Americans bemoaning the lack of quality television programming often point to Canada as an example of a superior system of production and funding. But at the moment, the Canadian system is in a financial pinch, and perfectly good programs are getting killed off as a result. James Adams says it isn’t just the economic times that are to blame. His assessment: “The Canadian television industry is stupid.”
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Zukerman: Where’s The Focus On Quality?
The problem with the Canadian TV funding system is that quality is almost never taken into account, says one of Canada’s highest-profile producers. Bernard Zukerman claims that funding is given to established shows rather than new ones, regardless of how old and tired the funded shows might be. Zukerman is demanding a meeting with Canada’s finance minister to discuss the industry’s problems.
Boston Museum Set To Buy Degas Masterpiece
“A day after successfully selling three significant artworks at Sotheby’s auction house in New York, officials from the Museum of Fine Arts said they didn’t anticipate any delay in closing the deal to buy a coveted Degas painting said to be worth as much as $40 million. But the museum wouldn’t offer details about how it will make up the difference between the $16,264,000 it earned at auction Tuesday night and the price of [the Degas] which has been part of a private collection in France. Experts said it was possible that the MFA would turn to a trustee or donor with a particular interest in Degas.”
Passing The Hat For The File-Swapping Four
“The four university students nabbed by the Recording Industry Association of America for copyright infringement owe thousands of dollars to the music group following a recent settlement. Pledges of support have lit up message boards, but how much help they actually will receive remains to be seen.”
Baghdad Blogger Back Online
Salam Pax is back, and none too soon for the Baghdad-based blogger’s legion of fans in the West. Pax, who writes an online diary about life in the Iraqi capital, stopped posting after the U.S. invasion began, causing many to fear the worst. But now, Pax is filling in the gaps in his story, and doesn’t seem overly pleased with his country’s ‘liberation’: “Let me tell you one thing first. War sucks big time. Don’t let yourself ever be talked into having one waged in the name of your freedom. Somehow when the bombs start dropping or you hear the sound of machine guns at the end of your street you don’t think about your ‘imminent liberation’ anymore.”
You Couldn’t Wait One More Month?
The Harry Potter craze is apparently causing a rise in one of the more traditional ‘black arts’: stealing. Author J.K. Rowling has been fighting court battles worldwide to stop unauthorized installments in the series from being published, and now it appears that someone is attempting to get their hands on the latest ‘legit’ Potter adventure a bit early. “Two copies of the forthcoming novel by JK Rowling were found in a field earlier this week – a quarter of a mile from where they were being printed. Two 16-year-old boys, an 18-year-old man, and a 44-year-old man, were arrested in connection with the theft of the books from a printworks, and on suspicion of obtaining property by deception.”
Digital Is Hot – Just Not In America
Digital radio continues to struggle in the U.S., with few listeners being willing to pay for the subscription-based service, even to get hundreds of stations featuring a much wider range of music and talk than can be found on traditional radio. But in the U.K., digital radio seems to be taking off. Many radio stations have introduced digital incarnations of themselves, and the BBC has added several new digital-only networks, and listeners appear to be responding, especially since low-cost sets became available last year. 155,000 digital sets are known to have been sold, and estimates have that number growing to a million by the end of 2004.
Iraq Art Recovered
American agents report that they have recovered “about 40,000 manuscripts and 700 other artefacts” that had been stolen from Iraq’s National Museum.”
Danny Boy – Why They Love Libeskind
What is the appeal of Daniel Libeskind? The architect chosen to build on the site of the World Trade Center has dazzled some. “It is clear enough why Libeskind?s work, exceptionally thin in range and character, should have endeared itself over the years to his various clients, all of whom inhabit the world of cultural institutions: museums, schools, and foundations. He himself is most at home in that world, and until recently has inhabited it exclusively. He speaks its language. If his designs struck any of his potential clients as dangerously unhinged, reassurance was always at hand in the form of his impeccable institutional credentials, his professorial demeanor, his high-flown patter.”
NEA Fundraising Plan Runs Afoul Of Arts Advocate
The National Endowment for the Arts want to fundraise privately, but one of New York’s most important arts advocates – Norma Munn Chair of the New York City Arts Coalition – is strongly opposed. “As a matter of principle, I’m opposed to government using fundraising in the private sector to supplement an agency budget at the city, state, or federal level. It means they’re competing directly with not-for-profits for precisely the same funds; and their clout and ability to publicize their efforts is a lot greater than other arts groups. It’s a substitute for public funds and a move for privatization of funding that isn’t appropriate.”