Back in 2000, Cleveland’s public TV and radio stations, which had always been completely separate entities, decided to merge most of their operations in an effort to cut costs and better serve the community. The partnership, called “ideastream,” was a logistical nightmare at first, and staff nerves on both sides seemed to be constantly frayed. But the public response has been overwhelmingly positive, and now, ideastream is making its mark with a strong, independent, and local (all the other TV stations in town are owned by out-of-town companies) voice which neither station had prior to the merger.
Tag: 04.06.03
Hollywood and Washington: Fatal Disconnect or Forever Bound Together?
“It is times like these that have prompted John McCain to observe, ‘If Washington is a Hollywood for ugly people, Hollywood is a Washington for the simple-minded…’ Everywhere you turn there are sightings of a nationwide backlash against celebrities.” But Frank Rich argues that, while celbrity liberals may seem (and probably are) awfully out-of-touch with reality, the verbal grenades they’re lobbing at the Bush administration aren’t any more absurd than those regularly being heaved the opposite way by folks like Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter. Furthermore, the backlash isn’t terribly likely to have any lasting effect, and may actual serve to fire up the stagnant left.
Music Education En Español
The Minnesota Orchestra will try a new tactic at educational outreach this week, presenting a set of the orchestra’s long-running “Kinder Konzerts” series, aimed at preschool-age children, narrated entirely in Spanish. The series plays to more than 5,000 children every season, but this is the first time that the orchestra has presented any performances in a language other than English.
Art And War In Israel
No one ever expects war to have a positive effect on a society, but in Israel, where war and violence are as much a part of life as eating and breathing, the arts are becoming a major unintended casualty. The combination of political pressures, frayed public nerves, and economic doldrums are threatening the artistic infrastructure of the region in a fashion which ought to alarm arts advocates worldwide. And yet, in a time when the world, and particularly the Middle East, seems to be perpetually at war, the problem goes largely unnoticed by the larger global community.
Biblical Signs of Armageddon – Surfing/Literature Division
“Roxy Girl, one of the hottest labels in girls’ fashion, makes sweetly sexy, surfer-centric sportswear along with almost everything else a beach bunny would need: hats, glasses, totes, watches, sandals. Now the firm has come up with the ultimate brand-name accessory: preteen reading with the Roxy Girl label. It’s the first time a clothing company has ventured into the literary field.”
How Do You Get To Diversity?
“The arts rarely appeal to a truly diverse audience. Are tastes in multicultural Britain so far apart or is it the same old problem of ‘us’ and ‘them’?” In other words, when is elitism necessary to insure good art, and when does it become an impenetrable dividing line between the cultural haves and have-nots? Liz Hoggard finds that it’s much easier to define the problem than to present any real solutions.
Does An Author’s Looks Matter For Book Sales?
As a writer with three novels published by New York houses, I knew that each new book got harder to place. I was aware of the publishers’ lust for ‘new blood,’ for authors with no track record, but who were therefore full of potential, vs. those who were mid-list. That’s the category for authors whose average sales are in the 5,000- to 7,000-copy range, the book industry equivalent of a woman who is dismissed as ‘plain.’ The thinking, of course, was that vivacious and photogenic authors were more attractive to the media and more effective on book tours. For a while this worked, until every bookstore in the country had a bestselling author every other night of the week and readers looked upon the opportunity to greet their favorite author with about the same enthusiasm as for their favorite pizza topping.”
‘A’ For Publicity, ‘C’ For Relevance
New NEA chief Dana Gioia has been making the rounds of the nation’s newspapers and magazines this week, playing up the idea of a newly invigorated NEA, and stressing that he intends to return the endowment to the days when it was a real power on the national arts scene. But for all Gioia’s enthusiasm, his seeming devotion to ‘safe’ art that doesn’t bother anyone probably means that the NEA won’t be on the cutting edge anytime soon. But of course, being on the cutting edge of modern art isn’t Gioia’s goal. His job is to keep the NEA from the cutting edge of the Congressional budget knife.
New Leadership Reinvigorates Boston Scene
Three high-profile Boston arts organizations have recently come under new management, and while that’s the type of upheaval that can potentially lead to a downgrade in quality, at least in the short term, the opposite has been the case, according to Ed Siegel. The new Boston arts leaders “have responded to the challenge by seizing the moment. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, the American Repertory Theatre, and the Boston Ballet are all in the midst of seasons that are energetic, daring, and smartly crafted.”
But Does He Hate Conceptual Art Or Just Kissing?
Police were called to the Tate Modern gallery in London this weekend, after a visitor to the museum reportedly “attacked” a statue. The statue in question was Auguste Rodin’s classic marble sculpture The Kiss, which is in the Tate because conceptual artist Cornelia Parker has wrapped it in string to represent “the claustrophobic nature of relationships.” The attacker broke free from a tour group, and used scissors to cut some of the twine before being subdued. He has been released on bail.