<\/a> Orchestra Hall (Photo: Todd Rosenberg)<\/p><\/div>\n
As an editor at the Sun-Times for more than three decades, Laura Emerick was at the heart of the paper\u2019s coverage of movies, theater, dance and classical music. An old-school journalist in the best sense, she earned the respect and admiration of the paper\u2019s writers and arts critics, including Roger Ebert, who relied on her as his primary editor for 20 years.<\/p>\n
But even old-school journalists can learn new tricks, and last August Emerick left the Sun-Times to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association in the newly created position of digital content editor. \u00a0Just as the CSO was reinventing its content marketing efforts from top to bottom, Emerick was reinventing herself, too.<\/p>\n
Laura Emerick<\/p><\/div>\n
On Tuesday, it all came together with the debut of CSO Sounds & Stories,<\/a> a beautiful new website described as \u201can online multimedia magazine designed to enhance the concert-going experience and to bring the CSO closer to music lovers worldwide.\u201d With Emerick as editor, the site combines editorial content from in-house and freelance writers with an array of audio elements, including excerpts of record releases and links to CSO Radio programs, and video content, ranging from artist interviews to live streaming of concerts.<\/p>\n
Phil Koester, the CSO\u2019s vice president of sales and marketing, said\u00a0CSO Sounds & Stories <\/a>marks the first time any major American orchestra has launched a dedicated music journalism site of its own. Clearly, the goal is good journalism and<\/em> good business: \u201cWe are responding to changes in media consumption behavior and shifts in the media landscape, which have especially affected arts and music journalism,\u201d Koester said in a statement. \u201cSince publications now have fewer resources to devote to the arts, it is more difficult for the CSO to obtain media coverage, especially previews of coming programs. Therefore, we are using brand journalism and content marketing to tell our stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an editor at the Sun-Times for more than three decades, Laura Emerick was at the heart of the paper\u2019s coverage of movies, theater, dance and classical music. An old-school journalist in the best sense, she earned the respect and admiration of the paper\u2019s writers and arts critics, including Roger Ebert, who relied on her... Continue reading