October 31, 2010

Top Ten Lists

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Here’s a Twitter conversation from last night:

@kdrum: @ebertchicago’s “Why I Loathe Top 10 Film Lists” doesn’t actually say a word about why he loathes Top Ten lists. http://ow.ly/323Z8

@RemoteClancy: re: @ebertchicago & Top 10 lists. Not a word, just 900 of them. Re-read his response to ‘Best in Film’ for clearest reason.

I guess you’ll have to click the link and decide for yourself who’s right. As near as I can tell, Roger Ebert told us why he doesn’t like being asked to participate in creating Top Ten lists for free, but that’s a whole different question than why he loathes Top Ten lists in general. I realize he didn’t write the headline for the piece, but I still want to know: why does he loathe Top Ten lists? He does seem to, but there’s really no explanation given. Even for a serious critic, it seems like it might be sort of a fun exercise.

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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