“Dutch libraries are giving away 575,000 copies of a 1973 bestseller in the hope of turning the nation into one big book group and getting more people to read long-term.”
Tag: 10.20.06
Pittsburgh Symphony – Still Losing Money (But Things Are Better)
The Pittsburgh Symphony will finish its year with a $1 million deficit. “Last year’s budget was $1.2 million in the red, so the deficit for the 2005-2006 year was incrementally better.” Some trends? Ticket sales were up this year, and so was the orchestra’s endowment.
Returned Art A First For Canada
“In what experts say is a first in recent memory, art confiscated during the Nazi regime has found its way back to its rightful owners in Canada.”
NBC Scales Back News Operations To Refocus
“NBC executives said they hoped that honing their news-gathering operations would help ward off the dour economic climate that had settled over the newspaper industry. Their aim: to free resources for new digital products and eventually expand their reach.”
NBC Retreating From Prime Time
The network will program cheap game shows and reality shows to save money. “Doing away with scripted programming at 8 p.m. would deal a blow to the thousands of actors, writers, producers and talent agents who have long enjoyed the fat paychecks that come from feeding the broadcast networks’ voracious appetite for new dramas and sitcoms.”
The New Improved Paris Review
“When George Plimpton died, the literary world wondered: What will happen to the Paris Review? Now we know the answer. It has gotten even better.”
Corporate Sponsors Get Higher Profile On Public TV
“At a time when public broadcasting is facing constant challenges to its federal funding, PBS producers are seeking to sweeten the deal for corporate underwriters, offering new ways to up the value of their sponsorships. The result is that commercial backers of public television — whose support used to be noted with just a discreet mention after a program — have a higher profile than ever.”
The Two Faces Of ABT
“So what is American Ballet Theater? Is it a dazzling assemblage of some of the best, most glamorous dancers in the world? Or is it two companies: one abundantly full of talent but lacking some of its big names; the other the star-studded roster that appears at the Met? The image is the stars, the reality the double-tiered division.”
English Town Evicts Beach Art
“Another Place, the sculptor Antony Gormley’s collection of 100 cast iron naked men installed on a Merseyside beach, will have to head for another city. Though they have attracted more than 600,000 visitors, and a likely government grant of £1m, councillors in Sefton have decided the figures need to be removed.”