Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips takes buyout
Why it matters: For the first time since the 1950s, the Chicago Tribune no longer has a chief film critic.
Phillips follows Richard Roeper, who left the Sun-Times earlier this year.
What they're saying:"My options were to stick around for a newsroom reassignment to be named later, or take the buyout. I went with the buyout," Phillips wrote on social media.
"I've had a ball in a great city working with people who care, and writing about a Platonic ideal of a great city's devotion to cinema, and to every artistic realm imaginable," Phillips wrote.
Flashback: Phillips started as a theater critic at the paper. He gradually moved over to reviewing films, replacing Michael Wilmington, who had replaced Gene Siskel.
Between the lines: The move to eliminate Phillips' position follows the industry trend to cut back on arts and culture reporting, specifically film reviews.
While Phillips and Roeper are hardly the only cuts at local newspapers, their departures hit home in Chicago because of the national success of film critics Siskel and Roger Ebert. The two paired up to create the television program "At the Movies," which ran for several years.
In 2009, Phillips was tapped to co-host "At the Movies." The syndicated show ended in 2010.
The intrigue: Phillips said Tribune management was eliminating his position as critic, but the company did not respond to Axios' request for confirmation.
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Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips takes buyout
Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips has accepted a buyout from the paper, ending his 24-year run reviewing film and theater. Why it matters: For the first time since the 1950s, the Chicago Tribune no longer has a chief film critic. Phillips follows Richard Roeper, who left the Sun-Times earlier this year. What they're saying:"My options were to stick around for a newsroom reassignment to be named later, or take the buyout. I went with the buyout," Phillips wrote on social media. "I've had a ball in a great city working with people who care, and writing about a Platonic ideal of a great city's devotion to cinema, and to every artistic realm imaginable," Phillips wrote. Flashback: Phillips started as a theater critic at the paper. He gradually moved over to reviewing films, replacing Michael Wilmington, who had replaced Gene Siskel. Between the lines: The move to eliminate Phillips' position follows the industry trend to cut back on arts and culture reporting, specifically film reviews. While Phillips and Roeper are hardly the only cuts at local newspapers, their departures hit home in Chicago because of the national success of film critics Siskel and Roger Ebert. The two paired up to create the television program "At the Movies," which ran for several years. In 2009, Phillips was tapped to co-host "At the Movies." The syndicated show ended in 2010. The intrigue: Phillips said Tribune management was eliminating his position as critic, but the company did not respond to Axios' request for confirmation.
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