As pervasive as the Internet has become, so has the notion that free content must be free for others to take. Plagiarism proves a constant issue, although a quick use of Google can spot offenders about as easily as it helps them, and bloggers find the concept of their “exclusives” rendered null and void almost instantly. How dumb must some be to take what isn’t theirs? How smart must others be to avoid merely regurgitating the latest press release? How heavily should we allow access to dictate content? How well are we serving an audience if it’s easier to put a question mark in the headline instead of making an honest-to-goodness phone call or two? How long can we wait to break news, and how much sourcing do we owe our readers? With the right combination of participants, I promise you that, while we may not be able to answer of these questions definitively, it'll make for a heated and humorous discussion as to what our news and opinions are truly worth at this moment* in our field. (*well, THAT moment in March; I can't imagine things will be much different by then).
Kate Erbland is the Managing Editor and Head Film Critic for Gordon and the Whale (dot com).
She, apparently, likes movies. She lives her life like a French one.
Writer for UGO, MTV's NextMovie, Film School Rejects and more. I'd like to consider myself a "pundit."
Dustin Rowles is the publisher of Pajiba.
William Goss is a film critic for Orlando Weekly, Cinematical, eFilmCritic and Pajiba. He’s also a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle and the Online Film Critics Society.
