Music With Meaning 7

Reading The Hits

Saturday before Music With Meaning heads back down to South Union Arts a group of the cities writers will get together at Mojoe's Hothouse to read some of their music-tinged writing. Besides local journalists like Todd Dills, Billy Roberts and Mitchell Szczepanczyk, one of those reading will be Chicagoist A&E guy Scott Smith. Here is a little about Scott, Chicagoist and the boring world of Blogs.

Scott Smith writes entertainment pieces at the Weblog Chicagoist. Just like most journalists his pieces tend to be more informative than literary. He’s a fine writer, that’s just the nature of the biz so to speak. So when he was asked to do a literary recital for Music With Meaning 7’s night of readings at MoJoe’s on Belmont this Saturday, he was a little unsure of what to present during his slot. No need to worry for Smith though, he come up with something out of his bag of works that's not Blog related.

Chicagoist is one of the cities most popular and respected Weblogs. They bring a unique and balancing voice to the Chicago media landscape. Smith believes that the purpose of Chicagoist on the journalistic front is two fold. First, is to offer a different perspective on the stories that traditional media outlets are offering. By examining the mainstream stories from a different angle, Chicagoist can dig deeper on an issue or cover other angles that the big boys choose to overlook. Second, blogs like Chicagoist offer readers a forum to leave personal feedback on a story and interact with other readers and often the writer. This dialogue has helped create a more interactive experience for readers, in which, to some respect, they can become a valuable part of the journalistic landscape.

In the short time that Chicagoist has been reporting on the Chicago scene, they have made an impact beyond just checks-and-balances or interaction with readers. The mainstream media has taken notice of what Chicagoist does. Local reporters and columnists for major local outlets often weigh in on the Chicagoist forums as well as exchanging information with the blogs writers. Recently the Tribune has jumped into the Weblog world (albeit in a limited capacity) which is arguably influenced by the presence of sits like Chicagoist. As Smith notes, some of the mainstream bloggers get it and other do not. In the arts and entertainment world Smith notes that Chicagoist has contributed some important stories that the conventional media was not covering. Both the news that the Double Door would in fact be remaining open despite claims to the contrary and a story confronting the use of water at last years Pitchfork Media Festival are two cases in which Chicagoist has contributed to local journalism.

Smith has been with Chicagoist for over two years now and has brought his take on Chicago arts and music to the Blogosphere. Smith, who also writes for Centerstage Chicago, got involved with Music With Meaning in order to help benefit organizations like RVA and Second Harvest. He feels that Machine Media’s dedication to helping these organizations and their love for music will make the 30 day events a success on multiple levels.

Smith’s reading will definitely be music related. It might not come from one of his postings on Chicagoist, so look for a more literary tone as he entertains the crowd at MoJoe’s Hothouse. Take it from me, readings from a Blog wouldn't be that rousing anyway.

Updated by Avant/Chicago