes of these parties, elements of my narratives had to be eliminated.
Such was the case with the conservation piece that alarmed Katzew.
My original draft of the conservation story intended to walk the reader through a few of
the restorative projects underway at LACMA as a means by which to introduce an ongoing series
of conservator profiles. Respecting Katzew’s request, however, I removed mention of the casta
paintings. And, in order to avoid further disclosure issues with the curators, Theung and I
decided to exclude mention of the reconstruction of a 19th century Damascene room. In the same
email thread with Katzew, Theung assured her that, “[Unframed] definitely always share[s] all
our content with curatorial for their blessing before we publish anything, so don't worry —your
[meaning Ka tz e w’ s] eyes will see it before the public doe s.”
In her blog, Dobrzynski had also poked into the most ethically-challenged aspect of
embedded journalists by wondering what would happen if the embed turned up information the
institution didn ’t want revealed. My decision under the circumstances was to remove the
information that could upset a LACMA curator, and move on. After all, I am collaborating with
the institution. That being said, had time sensitive information been disclosed to an outside
journalist unaffiliated with LACMA, the response may have been different. When a student in
my long-form writing for the web class asked Marc Cooper, journalist and associate professor of
professional practice at USC, “ W ha t if they [the interviewee] says we c a n’ t publish something
the y ’v e told us? ” Cooper responded, “ Tou g h. They shoul dn’t have talked to a journalist, and you

21

can tell them that. Tell them, ‘N e x t time, don’t talk to a journa li st.’ ” However, issues regarding
conflict of interest exist in news outlets everywhere, as stated in the text book Inside Reporting, “
[. . .] stories that anger or embarrass your boss’s clients or political allies may get spiked even if
the y ’ re legitimate news —leaving you to debate whether to quit in protest or become a ‘te a m
pla y e r’ ” (148). In response to Dobr z y nski ’s question, disagreements regarding information that
can or cannot be published are a feasible concern, yet they are not unique to embedded
journalism.

22

CURRENTLY
With my time at LACMA quickly approaching its conclusion (scheduled for May 4,
2015), Anawalt, Morello, senior vice president of external affairs at LACMA, Carroll, director of
communications, and Theung, met with me individually to evaluate my experience as an embed.
These meetings have all yielded ideas for improvement that are to be implemented during the
remaining months. Significant changes include weekly meetings with both Carroll and Anawalt,
bi-weekly check-ins with Theung and sit-down meetings with LACMA department heads.
The new arrangements allow for productive communication, as well as opportunities to
problem-solve. Discussions with Anawalt provide me with journalistic guidance. As I am
currently in the midst of learning how to write and be a journalist, conversations with her aim
toward providing proper structure to my narratives and advice on how to proceed as an arts
reporter. With Anawalt, I discern and study my interactions at LACMA and, together, learn how
to better navigate as an on-site journalist.
Anawalt and I have also been looking at Ricky O ’ B a nnon’ s work at the Boston
Symphony Orchestra as a model for publishing data-driven stories that are specifically about
orchestras. How might I also create data-based articles for LACMA, designed —in the manner of
O’ B a nnon’ s —to benefit other museums beyond my host institution (LACMA)?
In January 2015, artist Christine Corday visited LACMA and agreed to speak with me
about her two large-scale pieces then on display in the museum’s grand entrance. Her sculptures,
UNE and KNOUN, explore sensory awareness and the physical states of matter. The
conversation with Corday resulted in my writing a series of posts on her sculptures for Unframed
and prompted me to think about rules of engagement within art museums. Corday's steel
structures were intended for viewers to touch, climb and stand on but, due to liability risks,

23

LACMA would not allow patrons to climb or stand upon either of the pieces. Visitors were,
however, permitted to touch UNE and KNOUN.
The conflict that arose around Corday ’s work inspired me to write a long-form,
multimedia piece regarding the tension between museum etiquette and artistic intent (a story
which I am actively producing as I complete this thesis). Since this is a large topic that could
encompass a variety of compositions, I have decided to focus on touchable objects, installations
and sculptures. For example, the works of Jennifer Rubell or Felix Gonzalez-Torres, or those of
minimalist or land artists. I am exploring instances in which the nature of touchable
compositions have challenged the display methods of the host museum. The piece delves into the
history of museum etiquette, its role today, and recounts anecdotes illustrating moments of
tension between museums, artists, and visitors. I was also inspired to try my hand at a data
visualization element, in the manner of O ’Bannon ’s “ 2014-15 Orchestra Season by the
Numbe rs.”
In conjunction with my museum etiquette story, I am surveying five California museums,
including LACMA, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Hammer Museum at UCLA, J.
Paul Getty Museum, and Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, regarding their collections.
The survey questions are as follows:
How many touchable pieces currently form part of the [MUSEUM ’S] collection?
How many touchable pieces have been on display within the [MUSEUM ’S] history? Do
you have a policy about when art can be touched?
How are they displayed and what are the parameters of their display? (e.g. signs
indicating that they may be touched/climbed/entered/etc.)
How many of these items have been damaged or are deteriorating as a result?
How many of these items have gone from being touchable to untouchable? Why?

24

My intent is to that the survey results will encourage art museums to reflect and discuss display
policies both within and among other art institutions, as well as with the museum-going public
about when and how and under what conditions it is all right to touch art.
Anawalt suggested I speak with Carroll about the museum etiquette story to see if she
(and LACMA) would back it as part of my embedding project. After hearing my proposal,
Carroll agreed to actively assist by putting me in contact with the appropriate parties at the four
other major museums that I had selected.
LACMA has a history of pioneering a number of projects and initiatives. By supporting
my efforts to complete this work of data-journalism, LACMA is helping produce art news that
extends beyond its walls and analyzes themes relevant to museums as a whole. The message, that
LACMA cares about benefiting the art world and community both in and outside of Los
Angeles, appealed to Carroll. What we have since been referring to as the “ museum etiquette
pr ojec t” marks an important shift from my press-preview days to pursuing unique, academic and
relevant stories birthed from LACMA that are beneficial to arts organizations nationally or
worldwide.

25

REFLECTIONS
Below are two separate discussions with my main collaborators at LACMA, Carroll and
Theung.
++++++++++++++++++
Interview with Miranda Carroll, director of communications at LACMA on February 17,
2014.
Vanessa Wilson (VW): What did you expect from this embedding project?
Miranda Carroll (MC): To be honest, I wa sn ’t really clear about what it was to start with. I knew
an embedded journalist was in war zones and such and I wondered how it would be like here. [. .
.] I don’t think we really put our minds to it so much, so I think some things fell through the
cracks. [. . .] I feel it was mostly my fault. I wasn ’t sure who owned it. It was meant to be me and
Scott [director of executive communications]. Then I kinda heard you were doing stuff with
Linda. So it was all a bit confusing.
VW: How do you think it ’s worked out so far? How could it be improved?
MC: We could be much better prepared, more inclusive with whoever the person is to get
something out of it for both sides. If I were to do it again I would make it much clearer to
everyone in the museum, introduce you much better, go to more departmental meetings. [. . .]
I ’ ve been talking about it [the embedding] much more recently, just last week we had a social
museum meeting with the PR and marketing people from museums from San Diego to Palm
Springs who meet quarterly, and has become much wider since Pacific Standard Time
encompasses all those pacific standard institutions. I ’m the chair of the PR sub-committee for
that group and I brought up in front of the whole group the fact that we [LACMA] were
pioneering this initiative with Sasha [Anawalt] at USC and what we learned from it and [how]

26

we plan to move on from it. So, maybe she [Sasha Anawalt] can approach us and other
institutions in the future. And, they were all intrigued by it. They asked a lot of questions and
didn’t quite understand what it was.
VW: Tha t’s wonderful! So, now, what would you do differently, what have you learned?
MC: I learned it can maybe be a better tool for us, because you are embedded y ou ’r e there. You
have insider knowledge of wha t’s going on, or you should have, and maybe using platforms
besides us and our blog, maybe pitching stories to you that we c ouldn’t get a journalist on the
outside interested in, because they didn’t understand it, and you could come up with an angle and
get the word out.
VW: Is there anything y o u’ d like to add?
MC: W e ’d like to do it [embedding] again next year. W e ’ve learned from this last year how it
could improve better. Sorry you were the guinea pig. I think it ’s quite an important thing to do in
fact, and w e ’r e happy to be the pioneers in that filed in LA. [. . .] I ’ve been finding out a lot of
L ACMA’ s history because of the anniversary and it seems w e ’r e always trying out new things
and willing to take risks, but I think it ’s exciting that we took part in this [embedding].
++++++++++++++++++

Interview with Linda Theung (LT), editor and curator of L AC M A’ s blog, Unframed, on
February 17, 2014.
VW: What did you expect from the embedding project?
LT: You pretty much delivered what my expectations were. You wrote stories that I honestly
wished I had more time to write myself but wa sn’t able to. You were here once a week and you
were able to focus on certain stories that you were chasing, and not everyone was assigned to
you. Most of them you sought on your own, and I think the initiative you took to seek out stories

27

was really great. And, even when you were unfamiliar with the institution you really pursued the
stories, so that’s exactly what I wish I had time to do but don’t.
VW: How could it [embedding] be improved?
LT: I felt like after the new year we became more structured with it and we shoul d’ ve done that
in the beginning. I know y o u’ re meeting with Miranda now, so that helps. If we kept that at front
of mind we would’ ve been more structured from the beginning, you would have had more
guidance at the beginning, which is more important than the second half. Everything does begin
at the beginning, so I think we should have flipped it. So it ’s more on us and not on you. Like in
regard to Sasha, I don’t know if she was super in touch with Scott and Miranda with what her
expectations were and what she wanted to do. So, more dialogue with the professor or
programmer and us.
VW: What have you learned?
LT: There are a lot of things about LACMA, as someone who is internal, I ’ m kinda blind to. And
to have someone who isn ’t, and coming to the museum with an open mind and fresh eyes was
super helpful, and it ’s nice working with internal staff who a re n’ t so bogged down by the
bureaucracy and can chase specific projects without doing the administrative stuff which is what
takes up a lot of time.
VW: Would you consider Unframed journalism?
LT: I wo uldn’t say it ’s journalism, it ’s storytelling. I guess journalism is that—I don’t know.
“ J ourna li sm” is a weird word now, people who write on BuzzFeed call themselves journalists. I
guess an element of it [Unframed] is journalism, there are elements of it that is storytelling, other
elements is PR. I t’s many things. [. . .] But I don’ t think for me, for my own writing on it, it ’s
just, it ’s institutional voice, institutional publicity. Some of the stuff y ou’ve written is journalism

28

with scholarship lifting the veil on the mysteriousness of what we do. [. . .] I c a n’ t tell you what
journalism is these days because it ’s so diverse, t he re ’s no authority anymore.
VW: So, would you call what I ’ve produced so far “ journa li sm? ”
LT: I do consider it journalism because y ou’ re coming from an outsi de r’ s perspective so you
have to do the legwork from who to talk to about x to contacting the artists and such. I ’m not
doing that chasing as you are. [. . .] I feel that journalism has a lot of element of the unknown
involved and you kinda have to answer the question to write your piece, whereas I don’t need to
uncover anything, so it ’s all presented to me and I just have to write coherent sentences. [. . .]
You have to ask questions, and that’s something you do well.
++++++++++++++++++

Working as L ACMA’ s first in-house journalist has been an immensely valuable
experience. My trial at the museum was essential to developing what has now become an on-
going collaboration between USC Anne nbe r g ’s Specialized Journalism Masters students and
LACMA. However, areas that could greatly improve the embedding experience for both the
student and the institution include:
• Weekly or bi-weekly meetings with Anawalt. (Because I started without any background in
journalism, having a discussion with Anawalt or another professional arts reporter would have
been beneficial not only for me, but for any future in-house journalist from the USC
Annenberg M a ster ’s Program in Arts Journalism.)
• Pin-pointing two or three specific stories the host institution wants to have be told with the
understanding that the institution will put the student-embed in contact with the appropriate
people to complete the stories. The student then determines how and if they could be pitched
as stories to external media outlets.

29

I came to the Specialized Journalism (Arts) Masters program at USC Annenberg School
for Communication and Journalism without any prior training in journalism. My writing was
limited to academic reports and I had never conducted an interview, much less worked with radio
equipment. LACMA positioned me within the field of museums and galleries to which I wanted
to belong and it facilitated opportunities that allowed me to implement techniques and concepts I
was learning in class at Annenberg. Contributing to Unframed allowed me to practice and perfect
my writing as I met deadlines for features, interviews and mid-length 750 word pieces. It was an
invaluable on-the-job learning experience that took place inside a museum as opposed to what
most journalism graduate students might have anticipated: a newsroom.
The question I am most frequently faced with when explaining my work at LACMA as
an in-house journalist is, “ W hom do you write fo r ? ” For many, it is hard to understand how a
journalist can maintain her professional ethics and integrity while blogging for the art
institution's site where she works rather than for a legitimate news media outlet geared toward a
mainstream audience. Today, many organizations involved in the arts have a blog or section on
their web page dedicated to news and narratives through which the organization can disseminate
its stories. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Boston Symphony Orchestra and Geffen
Playhouse have all made the most effective use of their pages by hiring a full-time journalist to
dedicate his/herself to reporting and presenting the inst it uti on’s narratives following the same
editorial practices as they would in a newsroom. One might ask, “ W ha t is the difference
between being hired by the Los Angeles Times to write for its “ C ult ur e Mo nster ” blog and being
hired by the CSO to write for its blog? Both are seen and digested by the public. If the public
knows the work is done by a journalist and not by a publicist or marketing person, would the

30

public read it differently and come to trust it as “ u nbiase d” ? These questions are worth posing,
and the answers are being figured out every day.
These questions further beg asking what does in-house journalism do that other forms of
writing inside the art institution cannot provide? Bearing in mind that until I came along, Theung
commonly relied on L A C MA’ s curators, conservators, department heads and herself to provide
content for Unframed, I have come to the conclusion that having nearly constant access to the
professionals working within an art institution provided me, the embedded journalist, with the
ability to compose stories that these very same professionals often did not have time to write
themselves or that could not be pitched to a traditional journalist (as Carroll stated in her
interview). In my experience, the audience for whom I was writing was significantly different
from the one Unfram e d’s assigned conservators or curators targeted. My reader was a generalist;
in my mind he or she was the sophisticated museum consumer, a student, an artist or simply an
individual with an emerging interest in arts and culture. By comparison, the writers before me at
Unframed seemed to aim primarily to speak to specialists; they wrote deep insider pieces that
were not easily accessible to the generalist.
I was and continue to be invested in creating stories that do not shut out the generalist. I
want to engage the person who only looks at a composition for four seconds because she does
not understand wha t’s present before her. My aim is to make a story interesting so that the art
becomes accessible and is better understood from the point of view of the visitor who does not
have a strong foundation in the arts. Simultaneously, I also attempt to touch upon concepts that
the art buff can appreciate. Writing in this way is a balancing act. For several years the arts have
been undergoing cuts among school programs and within the work force; for this reason I believe

31

that engaging the generalist is key. To preserve the arts it is necessary to generate an interest
among those who do not yet understand the importance and relevance of creative expressions.
Let ’s imagine for a moment that all museums in the United States had in-house
journalists. Who would want to pay attention to their work and why? I have come to the
conclusion that the role of the embedded journalist is to provide insights gathered from the
accessibility the embed is privileged to have. It is imperative that these insights be distinguished
from PR. As a journalist, the embed is understood to have taken a journa li s t’s oath of sorts to not
bend the truth. I can imagine that in time as embedded arts journalism becomes a regular
practice that the public would look to their stories because they are “ insi de r ” and because the
writer can take the time to go deep, to examine artistic or curatorial or conservatorship process
fully and help the public see and know about art in ways that under present journalism conditions
are next to impossible.
This being said, in-house journalism among arts organizations remains a novelty those
involved are still figuring out. But I believe, based on my experience, that we can look forward
to a time when in-house arts journalism reforms the way readers receive and consume art news
for the greater good.

32

REFERENCES

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"About Us." Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide. https://www.hrw.org/.

Anawalt, Sasha Anawalt. Email message to Vanessa Wilson. March 1, 2015.

"Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Arts Embedded Reporter Fellowship." Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra. 2014. http://bsomusic.org/about/employment-
opportunities/administrative/baltimore-symphony-orchestra-arts-embedded-reporter-
fellowship.aspx.

Boehm, Mike. “ L . A. County supervisors approve initial funding for new LACMA build ing .” Los
Angeles Times. November 5, 2014. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-
et-cm-county-approves-first-step-toward-building-new-lacma-20141105-story.html.

Cooper, Marc. Lecture. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. January 28, 2015.

Dobrzynski, Judith. "Biography." Judith H. Dobrzynski.
http://www.judithdobrzynski.com/about/.

Dobrzynski, Judith. "The BSO And Arts Journalism: Don't Let This Spread." Real Clear Arts.
April 24, 2014. http://www.artsjournal.com/realcleararts/2014/04/the-bso-and-arts-
journalism-dont-let-this-spread.html.

Harrower, Tim. Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism. 2nd ed. New
York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Katzew, Ilona. Email message to Vanessa Wilson, Linda Theung, and Scott Tennent. December
2, 2014.

LACMA media alert email message to Vanessa Wilson. November 5, 2014.

LACMA Press Release, November 5, 2014.

Lazare, Lewis. "Chicago Symphony Adds Laura Emerick as Digital Content Editor." Chicago
Business Journal. August 8, 2013.
http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2013/08/08/chicago-symphony-adds-laura-
emerick-as.html.

McGlone, Peggy. “ A rts Organizations are Hiring Pros to Tell Their S torie s.” The Washington
Post. October 31, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/arts-
organizations-are-hiring-pros-to-tell-their-stories/2014/10/30/c999beb6-53c0-11e4-809b-
8cc0a295c773_story.html.

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O'Bannon, Ricky. “ Ar e Modern Concert Halls F or biddi ng ? ” Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
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O'Bannon, Ricky. “ The Orchestra Season By the Numbers: Database" Baltimore Symphony
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database.aspx.

O'Bannon, Ricky. "What's in a Shape?" Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
http://bsomusic.org/stories/whats-in-a-shape.aspx.

Ross, Alex. "The Search for Mrs. Bach." The New Yorker. October 31, 2014.
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Smyle, Sue Ellen. Email message to Vanessa Wilson. October 22, 2014.

Theung, Linda. Email message to Vanessa Wilson. October 16, 2014.

Wilson, Vanessa, and Stephanie Case. "LACMA to Receive $500 Million Art Donation, Public
Funding for New Building." Annenberg Radio News. November 6, 2014.
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and-supervisory-board-funding.

Wilson, Vanessa. “ Ar c hi ba ld Motley: The Painter of Black Modern L if e .” Ampersand.
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motley/.

Wilson, Vanessa. “ F un c ti ona l Art: Armor of the S a mura i.” Unframed. December 1, 2014.
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Wilson, Vanessa. “ I ntens if y ing the Mark: Christine Corday Turns Up the Heat on ‘Painti ng . ’ ”
Unframed. March 11, 2015. Accessed, March, 2015.
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Wilson, Vanessa. “ S olvi ng the Mystery of C+M ’s Artwork: Jim Campbell ’s ‘U nti tl e d (for the
sun).’ ” Unframed. November 24, 2014. http://unframed.lacma.org/2014/11/24/solving-
mystery-cm%E2%80%99s-artwork-jim-campbell%E2%80%99s-untitled-sun.

Yokozimo, Erin. Email message to Vanessa Wilson. November 5, 2014.

Yoshitomi, Joseph. Email message to Sasha Anawalt August 2014.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The origins of the idea for embedding arts journalists inside arts organizations or institutions where they’d work on staff or as part of paid fellowships covering the arts can most strongly be traced to Sasha Anawalt, director of USC Annenberg’s arts journalism masters program, and her colleague, Douglas McLennan. They have been developing the model since 2010, simultaneously with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) whose press and marketing team was the first to implement the idea and hire an experienced arts journalist in 2013 to cover stories for its internal media outlet. In addition to the CSO, the concept has since been picked up by two other significant organizations—the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Geffen Playhouse. In both instances, Anawalt and McLennan played major roles in hatching this novel journalism experiment. Then, in September 2014, Anawalt succeeded in convincing the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to take me on as an in‐house arts journalist, to produce stories that measured up to the standards of professional journalism that would mostly be published by its internal media outlets that were seen by the public. This thesis is a chronicling of what I learned about journalism while there (what worked and what didn’t), and an analysis of how my interaction with LACMA staff members shaped the content and quality of my work.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Wilson, Vanessa (author)

Core Title The changing face of arts journalism: an embedding experiment with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism (The Arts)

Publication Date 04/16/2015

Defense Date 04/16/2015

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag art,art journalism,art museum,embedded journalism,embedding,journalism,LACMA,Los Angeles,Los Angeles County Museum of Art,museums,OAI-PMH Harvest,Unframed,Visual arts

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Anawalt, Sasha (committee chair), Bustamante, Peggy (committee member), Holo, Selma (committee member)

Creator Email 4vanessa.wilson@gmail.com,wilsonva@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-549079

Unique identifier UC11298502

Identifier etd-WilsonVane-3311.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-549079 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-WilsonVane-3311-0.pdf

Dmrecord 549079

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Wilson, Vanessa

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA