Tag: 10.27.05

Is CBC Managing Itself Into Irrelevance?

The CBC lockout is over, and programming has returned to normal for most Canadians. But why did such a fiasco have to occur in the first place? Since CBC president Robert Rabinovitch was hired in 1999, there have actually been four work stoppages, and Michael Posner says that all fingers should be pointing squarely at Rabinovitch and his overly aggressive, even evangelical style of management. “By some bizarre inversion, the obsession with process and efficiency had actually become the primary operational focus. An entire generation of journalists and producers were being trained to think like actuaries.”

Warning To Non-Profits: Your Donors May Hold A Grudge

“A new report suggests that most ordinary donors to charities have long memories about scandals at tax-exempt organizations but little awareness of high-level policy debates on the need for more government regulation of such groups… It claims that such donors wrote off a particular charity once it became tainted in their minds, whether by scandal or poor performance. Yet problems at a particular organization did not necessarily translate into cynicism about all charities.”

Rush To Rose

“Michael Rush will be the next director of Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum, the university has announced… Rush, 55, will take over from Joseph Ketner, who left the Rose last summer to become chief curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Rush will assume his new position about a year after resigning from the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, which he had run since 1999. He said he disagreed with the institute’s foundation over the organization’s direction.” The Rose Museum is in the midst of trying to raise $12 million for a major expansion.

Could Cultural Diplomacy Help America’s Image Abroad?

“Almost out of earshot, questions are being asked about whether it is wise for the United States’s cultural image to be shaped exclusively by the marketplace. More specifically, with Washington now dusting off public diplomacy as a strategy to combat rampant anti-Americanism, is it time to revive cultural diplomacy? The purpose would not be to mute American popular culture. Instead, rather than trying to compete for the attention of the masses, cultural diplomacy would aim to persuade political and intellectual elites of the virtues of American civilization. This approach is now being quietly promoted by several arts lobbies in the United States.”

Books For People Who Don’t Read Books By People Who Don’t Write Books

Simon & Schuster would like to sell more books to the 20-something crowd, and its new imprint, SSE, is taking an unconventional route towards that end. SSE’s publishers don’t spend their time at international book fairs, scouring the booths for the next hot author. They’re more likely to seek out creative and interesting individuals who’ve never written a book in their lives, and cajole them into giving it a shot. Call it Pop Culture Lit, call it amateurish dreck, but one thing is sure: SSE is making money.

Christie’s Hits The Fall Auction Jackpot

“Rarely do three well-known art collections come to the auction block in the same season. Even more rarely does one auction house get to sell them all. Starting Tuesday, Christie’s will offer several exceptional works, including a Toulouse-Lautrec painting of a red-haired model, one of the centerpieces of the recent exhibition ‘Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre’ at the Art Institute of Chicago; a 1954 Rothko inspired by Matisse’s 1911 ‘Red Studio’; and an abstract de Kooning from 1977 that has had only one owner: the artist’s lawyer, Lee V. Eastman. Experts at the auction house are trying not to gloat.”

Attention, Electronic Gadgets: Shut Up!

The modern world is too damn noisy. Car alarms, beeping microwaves, chirping beepers, cell phones that play that hideous 50 Cent hook… it’s all just a bit much, isn’t it? “The people who make all these things obviously think we’re idiots. That without their constant, irritating reminders, we’d go wandering off, our minds blank, to drool down our shirts or spend 30 minutes tying our shoes. The world is noisy enough without adding completely useless aural pollution to the mix.”

Philly’s Summer Shed To Get Major Upgrades

“Philadelphia’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts broke ground Wednesday on a $14.2 million upgrade. … The Mann Center, which is in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, was opened in 1976 as the summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. … In July 2004, [the center’s CEO] outlined a $30 million plan to modernize the center. Wednesday’s ground breaking signals the first phase of that work. Among the improvements will be an education center to provide dedicated facilities for the 25,000 school children the center receives each year.”