BlogBack on Hadley: Denver Music Critic Defends Tough Appraisals

Marc Shulgold, music critic for the Rocky Mountain News, Denver, takes issue with Did Reviews Kill Jerry Hadley?:
I’m betting that few in our professsion would agree with your take about Jerry Hadley. Clearly, this was a troubled soul. And, almost as clear is the fact that his troubles were hardly the critics’ fault.
Those who strut and fret upon the stage do so with the understanding that they are putting their lives and careers on the line, and that they may not be loved for the work they do. Thus, they must develop thick skins. You are suggesting that we be mindful of the sensitive feelings of those we review. Hogwash, sez I.
Integrity must be at the bottom of any journalist’s work. That will counter any claims of prejudice or mean-spiritedness. An opera director whose work I panned wrote me and suggested that it would be better in my eyes if he were dead. Not so, I told him: I didn’t want him to die, I just didn’t like his little show.
Jerry Hadley was a nice tenor, but hardly a great one. I’m sorry he’s dead, and I’m sorry he was depressed and suicidal. But don’t blame the critics. He was doing his job and we were doing ours. We just report what we see and hear. We can’t worry too much about hurt feelings. If we did, we’d be looking for other work.