Getting viewers to watch an evening of programs on traditional over-the-air television networks can be a trying proposition these days, with low-budget niche cable networks chiseling away at the national audience. So the Big Three networks have been trying out a new tactic in the ratings wars: clock manipulation. Rather than ending one program at 7:59 and starting the next one at 8pm, for instance, the network might run the first program a few minutes long, and then immediately start a new show at 8:03, by which time you, the viewer, have already missed the opening of shows on other channels, and are more likely to stick with the network you’re already watching.
Tag: 12.22.04
Canceled UK Play Could Move To London
“London’s Royal Court could stage the play which prompted violent protests among the Sikh community in Birmingham. Royal Court theatre bosses said it had obtained a copy of Behzti with a view to possibly staging it in the new year. Behzti had its run cancelled in Birmingham after three police officers were injured when 400 demonstrators protested outside the theatre. Protesters said the play, which depicts sex abuse and murder in a temple, portrayed the Sikh faith negatively.”
Just Can’t Wait For Harry
It’s been less than 24 hours since author JK Rowling announced that the next installment of her wildly popular Harry Potter series would be published in July 2005, and already, the unreleased tome has rocketed to number one on the order chart of online retailer Amazon.com. The fifth volume in the series was Amazon’s most heavily pre-ordered book ever, and the new entry seems sure to surpass it.
Virtual Orchestra Battle Spreads To California
A touring production of the musical Oliver! opened this week in California, with a machine in the orchestra pit and live musicians protesting outside the front door. As in similar disputes in New York, producers claim that the so-called “virtual orchestra” synthesizer is nothing more than a versatile new instrument which augments the sound of the show’s 10 live musicians, while the local musicians’ union claims that the Sinfonia, as it is known, takes jobs away from trained musicians.
Using Money To Make More Money
It’s been a rough year at the Detroit Symphony, with mid-contract pay cuts for the musicians and serious upper management upheaval to boot, but things appear to be changing for the better. “Three of the DSO’s highest-profile donors have combined to give the orchestra an unusual $1.5-million challenge grant designed to broaden the orchestra’s base of support.” The orchestra intends to use the matching challenge as an opportunity to cultivate a new generation of donors who can stabilize the organization in the long term.
New York Comics Ask For More
New York club comedians aren’t paid very well. So they’ve banded together to ask for more. “Hardened by decades of low wages and even lower self-esteem, some 300 New York comedians have decided to unite to ask the city’s comedy clubs for, well, a little respect. (Oh, and more pay.) Two weeks ago, the group, the New York Comedians Coalition, sent a letter to the owners of 11 clubs around the city, asking for $120 for a 10 to 20 minute set on the weekends, up from the current average of $60. They are also seeking a small increase in weekday pay, which runs about $15 to $25 a set, as well as holiday pay for regulars.”
In The UK: Public Summit On Free Speech
UK community and arts leaders are brokering a public summit to talk about free speech issues after a play was shut down in Birmingham. “Two official bodies – the Commission for Racial Equality and Arts Council England, will jointly broker the discussions, which aim to quell future clashes between religious believers and artists. The debate over the drama – which depicts rape and murder in a Sikh temple – has provoked warnings that “mob rule” will intimidate artists into self-censorship, while religious groups have warned that freedom of speech is being abused as a licence for gratuitous offence.”
Judges Walk Out On Aussie Lit Prize
Three judges of Australia’s major book award have quit over changes in the powers of the jury. The administrators of the Mile Franklin Literary Award “adopted a charter that appoints the NSW State Librarian, Dagmar Schmidmaier, as permanent head of the jury, reduces the term of the other judges from six to three years, allows Trust to dismiss the judges without explanation, and prevents them from speaking to the media.”
Is The Shine Off Simon Rattle?
Simon Rattle has had a storybook career as one of the world’s great conductors. “But lately it’s not all been rosy. In Berlin, there’s one prominent dissenting voice in the shape of prominent music critic Klaus Geitel himself, who declares roundly that Rattle is the weakest musical director of the Berlin Philharmonic he’s ever seen. The recent recordings of the nine Beethoven symphonies left many reviewers puzzled by its odd mix of “period” and mainstream styles, and the Fidelio recording had some curious vocal casting. In the UK, the dissenters are more numerous…”
The Man To Save The Royal Academy
Why does Nicholas Grimshaw have a chance at turning around the fortunes of London’s Royal Academy? “He brings more than enthusiasm. As a respected architect, best known here for designing the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station, Mr. Grimshaw is already more of a public figure than his three predecessors. Further, unlike the artists who make up most of the academy, he knows how to run a business, in his case a 100-member firm with offices in London, New York and Melbourne, Australia. There is also a vacuum waiting to be filled.”