David Cote asks bloggers for "more arguments, more dirt," but can we deliver?

Time Out's David Cote has proposed Nine Wishes for NYC Theater, with a list that varies from a plea for better scores of Broadway musicals (amen!) to an entreaty to bloggers to "engage/enrage" with "more arguments, more dirt, more bloody knock-down-drag-out fights." Hmm.

The responses to Cote's wish list make an interesting read - one fairly well-known theater actor even weighs in in the comments with, "Eek! To want to give bloggers more power seems not only a frightening prospect, but a downright dangerous one. I am an actor who has admittedly scoured the internet for bloggers' "reviews" and "dirt" and have found them to be more often than not dangerous, cruel, irrational, and from an uneducated POV!" Eek, indeed - the old saying springs to mind, don't ask the question if you don't want to know the answer. Or in this case, don't google if you don't want to read the review, whether it's from All That Chat, a bitchy blog, or the New York Times.

Meanwhile, a lengthier discussion of theater blogging and the Engage/Enrage concept is raging here, stemming from David Cote's cyber-evisceration of blogger (and playwright) George Hunka. Many theater bloggers make appearances in the comments section, including Surplus's Jaime, who questions how realistic it is for us to be the provacateurs of the entertainment industry when we ourselves have careers within that industry to consider. I've had my fair share of uncomfortable professional moments due to stuff I’ve posted. Even as an anonymous blogger, I have to be pretty thoughtful about what I post and who it might engage/enrage, and while it would be cool to be the Nikki Finke of the NYC theater scene, not getting fired is nice, too.

So how to proceed in being my gossipmongering self? Well, let's start here: I can't post most of the insider dirt I learn at work, but I sure can post yours. Got a tip? Why not drop me a line at moxiethemaven@yahoo.com.