Category: issues

The disorienting and thoroughly unsatisfying Cambridge Analytica saga is a preview of what trailing indicators of the collapse of the data boom might look like: revealing signs, evident years later, that something was rotten with these arrangements, arriving too late to be actionable but soon enough to foster resentment against companies and services on which we’ve come to depend.

At first glance, the case looked like a fairly straightforward dispute—a small, non-profit education publishing company alleged that FedEx violated its copyright by printing copies of its mathematics curriculum. But two factors make this case exceptional.

Whew, Met Museum. Some people are not thrilled with your selection of Max Hollein: “It feels like a very ho-hum decision on the part of the Met, almost like electing an old pope who will only be around for a few years until someone better comes along.”

The Echo prize went to Kollegah and Farid Bang, whose lyrics include claims that their bodies are “more defined than Auschwitz prisoners,” which they say is not anti-Semitic. The upshot: “The BVMI group initially defended its decision, saying the award recognises sales, not quality, but its chief Florian Druecke told the RND newspaper chain the Echo prize would be revamped in light of the protests and that the association rejected all forms of antisemitism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia and the glorification of violence.”

And no auditions in “private residences” either. At least, that’s the SAG-AFTRA goal, part of a #MeToo result: “The hotel audition guidelines build on the union’s Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment released in February. Hollywood figures, including disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, are accused of making unwanted sexual advances on dozens of women in these private meetings.”

Economic impact was calculated using the amount spent by the arts institutions and by visitors, both “directly,” at the arts venues and “indirectly,” at other businesses such as restaurants, shops, and hotels. It also includes “induced impact,” which is a sort of ripple-effect estimation of the value of things like jobs in other industries supported by the direct and indirect spending.

While the arts may not always seem to be an obvious area for investment, the sector has uniquely comprehensive impact. Cultural activity creates social cohesion, builds neighborhood identity, supports local economies by providing direct and ancillary jobs for residents, and generates spending at a range of businesses, large and small—from equipment suppliers and caterers to parking garages, dry cleaners and babysitters.

“I believe there needs to be a radically different institutional framework for cultural intermediation that brings both official and everyday culture and cultural actors together in order to break down barriers between them. This must include the democratisation of cultural intermediation at management level to waft some much-needed fresh air into the corridors of cultural policy.”