CanWest, which owns 11 big-city newspapers and 16 TV stations across Canada, is hiring a new team of national arts journalists to be based around the country. The team will be used on TV and in print, and the company says it wants to create some stars. But “the creation of the arts team has CanWest’s current arts editors, reporters and reviewers worried. They fear that the company’s long-term plan is to reduce local reporting and criticism and that, over time, coverage of film festivals, concerts and events will diminish.” CanWest’s track record on arts coverage is terrible; when it acquired the National Post two years ago, it dismantled the paper’s first-rate arts and culture section. “CanWest continues to treat its newspaper customers as though they were buying dog food — bigger box, less food. What do the dogs know?”
Blog
Oprah Show On Iraq War Reflects Badly On The Rest Of Mainstream American TV
Tuesday, after George Bush declared war on Iraq, Oprah Winfrey used her TV show to ask “why do so many hate the United States?” The show “presented a distinct alternative to the perspective presented by every mainstream American broadcaster in the last few months.” In normal circumstances, “the perspectives she presented would not be truly notable, but in the contemporary context, they were amazing. The problem is that the program said more about the rest of American television than it did about Oprah Winfrey.”
Sponsors Pull Out Of Programs About Iraq War
The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia has seen a big spike in attendance for its programs as tensions over George Bush’s war with Iraq have heated up. But corporations, “which contribute a third of the council’s budget through sponsorships and memberships, are paying about half what they once did to sponsor events. Some are not sponsoring them at all” prefering not to be associated with such a controversial topic.
English National Opera Fails To Get Bailout
The English National Opera, which is thought to have asked the Arts Council for a £10 million bailout because it is “on the verge of bankruptcy, has been turned down, offered a smaller funding package instead. “The package is believed to contain £2 million to pay for seats which tilt back, and a system for surtitles – a surprise request for a company founded to produce operas in English.” Martin Smith, the company’s chairman, “claims that the company will be £4.2 million in the red by January, and insists a fifth of its workforce of 500 will have to go if it is to survive. The number of productions will also have to be cut.”
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Cancels Catalog
At its peak, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts shops catalog generated $3.5 million a year. “In this age of the museum mall, cultural institutions have come to increasingly rely on income from exhibit-related products. The MFA’s gift magazine is designed to compete with the Pottery Barn, L. L. Bean, and Sundance catalogs. MFA officials say the museum’s stores continue to do well, but the catalog has struggled.” In 2001 the museum’s retail enterprises were spun off into a private company…and lost $2.9 million in its first year. So the museum is canceling this spring’s catalog.
Alagna And Gheorghiu Leave Met Opera Because Of War
The husband-and-wife team of soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna have canceled their remaining performances of “Faust” at the Metropolitan Opera because of the war in Iraq. “They had war concerns and terrorism concerns.”
Steal-To-Order Ring At Australian Museum?
An investigation into the theft of tens of thousands of objects from the Australian Museum suggests that many of the artifacts may have been stolen from the museum’s mail room. “The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which has recovered a ‘substantial amount’ of items pilfered from the mammals collection, is looking at the possibility that a steal-to-order racket, with foreign links, has been operating at the museum and some zoos for years.”
English National Opera Settles With Chorus
The chorus of the English National Opera has called off a threatened strike after making a deal with the company for layoffs. “Around one-sixth of the choristers have agreed to take voluntary redundancy, leaving a permanent chorus of 50.”
Competing Against The Superstores
When superstore bookseller Borders came to Carlton Australia, local independent bookstores feared business would go down 15-30 percent, as it has elasewhere where Borders entered the market. But after a few months business is down only one percent. Why? One theory is that there’s a new kind of customer developing – the “neo-consumer.” These are people who are looking for public spaces to connect with. “Many people are seeking a home away from home, a place to hang out, and they are finding it in cosy bookshops, cafes and bars.”
Short Wonders – Short Films Come Into Their Own
Where are the great British films? They’re shorts, and these are some of the most interesting films being made today. “Short films are traditionally dismissed in industry circles as mere calling cards for young directors hoping to make full-length features. But there is a growing appreciation of shorts as an art form in their own right.”