Book reviewers and the editors of periodicals that commission them are used to sour assessments of their worth, but Professor John Dale’s article on The Conversation yesterday is in a class of its own.

What a clichéd, ungenerous and discreditable overview of book reviewing in this country, with its sentimental and predictable coda about mythic Manhattan standards.

Professors should do their homework – like critics. Reviewing, Dale states, is not financially rewarding. But that depends on how good you are, where you publish, and what you consider a reasonable supplementary income. Even 'insightful reviews', Dale asserts, earn A$120. Where has he been, and what does he read? Many newspapers and magazines pay more than that.