The American Scholar magazine is a player. “Its witty essays by leading writers on subjects as varied as jigsaw puzzles and diabetes have sparked intellectual discussion, lured fresh talent and earned this quarterly three National Magazine Awards in six years. But a high profile and a healthy circulation of about 28,000 were apparently not enough to safeguard editor Anne Fadiman’s job. Last week a budget deficit for the journal, which costs $1.25 million a year to produce, left Ms. Fadiman and her publisher, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at loggerheads, with Ms. Fadiman contending that she had been dismissed.”
Blog
Denver: Can’t We Be Austin?
Austin’s South by Southwest festival has put the city on the map as a center of live music. “Austin’s scene generates about $616 million annually, and 11,200 jobs are directly related to the city’s live music scene, according to a study by the Austin Music Commission.” So music fans in Denver are petitioning the city for “more visible promotion of its live music scene and touting figures that show its economic strength. However, the Mile High City has a long way to go to match Austin’s musical clout.”
Alistair Cooke, 95
Alistair Cooke, who broadcast his Letter from America for 56 years, has died at his home in New York. Earlier this month, he announced his retirement on health grounds following advice from his doctors. Leading the tributes, Prime Minister Tony Blair described him as “a remarkable man” and “one of the greatest broadcasters of all time”.
Painting Declared An Authentic Vermeer
A Painting long dismissed as a fake has been “reattributed” as a Vermeer. “Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, to be auctioned at Sotheby’s in July, will be the first Vermeer to come on the market for 80 years and is expected to fetch more than £3 million. Researchers have spent more than ten years studying the painting, which languished in near-obscurity after being “deattributed” to Vermeer in 1947.”
The Word Project
The Oxford English Dictionary was a long work in progress. “Thirty-one years ensued before the last of 414,825 words was cataloged. From its inception in 1857, the enterprise had consumed 71 years and witnessed the deaths of numerous employees (including the astonishing James Augustus Henry Murray, who was editor from March 1879 until his death in the summer of 1915). The dictionary would number among its contributors J.R.R. Tolkien and novelist Julian Barnes. And, of course, a murderer.”
NPR’s Edwards Problem
National Public Radio is taking a public beating over its announcement that Bob Edwards is being replaced as host of Morning Edition. “NPR is suffering a severe credibility loss because of the inexplicability of this management move. There is no rational explanation to anyone else outside National Public Radio as to why this should be done.” And yet, NPR member stations have been criticizing the show for years. “You would not have been able to go to a gathering where representatives of member stations were present and not hear talk about how ‘Morning Edition’ could be improved. I think management has done due diligence on the whole thing.”
NPR Stations Wanted Edwards Out?
National Public Radio has been feeling the brunt of listener unhappiness over the announcement that Bob Edwartds would be leaving as host of Morning Edition. “NPR, based in Washington, has received more than 17,000 calls and e-mail messages from angry listeners, its officials said.” So why was the move made? “In recent years, several station managers confirmed, some member stations have voiced concerns to NPR management that Mr. Edwards, who has served as host of Morning Edition from its beginnings in 1979, often seemed less engaged on the air.”
Saving A Language Just For Women
Chinese archivists are trying to save an ancient language created just for women. “Nushu, meaning women’s script, was held so securely by its speakers and writers that women used to burn manuscripts to keep them away from men, or they would bury items containing Nushu with female friends upon their deaths. The language’s origins are unclear, but most scholars believe Nushu emerged in the third century during a time when the Chinese government prohibited education of women.”
Is Copyright Killing Creativity?
Current laws on copyright are not serving the cause of creativity and are hampering the production of new works. “Existing laws are simply not good enough to cope with the creative possibilities which are open to us all in the digital world. We need to find the balance between the freedom exemplified by the Grey Album and the anarchy towards which completely unregulated sharing of stolen intellectual property could lead.”
Missing Men – Abandoning TV For Online
“The television industry was shaken last October when the ratings from Nielsen Media Research showed that a huge part of a highly prized slice of the American population was watching less television. As the fall TV season began, viewership among men from 18 to 34 fell 12 percent compared with the year before, Nielsen reported. And for the youngest group of adult men, those 18 to 24, the decline was a steeper 20 percent.” And where did they go? They’re having fun with other technology.