There is an old saying the newspaper business. Although it has been formulated different ways through the years, the most concise may be, “News is what somebody does not want you to print. All the rest is advertising.”
When it comes to criticism, there is a real question as to whether it is mere advertising and boosterism, or something else. In that category of “something else” fall a few things. One is the insertion of the personality of the critic. In other words, the critic inserts or attaches himself or herself into the work. The critique becomes, in part, about the critic. Another aspect is the reproduction of social relations. This arises most often through editorial decisions, as published criticism is as much about what is excluded and included within the attentions (or “gaze”) of the critic. But it also arises through a frame of reference, enforcing certain points of view (or “habitus”).