During the Milwaukee Art Museum’s annual Art in Bloom event, the Journal Sentinel gathered feedback from hundreds of attendees and digital survey respondents about what they want from arts coverage. The new arts and culture reporter, who wrote the article, outlines the key requests: more advance event coverage (especially free, family-friendly, and hands-on activities), support for smaller and underground art scenes, profiles of local artists including youth, coverage of overlooked art forms like graffiti and fabric arts, and diverse representation of Latino, women, LGBTQ+, and immigrant artists.
This matters because it represents a direct, community-driven effort to reshape local arts journalism in Milwaukee. By centering audience input, the Journal Sentinel aims to become a more responsive and inclusive platform for the city’s visual and performing arts, potentially serving as a model for other local news outlets seeking to rebuild trust and relevance in arts reporting.