TV Critics

Variety.com - Award Central 2007 - Prose pros: Read 'em and reap: Ask industry types to identify their favorite (or most feared) critics, and the list doesn't always begin and end in New York and Los Angeles.

What follows is a list of some of the critics most frequently mentioned, omitting anyone from Variety to avoid charges of nepotism.

Maureen Ryan, Chicago Tribune
A relative newcomer to the beat, Ryan's won fans for her populist approach to the medium and a writing style peppered with lots of dry wit. Despite writing for a paper as large as the Tribune, she seems truly interested in making readers a part of her columns -- writing for them, rather than at them, via frequent posts on her 'Watcher' blog. A recent 'Viewers' Bill of Rights' column should be required reading for TV execs.

Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle
Few critics are as blunt as Goodman, whose conversational style of writing seems perfectly matched to a populist medium such as television. He doesn't take himself seriously, which makes his frequent lambastings of smallscreen execs seem like justified rants rather than meanspirited attacks. (Those who've been the subject of his harshest broadsides -- like NBC's Jeff Zucker -- might disagree).

Alan Sepinwall, Newark Star-Ledger
One of the youngest critics at a major paper, the Newark Star-Ledger scribe comes from a generation accustomed to obsessing over TV via the Internet. In particular, Sepinwall has applied a superfan mentality to "The Sopranos," becoming the critic-reporter of record for the show -- even landing the only post-finale interview with David Chase. Sepinwall also does a good job of mixing reporting with criticism, penning columns that, like Goodman's, reflect a certain savviness about the biz.

Matt Roush, TV Guide
Many still mourn the death of the old TV Guide, with its unabashed determination to cover the serious side of TV along with the silly, but the mag's chief critic remains an essential read for TV bizzers. Because of his publication's high profile, Roush is the closest thing TV reviewers have to a Roger Ebert type.

also:
James Poniewozik, Time
Robert Bianco, USA Today