Rotten Tomatoes has announced an initiative to increase diversity among its approved critics. On Tuesday, the review aggregation site revealed a reimagined critics criteria, one it says will focus on a critics individual qualifications, rather than the credentials of their employer. Additionally, the site is expanding its pool beyond written reviewers to include critics who work in newer digital mediums, such as digital videos and podcasts. So far, the company says it has added over 200 critics to its pool, and expects to add many more in the future.
The announcement comes just one month after both Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Sundance Film Festival independently announced their own initiatives aimed at boosting diversity—specifically, by granting 20 percent of their top-tier press credentials to journalists from underrepresented groups. As the disparities in opportunities for marginalized groups within the entertainment industry and media more broadly receive increased attention, these initiatives are all intended to be a part of a to-down solution. Those initiatives were announced in the wake of a much-cited study by U.S.C. Annenberg that concluded women and people of color are woefully underrepresented among film critics—though that study has in turn been criticized for its own questionable methodology.
As Rotten Tomatoes notes in its press release, the company has also established a $100,000 grant program aimed at helping critics gain access to film festivals, partnering with non-profits that help critics with festival attendance expenses. Rotten Tomatoes first grant, $25,000, will go to the American Friends of TIFF fund.
The new Tomatometer approval criteria and eligibility guidelines can be found here.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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