“The success of shows like ‘American Idol,’ ‘The Bachelorette’ on ABC and ‘Joe Millionaire’ on Fox was so impressive that numerous executives said they were now ready to embrace plans for a radical restructuring of the network business, which previously had been talked about only as dimly possible, long-term adjustments. Not only will reality shows continue to flood network’s schedules next fall, but television executives are also predicting such developments as an end to the traditional television season.”
Blog
Say Anything – TV Loosens Its Language
“Broadcast television, under intensifying attack by saltier cable competitors, is pushing the limits of decorum further by the year, and hardly anyone is pushing back. Though the changing standards of prime time have evolved gradually, the pace has accelerated in recent years. But the falloff in protests over those changes has been sudden.” Seems the groups that used to protest racy language have gone away…
Connecting The Dots – The Knowing Network
Network theory is hot. “As an intellectual approach, network theory is the latest symptom of a fundamental shift in scientific thinking, away from a focus on individual components — particles and subparticles — and toward a novel conception of the group. ‘In biology, we’ve had great success stories — the human genome, the mouse genome. But what is not talked about is that we have the pieces but don’t have a clue as to how the system works. Increasingly, we think the answer is in networks’.”
The Scottish Parliament Building Fiasco
Hopes were sky high back in 1997 for the new Scottish Parliament building “designed by the Catalan architect Enric Miralles as ‘the visual embodiment of exciting constitutional change’. How those hopes have turned to ashes. The Parliament, once estimated to cost between £10 and £40 million and scheduled to open last December, is now expected to come in at £338.1 million. Completion is not expected before November.” It’s all a big mess – so what happened?
Aussie Non-Fiction Supplanting Fiction
Australian non-fiction has taken over publishing. “Book after book indicating a renaissance in Australian non-fiction, incorporating everything from narrative journalism to memoir, rock’n’roll, history, philosophy, the essay and political biography. Works that often blurred the territory between these forms and fiction, part and parcel of a radical hybridisation of style and content affecting literature internationally and sending our old generic orders into meltdown. When compared with this catalogue, recent local literary fiction was not up to the same consistent standard, let alone able to match en masse the furious energy our literary non-fiction exudes.”
Calgary Mounts New Opera
While the Calgary Philharmonic is languishing, the Calgary Opera is blazing away, ready to stage a $1.3 million production of new original opera. “The opera is set in southwestern Alberta during Prohibition and is based on the true story of an Italian immigrant who becomes entangled in bootlegging and murder. The woman was eventually hanged in 1923. The music and English libretto are by Calgarians John Estacio and John Murrell, respectively.”
Ripping Apart The ENO
Under plans submitted this week to the Arts Council, the English National Opera would see the company shrink dramatically. “Under the proposal, the chorus would be cut by a third to 40 members, the orchestra by some 20 musicians, and production and administrative staff by 70. Big productions would rely on freelancers.”
Houston Symphony Says Pay Cuts Are Essential
Houston Symphony management says an agreement on a contract with the orchestra’s musicians can’t happen without wage cuts. “The symphony has a near-term financial crisis and a longer-term structural problem of recurring deficits. The society is projecting a deficit of $2.3 million on a $23 million budget, with orchestra costs making up about 50 percent of the budget, management said.”
The Royal Ballet’s Popular New Leader
“When Monica Mason was confirmed as head of the Royal Ballet just before Christmas her room filled so thick with flowers that, weeks later, the fragrance still lingers. Hers was a hugely popular internal appointment, a healing unguent after the rough and ready rule of the Australian Ross Stretton who lasted less than a year, leaving abruptly last September.”
Robbie Burns – Still Big Business
These days culture is big business. Yes, that extends to poets, too. Even dead poets. A BBC documentary estimates that Scottish poet Robert Burns brings about £157m a year into the country.”The biggest single source of income is Burns-related tourism. It brings in £150m, two-thirds of which goes straight to Ayrshire where Burns was born and lived most of his life.”