Rotten Tomatoes overhauls processes, makes room or more critics

Watching movies and TV shows is fun. But you know what can be even more fun? Reading and watching to people’s reactions to movies and TV shows. For people who think that, film and TV review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has been an invaluable resource ever since it went online way back in 1998. How do you know if a movie you want to see is worth the effort? The Tomatometer isn’t infallible, but it’s always there.

But the role of critics has changed in the past 20 years. When people go looking for reviews nowadays, places like The Los Angeles Times or The New York Times may not be their first port of call; YouTube stars, podcasters and (ahem) bloggers have made major inroads, but many of them aren’t represented on the Tomatometer because the site’s application process still prioritizes reviews from traditional print publications.

But to hear critics relations manager Jenny Jediny tell it, those days are over. “We’re shifting our focus to approve more critics individually to help freelance critics become more visible,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “So in the past if you only contributed to the Tomatometer based on a specific publication that was Tomotometer-approved and you didn’t get an assignment, your stories wouldn’t appear on the Tomatometer. By individually approving more critics we’re hoping to make them more visible because there’s a chance they will have more clout wherever they publish.”

"By adding more platforms, like video critics and podcasts for the first time, I think that will be exciting for users already in tune with that. I think this will be a great way for them to discover new critics. We’re also adding a critics spotlight where we’re focusing on new critics with a photo and bio and a link to their Rotten Tomatoes profile, plus we’ll be promoting that on social [media]."

The freelance thing is a real problem; 20 years ago, in the before time when people still read newspapers, more critics worked 9-5 at individual publications. These days, it’s more common for them to take assignments as they come. And this doesn’t account for all the YouTube critics out there who work for themselves, some of whom have audiences bigger than anything a critic writing for a local paper could reasonably expect to gain (unless their name was Roger Ebert).

Anyway, these changes are welcome for smaller-time sites hoping to spread around their silly opinions. Is there a sign-up sheet?

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