“Publishers can be accused of being slow to wake up to the internet, but they’re not that slow, nor that likely to leave money on the table. But there is, it turns out, a long list of reasons you can’t pay for journalism by the article.” James Ball explains the logic and the arithmetic. – Columbia Journalism Review
Tag: 06.15.20
Library Use Is Dramatically Up Since The Lockdown
Weekly library e-book lending across the country has increased by nearly 50 percent since March 9, according to data from OverDrive, a service used by many libraries to let patrons check out media for e-readers, smartphones and computers. Audiobook check-outs are also up 14% — not quite as large a shift, likely because fewer people are in their cars commuting to work. – NPR
Turns Out There Are Benefits To Teaching Harp Online
“With most of the room cut out, there are fewer distractions. When three dimensions collapse into two, there’s a weird intimacy. You can get up close, like ballroom dance partners. You can demonstrate without replacing students in the chair. And you can take copious notes while they play, marking the music like an over-caffeinated octopus. They can’t see that.” – WBUR
U.S. Museums Are (Finally) Developing Art Therapy Programs
“Although psychologists have long recognized the benefits of art therapy, … few American museums have devoted resources toward creating programs. But the demands of a grief-stricken public are now compelling cultural institutions around the country to create trauma-aware initiatives that put their art collections and educators at the forefront of a mental health crisis created by the pandemic and the worldwide protests over police brutality and racism after George Floyd’s killing.” – The New York Times
Cash-Strapped British Air To Sell Off Its Art Collection
The airline is known for its collection of at least 1,500 pieces that includes esteemed works by artists such as Richard Deacon, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Callum Innes, Anish Kapoor, Chris Ofili, and Fiona Rae. – Artnet
What Should Be Done With Toppled Statues?
As statues fall around the world in symbolic revolt against the histories of slavery and colonialism, city and town leaders, museum officials and historians faced with these toppled monuments are asking, Now what? Should they be cleaned up and moved into the safety of a museum? Should their scars be kept or cleaned off? Or should we make new artworks out of them? – The New York Times
Sometimes ‘Dad-Gummit’ Just Won’t Do: Researchers Say That Profanity Can Increase Pain Tolerance
British researchers found that subjects could bear a painful stimulus for 33% longer by repeating the f-word than by repeating a regular or a made-up word. Why? They think (for now) that it’s because of either the sympathetic or the parasympathetic nervous system. – Public Radio International
Two Major Canadian Alt-Weeklies Say They’ll Reduce Arts Coverage
While both publications have a long history of reporting on local arts events happening in Toronto and Vancouver, Media Central is looking to shift editorial focus towards newer, more lucrative growth areas which are closely aligned with marketing and sales. – Ludwig Van
How Nostalgia Gets Us Launched Into The Future
Long derided as a crutch, something we fall back on when the appeal of the present dims, nostalgia is a surprisingly sturdy launch point into the future. Not only does it ground us mentally and physically when the landscape shifts or founders, it focuses us, with sensory immediacy, on what we most value – and, by extension, on what we want to reflect to the world. That’s where its transformative power lies. – Aeon
It’s Been Very Difficult To Make TV Shows That Depict The Police Realistically
For the last several decades, that “feel-good” TV cop story has shaped our understanding of law enforcement. Dozens of police procedurals dominate TV networks, with millions of viewers tuning in to see hero narratives play out on screen. Fans devour series such as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Hawaii Five-0” and others. Yet it is rare to find a cop show that holds a mirror up to the flawed institution. – Huffington Post