The Foetry website has been on a mission to expose conflicts of interest in poetry competitions. But if a poetry competition judge awards prizes to former students and colleagues, does that really prove bias? “They haven’t proved manipulation per se, by producing a smoking gun. But if you are running a big state lottery like Powerball, how does it look if the buddy of the Powerball operator keeps winning the big prize? Maybe it was just a random drawing, but it sure looks funny.”
Tag: 03.31.05
Sony Wants Digital Movie Download Service
Sony says it wants to create an “iTunes for movies.” “Films will be put onto flash memory for mobiles over the next year. Movie studios are keen to stop illegal file-sharing on peer-to-peer nets and cash in on digital the download market. Movie piracy cost the industry £3.7bn ($7bn) in 2003, according to analysts.”
UK Arts Leaders Unite For Manifesto
Leaders in the UK visual arts world are banding together for a manifesto it is hoped will “transform the arts”. “Arts leaders, bitterly disappointed that the Government has failed to follow through on its early investment in culture, have pledged to force politicians to accept that the public has a right to art. They are hoping that the united front, from a sector that has traditionally been fragmented, will place arguments about cultural entitlement firmly on the agenda for this election, for future spending rounds and beyond.”
Canadians – A Book-Buying People
A new report on book-buying habits in Canada “shows that 48 per cent of all Canadian households bought books, spending a total of $1.1 billion on them. Though a greater percentage of Canadian households spent money on newspapers (63 per cent) and movies (61 per cent), the total amount spent on each category was similar to that spent on books: overall spending on newspapers and movies amounted to $1.2 billion each. By comparison, Canadians spent $451 million on live sporting events.
Harry Publisher looks For Great Year
“Bloomsbury, the publisher of Harry Potter, today said it expects to make a £20m profit this year based on strong advanced orders of the latest instalment in the adventures of the boy wizard.”
Battle Of The Orchestra Execs
Two major British orchestral figures have engaged in a public argument. “John Summers, chief executive of the Hallé, accused Clive Gillinson, managing director of the LSO, of portraying orchestras as a ‘bunch of complainers’, when in fact ‘government support for what we do has never, in recent times, been more sympathetic’.”