Jack M Silverstein at Chicago Now says YouTube and smart phones are the music journalist’s new best friends:
…you don’t have to be a pro with a pro set-up to leave your mark in the music journalism game. I don’t know if evilmonkey679 is a rock journalist or just a music lover, but who cares? The Evil Monkey’s channel is FILLED with great you-are-there concert footage. Whatever the intent of evilmonkey679, she or he is now, with the help of a smart phone, a music journalist. Certainly there is more to good journalism than just point and shoot — backstage access, a larger outlet than social media, and the ability to interview and write are still essential tools — but at for base-level reporting, someone like evilmonkey679 is invaluable: on the scene, collecting footage, and distributing quickly.