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With local listings magazines and newspapers in trouble, arts organisations across the UK must embrace the blogosphere Bristolians got a bit of shock last month: Venue , Bristol’s weekly listings magazine, announced abruptly that it was to cease publication in two issues’ time. Twitter went mad. A hashtag was set up. Talk of “doing a 6Music ” was bandied about as people across the city wondered where they would find out what’s on. Joe Spurgeon, the magazine’s editor, told readers: “A relatively small decline in readership, soaring print costs and a gut-punch of a drop in advertising revenue has meant that what we do is no longer sustainable.” The cover of the next issue was a parody of the ubiquitous Keep Calm and Carry On poster, proclaiming: “Keep Calm and Buy Venue”. It’s hard to know how to react to these things. It’s no secret that local print media is up the Swannee – newspapers are collapsing left, right and centre, listings magazines are struggling on – Edinburgh’s the List is going monthly imminently. Who should we blame? The internet for making everything free? The BBC for monopolising local news? Rupert Murdoch for being Rupert Murdoch? I did what any arts professional would do in this situation – I had a bit of a fret about what it would mean for me. I’m one of the artistic directors of Mayfest in Bristol and we rely heavily on Venue for preview coverage and general hype. On the day they announced the magazine was to close, we were negotiating a media partnership for this year’s festival, which was thrown into disarray. It seemed that without Venue, we would be left with shrinking column inches in the Bristol Evening Post , which has a decent readership, but of a different demographic. So why do arts organisations and companies rely so much on a declining media to bolster ticket sales? First, a review from a credible publication sells tickets. But those of us working outside the capital find it hard to get national coverage and reviews, unless you’re a big hitter like Bristol Old Vic or have a substantial run or tour, a decent review from a magazine like Venue is a useful thing to put on your poster. Second, online or “citizen” journalism is still relatively young, and many audiences don’t trust it yet. The challenge for arts organisations outside London is to embrace the blogosphere, and fast. I think we need to work hard to nurture the brave souls who are often spending their free time running what’s-on sites and blogs – invite them to our shows, treat them like proper journalists, buy them lunch, encourage our suppliers to buy advertising space on their websites, link to their sites from ours and so on. If we help listings sites and blogs to grow, we’re safeguarding the future of arts criticism. We also need to persuade our audiences that the web is where the interesting and richest content can be. There are no pagination or space restrictions, fewer deadlines and instant publication of reviews. It seems to be growing in Bristol – there are a few decent sites, including Suit Yourself , Make Me Neon , Crack and of course Venue Magazine ‘s site, which has recently been revamped – but it has nowhere near the glut of sites that London has, many of which, like the Arts Desk , are populated by professional journalists, many of whom used to write for print. Venue has since been reprieved. It’s going monthly, and will be free. So while it’s good that it’s been saved, it means that we’re going to have to plan further ahead to ensure coverage, and reviews may come out long after a run has finished. I’m glad though, that it’s not disappearing forever. There is still a place for magazines such as Venue and the List, but I think the more we encourage online criticism and writing, the richer the content around our work will be for audiences. Theatre Regional & local newspapers Newspapers & magazines Blogging Digital media Internet Matthew Austin guardian.co.uk