Last summer Rotten Tomatoes overhauled its critics criteria in an effort to be more inclusive, and added more than 200 writers to its ranks. It seems that forward momentum has not slowed down over the past year. The film and TV review aggregator confirmed that it has added over 600 individually-approved critics, 55 percent of whom are women. Sixty percent of the new critics are freelancers and 10 percent provide commentary on platforms such as YouTube or podcasts.
Inclusion on Rotten Tomatoes often offers critics greater visibility in their field. In a survey conducted by the aggregator, 92 percent of the newest critics felt that “becoming a Tomatometer-approved critic has helped them amplify and legitimize their voice in criticism,” per a press release. Seventy-three percent saw “an increase in their site traffic, views, and social media followers.”
However, being listed as an approved RT critic isn’t a panacea for new writers. “Sixty-one percent [of those surveyed] cited travel costs to festivals as a continuing concern, while 59 percent felt that proving their legitimacy as journalists to publications was their greatest challenge,” the press release detailed. “Forty-three percent said they are still not able to secure invitations to press screenings of films.”
In order to address those barriers, Rotten Tomatoes is continuing the $100,000 grant program it started in 2018 which helps underrepresented critics with festival travel costs and provides resources for navigating film fests and collaborating with publicists and editors. To date Rotten Tomatoes has financially supported over 160 journalists attending film fests.
“Rotten Tomatoes is connecting audiences with authentic, trusted information from professional critics and fellow fans, to help them discover entertainment and decide what to watch in theaters and at home,” said Paul Yanover, president of Fandango, RT’s parent company. “Significant advancements are happening across Rotten Tomatoes, from the team’s work to increase critic diversity in the Tomatometer to expanding consumer confidence with the new Verified Audience Score. We are especially proud to commit to another $100,000 grant in 2020 to support film festivals and industry initiatives that further inclusion in entertainment criticism.”
“We are encouraged by the progress we’re making towards creating a Tomatometer-approved critics pool that reflects the global entertainment audience and we will continue to build on our momentum,” added Jenny Jediny, Rotten Tomatoes Senior Manager, Critic Relations. “We invite our industry colleagues to join us in our effort to create more opportunities for journalists, especially those from underrepresented groups.”
This winter Rotten Tomatoes revamped its Audience Rating System in order to prevent trolls from targeting movies prior to their release. Until a film premieres, its “Want to See” score is invisible and RT users cannot leave comments.
Head over to Rotten Tomatoes to check out the list of newly-added critics.
