Wikipedia:WikiProject Albums/Sources/About.com Critics Table

The reliability of Dotdash Meredith (previously titled About.com) is debated. Some writers have expertise in music criticism, some do not. The following is a guide to which Dotdash critics are reliable as sources on music-related articles. This list arose out of a consensus regarding how an Dotdash critic can be considered a reliable source. Generally, if they can be demonstrated as having professional expertise in music journalism or criticism outside of Dotdash, they are considered reliable and marked as "Yes" below. Do not cite critics that are marked as "No" in the discussion. Additional critics may be listed, but make sure to confirm their reliability if you intend to cite them. You also can add them to the list, with a rationale as to why they are or are not reliable. Note that much of About.com's content was taken off-line or redirected. The links to the site below are archival links.

Overview of Dotdash critics

Critic	Genre	Reliable?	Reasoning
Henry Adaso	Hip-hop/Rap	Yes	Written for Vibe, LA Weekly and XXL, Houston Press (here), cited by MTV. Also founded and is currently editor-in-chief of The Rap Up.
Melissa Bobbitt	90s rock	Yes	Has written for Alternative Press and PopMatters (here)
Chad Bowar	Heavy metal	Yes	Wrote for Loudwire. (here)
Chris Caggiano	Theatre	Yes	Teaches courses in musical-theater history, arts criticism and the neuroscience of music at the Boston Conservatory, where he is a full-time faculty member. (here)
Tom Campagna	Heavy metal	Yes	Former writer for Metal Injection (here), occasional contributor to No Clean Singing (here)
Anthony Carew	Alternative music	Yes	Wrote for Rolling Stone, The Age (here), and The Sydney Morning Herald (here)
Ryan Cooper	Punk	No	About.com bio claims his work has appeared in Alternative Press. Unable to confirm this through any other source.
Ben Corbett	Folk	Yes	Has written for numerous music publications
Dan Drago	Heavy metal	No	No major writing contributions
Robert Fontenot	Oldies	Yes	Contributes to OffBeat (here). Has also worked for AOL and USA Today, according to About.com bio.
David E. Gehlke	Heavy metal	Yes	Writer for the now defunct magazine Throat Culture. Currently a writer for Blistering and Metal Maniacs
Aaron M. Green	Classical	No	Orchestral conductor and completed the "NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism" according to About.com bio. However, no reviews by this critic for a publication other than About.com have been found.
Tim Grierson	Rock	Yes	Wrote for Blender (here) and Rolling Stone (here).
Reverend Keith A. Gordon	Blues	Yes	Has written for AllMusic (here) and has also written a book The Other Side of Nashville
Ray Van Horn, Jr.	Heavy metal	Yes	Has written for numerous papers, magazines and websites, as well as conducting interviews and concert photography. His personal blog, The Metal Minute, was awarded Best Personal Blog Award for 2009 by Metal Hammer. At least two books have cited Ray Van Horn's reviews.
Tijana Ilich	Latin	No	Reviews by Ilich are discussed in multiple sources, but there is no evidence of any journalism outside of About.com
http://christianmusic.about.com/bio/Kim-Jones-6624.htm Kim Jones	Christian music/gospel	Yes	Writes for Music Times (here) and Hallels, the latter of which she also worked for as a managing editor.
Andrew Kapper	Heavy metal	Yes	Writes for Planet Loud
Bill Lamb	Pop	Yes	Contributes on music at the Wisconsin Gazette (here)
http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/p/Todd-Lyons.htm Todd Lyon	Heavy metal	Yes	Wrote for several "local music publications" as well as Creem.
Dan Marsicano	Heavy metal	Yes	Music journalist and critic for 411Mania
Juan Mesa	Latin	Yes	Was an editor for Billboard En Español (here)
Justin M. Norton	Heavy metal, punk	Yes	Has written for numerous news outlets and magazines, including The Associated Press, Decibel, Stereogum, The Oklahoman, Rolling Stone, Hellbound.ca, Invisible Oranges, and MetalSucks, along with many others.
Mark Edward Nero	R&B	Yes	Wrote a weekly column for The San Diego Union-Tribune (here). Work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News, The Boston Globe and Pasadena Star-News, according to About.com bio
Ben Norman	Dance/Electronic	No	Unable to find any information regarding any other professional work.
"Metal" George Pacheco	Heavy metal	Yes	Contributing editor to Metal Maniacs, staff writer at CBS Boston, Zero Tolerance, Outburn, AMP, Hails and Horns, Rue Morgue Magazine, and Blistering.com. Freelance writer for The Standard-Times.
Steve Peake	80s music	No	Unable to find any information regarding any other professional work.
Carlos Quintana	Latin	No	Was "actively involved in the elaboration of the Latin music database for the Yahoo! Music site" according to About.com bio. An article he has written for About.com has been used by the site of the Institute of Latin America Studies at Anhui University (here). However, no reviews by this critic for a publication other than About.com have been found.
Megan Romer	World	Yes	Written for No Depression (here). Marketing director of Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance (here).
Kim Ruehl	Folk	Yes	Writer for No Depression (here). Has worked for Billboard (here) and Yes! (here).
Dave Schalek	Heavy metal	No	No major writing contributions. About.com bio claims he wrote for several webzines, but these are not named.
Jason Shawhan	Dance/Electronic	No	Member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and has contributed film reviews to The Observer (here), but no experience in music criticism.
Robert Silva	Country	Yes	Has written for AMC.com (here) and All Media Guide according to résumé (here)
Ken Simmons	R&B/Soul	Yes	Has years of experience in R&B radio and broadcast journalism, and has written for The Boombox.
Warren Truitt	Children's music	Yes	Children's librarian; wrote an article on children's music in School Library Journal
Verity	Jazz	Yes	Has written reviews for Relix (here) and American Songwriter, albeit for genres other than jazz. (here)
Dave White	Classic rock	Yes	Radio DJ and news reporter, included tenure at classic rock station WKLO of Louisville, Kentucky.
Natalie Zed	Heavy metal	Yes	Writer and former managing editor for Canada Arts Connect Magazine, writer for Hellbound.com, Metallus Maximus, and Alternative Matter.