Category: issues

It is a mistake for newspapers “to do away with such things as book review sections and Sunday magazines. Our core audience is educated, well-informed, curious and generally smarter than we are – about more than a few things. Essays about books and ideas, reviews of film, theater, art and television – these are far more important for newspapers today than they ever were in the past. A great city newspaper functions as a sort of community memory and mind; it ought to capture a view of the nation and the world that is distinct, rooted in place, style, local tradition and history.”

“Restricted View blogger Mollie Wilson, a contributor to Village Voice , American Theatre and Nextbook did not like Colapinto’s article on Paul McCartney in last week’s New Yorker, called ‘When I’m Sixty-Four: Paul McCartney And His Music,’ or, as she thought he ought to have called it, ‘How I spent a week wasting Paul McCartney’s time’.” Who is this person who dares to criticize him? Some….blogger? Oh, no no no no no. Colapinto offered the world a glimpse into the star-stalked world of Paul McCartney and “[y]ou, instead, wanted an essay on the subject. And that’s why you’re a blogger and not a writer.”

Philadelphia has a brand new parking lot where two historic buildings used to stand, but the demolition should never have happened. “In a city as old as Philadelphia, you expect to lose a few historic structures now and then. What makes this case stand out is the high-profile location and the fact that the city was firmly on the side of preservation. Three agencies joined forces to defend the pair of Greek Revival buildings from an ambitious developer who considered them a nuisance. That official city policy, however, was undermined by a building inspector who acted on his own initiative and assisted the owner in obtaining a demolition permit.”

As several high-profile newspapers and magazines have forced out or reassigned their classical music critics, a predictable discussion has ensued about the future of criticism. “Classical music is already riled by fears of aging, declining audiences and an increasingly marginal role in American society: curiously enough, the same worries afflicting newspapers, which are cutting costs and trying to grope their way in the multimedia world.”

Knute Berger writes that the proliferation of studies purporting to show the economic impact of the arts are inflated. “One of the most study-happy ‘industries’ is the arts. Local arts groups put out economic impact studies every couple of years. One problem in comparing them is that their focus or methodologies seem to change slightly, so it’s difficult to get apples-to-apples comparisons. But the drumbeat is very familiar. It re-enforces a pre-determined mission (the arts matter!), touts the intangibles (quality of life!), takes credit for non-arts related economic activity (what would you do without us?), and elevates the arts to the status aerospace (we’re an industry!).

Anchorage, like most American cities, has seen an increase in economic activity in the arts, according to a new Americans for the Arts study. “It makes it very clear that this (art) is an economic driver in this community and there are real numbers behind it. It’s not some fluffy thing.”

“The UK’s biggest celebration of hip hop needs to raise £40,000 at the eleventh hour if it is to go ahead after the Arts Council pulled its funding. The national organisation has funded the Brighton Hip-Hop Festival (BHHF) for several years but has turned down this year’s £30,000 bid to divert its cash to the London 2012 Olympics.”

“Whether or not it has been the golden age our erstwhile leader claims, it is indisputable that New Labour has increased arts funding and does deserve to take some credit for the results this period of comparative stability has achieved. Once again our world-class arts organisations are producing internationally acclaimed work. The National Theatre and our regional theatres are flourishing. Orchestras are reporting record attendances and our film industry is a good deal healthier than it was when John Major said hello to the removal men.”

“One of the problems in recent years has been the huge amounts of money that have been poured into failing theatre buildings, creating a culture where incompetence has been rewarded and allowing theatres to trot back for extra money every time they get it wrong. This policy of handouts has done little to encourage grown-up behaviour and reinforces the destructive parent-child relationship that predominates in Arts Council/client relationships.”

“The composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who died in February, built the Spoleto festival into a leading annual event in the performing arts. But he and his adopted, US-born son Francis repeatedly locked horns with the local authorities of the medieval hill town, and relations between the two sides appear to have deteriorated further since his death.”