Jim DeRogatis on R. Kelly and the Critic as Journalist ⇒

R. Kelly’s sexual predation has been underreported for over a decade. Jim DeRogatis, in conversation with Jessica Hopper at The Village Voice, explains how he approached the story from the beginning and why Kelly’s sins are not as easily forgivable as much of the music world would have you believe.

This bit is important:

A lot of people who are critics are fans and don’t come with any academic background, with any journalistic background, research background. Now, nobody knows everything, and far be it from me to say you’ve got to be a journalist or you have to have studied critical theory in the academy. Part of what we do is journalistic. Get the names right, get the dates right, get the facts right. Sometimes, on a very rare number of stories, there’s a deeper level of reporting required.

And later:

You may not know how to report, but you should know how to read.