Mr. Me Too

Coincidentally or not, this weekend played host to two self-congratulatory events put on by the biggest news outlets in their fields. How they can promote these shows and still claim to objectively cover those who attend is beyond me.

Let's start with Pitchfork Fest. In just a few years of existence, this festival has put on stellar lineups each and every time. This year, it featured Yo La Tengo, Flaming Lips, Grizzly Bear and The National, all great bands the notoriously harsh Web site has reviewed in the past. Even the tickets are quite cheap for a weekend of shows in Chicago.

I'd like to think bands could simply be picked for the show because the powers that be behind Pitchfork enjoy their music, but the truth of the matter is that a great review on that Web site makes a huge difference. It happens to decide popular indie culture at the moment, and many bands would kill for a good review from the fickle writers. Not that I blame the site, bumping an album up from a 7.1 to a 8.3 on a completely arbitrary scale rating one of the most subjective things in the world must seem incredibly tempting if it could land a big musician for the fest. Much as I think Pitchfork puts on a great festival, I don't see how it's worth calling into question the authenticity of its reviews.

Same goes for ESPN's annual ESPY awards. The Worldwide Leader throws itself an...award show? Athletes show up and listen to awkward jokes by a host who doesn't really want to be there. This year, Samuel L. Jackson took on the role rather well. There's no way something so congratulatory could be worth it to the network. The awards just don't mean anything, and seem to alternate between voted on by fans or sportswriters. If an ESPY goes on the mantle of a professional athlete, well, he's probably Luke Walton.

Maybe both ESPN and Pitchfork really can completely separate their editorial and advertising departments, to which I would commend their ethics if true. But the fact remains that these are supposed to be journalism outlets, and should not be so caught up with who how many big names they can get to pal around for their big event.