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By Shaye Rosengarden
Photo by Bryan Hayes from Flickr under CC0
Leor Galil is the only full-time music journalist for the Chicago Reader. He is bursting with ideas and juggling more story topics than anyone could ever pursue, which results in a struggle to cover everything he would like to in Chicago’s ever-evolving sonic landscape. “The responsibility feels that much greater when nobody else is doing this work,” said Galil.
While the number of music staff writers has dwindled at other newspapers like the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, Galil remains a steady force in his work at the Chicago Reader, covering the city’s diverse music community.
Galil was first introduced to alternative weekly newspapers in middle school while living in D.C. with publications like the Washington City Paper. “I really appreciated alt-weeklies as an alternative to daily newspapers, where it provided kind of a snapshot of what it meant to live in the communities that they existed in and to show a part of the cities that aren't reflected in almost any other types of media,” said Galil.
While he enjoyed reading the music segments and the comics, it wasn’t long before he pitched the Boston Phoenix a story about the Scrunk scene, earning him his first clip in the paper. As he continued with journalism, Galil was accepted to Medill at Northwestern University and immediately picked up the Reader. He discovered the Reader through the work of Jessica Hopper, who additionally had writing available online.
"I read Hopper's “Emo: Where the Girls Aren't,” a 2003 column in Punk Planet, and it was pretty eye-opening to see someone write about music in such a personal way," said Galil
In 2010, his first successful pitch to the Reader covered a local DIY music venue called Strangelight, offering a firsthand look at the grassroots music community and becoming the first of many stories to spotlight Chicago’s music scene.
A typical day at the office does not exist at the Reader as it has been fully remote since the pandemic, which led to the downsizing of its already small office space.
“I have my set deadlines. I have my stories and some weeks I'm cranking out four concert previews and Gossip Wolf Column, a 1000-word music news column that I sometimes handle on my own,” said Galil.
With the comfort of writing at home, there is not as much flexibility as pre-COVID for meeting sources for in-person interviews. In the wake of a post-pandemic world, Galil does not make it to as many shows as prior. He describes his past habits of attending shows as exhausting, sometimes seeing six shows in one week. Instead, making it out to shows occasionally (such as Logan Square Arts Fest 2024) always revitalizes the joy of seeing live music for him.
While the number of stories to cover is vast and, at times, overwhelming, Galil works closely with his editor to keep focused on what will be covered next. He and his editor bounce stories off one another, choosing timely and unventured topics.
“Part of what I like doing is just going off in different directions,” said Galil. “It's cool at the end of the year to be like, wow, the big features that I wrote, none of them are focused on one specific scene like that.”
Galil’s stories offer readers a flavor of what is happening in their community, encouraging them to think and listen deeper. Recently, Galil has highlighted Chicago’s DIY community with an article on photographer Braeden Long and a piece about local zines.
Galil did not hold back his thoughts on how major corporate entities and the internet have altered things for the worse when discussing the current state of local journalism. “The local news has been decimated over the course of the past 20 years, not just by the internet broadly, but because of private equity ownership and VC (venture capital) ownership of entire community newspapers,” said Galil.
There is a struggle to pay for journalism, resulting in many music news deserts as major city papers such as the Chicago Tribune neglect local events to cut costs. These large-scale newspapers print very few pieces of music journalism, mainly wire copy and live reviews of genre-specific shows.
“It would be great if there was some sort of writer project that was government-funded that made it possible for news organizations to exist without needing to rely on ads or subscriptions to pay to have the engine running,” said Galil. “I think that's sort of the key component, and it's always been the key issue of journalism.”
Galil’s dedication to covering local music stories matches his practical advice for aspiring journalists. Focusing on a unique niche, whether as a hobby or a career, can be a fulfilling way to draw readers to your work.
“I approach every story as a thing that I'm interested in, hopefully, one of the people who are reading the paper regularly will be interested in what I'm writing about and will see the importance that I see,” said Galil.
Our digital conversation over Zoom felt as engaging as an in-person interaction as we discussed music and his insights from inside the Reader. As we spoke, Galil shared a story that captures his curiosity about people and music - He mentioned a time he was browsing at a local used bookstore called Myopic Books when he found a flyer seeking friendship with a phone number listed. The creator was mysterious, offline, and a bit tricky to contact, yet Galil managed to find some of his work online.
“It was some of the most beautiful music I'd ever heard. It was threadbare and kind of loose, and it felt like he was speaking directly to me,” said Galil.
After more than a few phone calls, Galil eventually spoke with Willis Earl Beal and wrote a story about him. Shortly after its publication, Beal signed a multi-record deal with XL Records and began his professional career as an artist. “It was happening because of me, and it happened to me, and also, it didn't because that was his life,” said Galil.
The encounter with Beal highlights Galil’s passion for Chicago’s music community and his talent for highlighting local artists, blending his work with the stories he tells.
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