CBC president Robert Rabinovitch says that “CBC television needs a new funding formula that recognizes not just its unique circumstances, but also its unique role,” he said, adding that, with its $7.3 billion budget, the BBC costs about $122 per person. “For less than $1 billion in government money, Canadians get 27 national and international services, in English and French, and eight Aboriginal languages. For that, each Canadian pays annually about $30.”
Blog
Guthrie Head To Step Down
On the eve of opening a new home for Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theatre, managing director Tom Proehl says he’ll leave the job. “I’ve been so focused on this new building for the last 2½ years. I thought this was a good time for me to say, ‘I got us here. Let’s move on.’ The new Guthrie will be a very different place, and I think it will do well with a fresh perspective on what it can really be.”
CBC Prez: Network Needs New Canadian Dramas
“Last month the CBC cancelled three of its critically acclaimed but low-rated series — Da Vinci’s City Hall, The Tournament and This Is Wonderland — prompting accusations that the broadcaster was placing too much emphasis on viewer numbers. But in his speech, CBC president Robert Rabinovitch said CBC-TV should be “taking risks and producing programs that innovate — Canadian equivalents to The Office from the U.K. or Six Feet Under from next door.”
An Oscars For Video Games
“The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced that video games are as important to popular culture as film and television. As a result, what it regards as “one of the principal contemporary art forms” will be rewarded with a beefed-up British Academy video games awards in October.”
Interpreting The Music (Silently)
You think music is all about the sound? Nope. In Seattle, interpreters perform at concerts to translate for deaf fans. “The craft is harder than it sounds: At its best, it’s being prepared and knowledgeable enough to communicate the essence of an artist’s lyrics over the actual words. By law, venues must provide interpreters upon request. And while local ticket sellers report just a handful of requests a year — typically for big-name events — it’s been particularly busy for KeyArena, which has trotted out U2, McCartney and the Stones.”
Audience Challenge On American Spanish TV Network
Spanish language TV in the US is big. “Catering to the country’s growing Latino population — 40 million and counting — Univision now challenges ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, especially in big coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles and Miami, occasionally beating them in the ratings with its sexy, soapy prime-time shows. Any new owner would have to wrestle with the shifting dynamics of the company’s audience. More Latinos are American-born and English-speaking, and their tastes in television are changing more quickly than Univision’s shows.”
London’s Wicked Anticipation
Londoners are looking forward to “Wicked”, which opens in September. The show “has broken London box office records to sell £100,000 of tickets in its first hour, with theatregoers queuing from 6.30am in the morning to secure a purchase.”
Has Liverpool’s Culture Capital Effort Stalled?
When news broke in June 2003 that Liverpool had, perhaps to its own surprise, been names European Capital of Culture for 2008, “the city rejoiced: this would be the crowning glory in the renaissance of a faded seaport finally stirring after a long period of decline. Everyone was behind the project.” But as the date gets closer, preparations have stalled. What will the year actually mean?
France Cancels Flat-Fee Download Plan
French legislators have withdrawn a plan that would have imposed a flat fee for music and movie downloads. “Radical legislators had proposed setting a fee on internet usage that would allow users to download both movies and music for a fee of about eight euros ($11) a month. The fee would be used to reimburse artists. The idea was heavily opposed by recording studios and film associations around the world who said it would rob them of income.”
The Armory Show, 2006 Edition
This year’s New York Armory Show opens. “This year’s fair looks particularly neat. Certain galleries (Sean Kelly, Zeno X) have gone for an almost arctic spareness. Many adhere to a formulaic display: biggish painting (or photograph), medium-size sculpture, little paintings (or drawings) in a nook. Expensive, less expensive, beginner’s luck. The mix can work great.”