It's quite possible we're all burned out on the Grammy Awards and anything that happened at Staples Center or in the same time frame. LA Weekly has a report in its current edition from a writer who was attending the ceremony - or at least viewing it in the press room - for the first time. When I read it, I got a bit defensive and tense, thinking how dare he criticize people who succeed at the grind of reporting news in a timely fashion. 
After looking at it a second time, I decided he was right: These are "lifers" who have attend countless shows and documented who says what and who wins how many and, since it's not the Oscars, it's a bit of a thankless job. It does not matter how many years I attend this ceremony, some things never change - the people hunched over their computers are on daily deadlines and the people who are able to take a breath and look around are employed by weeklies. (And I was trained by Adam Sandler, the master at tuning out the superfluous and turning in a full story just as the show ended). 
It's unfortunate that this year, the talk in the Grammy newsroom concerned layoffs, newspaper bankruptcies and the demands papers are placing on those who cover music, either by assigning them an increased number of non-music stories or by cutting their expenses or work hours. It's dire out there.
The 2009 newsroom is a far cry from the first one I worked in a good dozen years ago. That room was packed with people who knew music and knew what to ask of various artists. The person who received no questions? That would be a TV star who appeared as a presenter and then, for some odd reason, decided to come backstage and see if the music press would want to talk to him or her. Usually there were no takers. One year, when Sheryl Crow spoke about working with "Keith" the groans and looks of disdain that greeted a woman who asked "Keith who" probably kept her from ever returning.

Only in the last few years have we heard "reporters" ask who designed their clothing or inquired about where one might keep their Grammys. LA Weekly's Randall Roberts reports on Jason Reitman referring to the next "120 winners" and what makes that room tick is the presence of reporters who take it upon themselves to make sure that every winner feels respected, people like George Varga out of San Diego, whose encyclopedic knowledge makes him one of the most valuable people every year in the Grammy pressroom. It may be a collection of lifeless lifers, but there may not be a greater collection of people committed to the idea of disseminating information about music and the artists to make it.

One thing should be corrected about the LA Weekly dispatch - the press room is actually inside Staples Center. If he had been there the year Staples  opened, he would know the difference. We were placed in a tent that actually was outside and erected after it had rained. We all had our feet planted in puddles while a heater made sure the front fo the room was 85 degrees while the back came in around 55.

Secondly, and  don't mean to poke fun or boast, he mentioned how he asked Paul McCartney a question. Well, truth be told, anyone can ask a Beatle a question. I took delight in him reporting on what the founder of Dust-to-Digital (pictured at left) had to say. Those responses are generated by questions from people who truly want to know about music far below the radar.  I asked about his label  because I believe in what he does for a living and I hope he has continued success. I had no other motive when asking him about the operations of his label.