what are your views regarding reviewing styles ?


at the risk of being simplistic, i would say there are two broad categories of reviewing--criticism and reporting and the connotations of subjectivity and objectivity.

a reviewer can present an opinion of a component,providing evidence from listening, as to its quality relative to other compoents of the same class and then express a preference for that component relative to other components of the same class, often using ornate phrases.

alternatively a reviewer can describe his perceptions without using adjectives, not indicating a preference in an attempt to be factual. the idea is not to influence the reader by using words which may have a positive or negative valence associated with them.

much of today's reviewing is what i would call advocacy reviewing. there are very few instances where reviewers try to strictly inform without influencing.

what do you think ?
mrtennis

Showing 1 response by mdhoover

"much of today's reviewing is what i would call advocacy reviewing. there are very few instances where reviewers try to strictly inform without influencing.

what do you think ?"
-Mrtennis
Guilty as charged, at least with respect to my review of the Intuitive Design Summit loudspeakers. I specifically and shamelessly set out to get people to at least AUDITION these if they were in the market for speakers. My only ulterior motive was exuberant bliss (buyer's ANTI-remorse) and fond, awestruck gratitude to Dale Pitcher. No regrets. Never had 'em, never will.