~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. SPECIAL INTEREST  
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#specialinterest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Art Matters Does art matter? "I know there is a sneaking feeling, even among art lovers, that art is a luxury. While pictures, books, music and theatre are not quite handmade luggage or perfume, most people would not admit that art is essential. The endless rows over funding centre on an insecurity about the role of art in society. Nobody doubts that hospitals and schools must be paid for by all of us. Modern art has become a media circus; a money-driven, prize-hungry extravaganza, dependent on marketing and spin, which may leave the public with a few extra names it recognises, but that makes everyone cynical about the product." The Guardian (UK) 11/25/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bolshoi Controversy The inauguration of a new auditorium in the Bolshoi theatre complex "marks the end of the first phase of a £300 million restoration of one of the best-known buildings in Russia. But the rest of the project is in jeopardy as traditionalists and theatre administrators fight over the fate of the Beauvais Portico - the 10 marble columns around which the theatre was built. "Theatre managers want to see it moved from its current position - inside the stageworks of the old auditorium - to make room for improved stage machinery." The Guardian (UK) 11/28/02

A Dance Between Friends Balanchine and Stravinsky had a long and brilliant career together - the two collaborated in a partnership that inspired both. "For each, music was the 'floor' without which there could be no dance: 'The composer creates time,' said Balanchine, 'and we have to dance to it.' As such, Balanchine revered Stravinsky and deferred to him willingly. Balanchine transformed classical ballet from a lyrical, romantic, fairy-tale art into a gripping, sharp-edged, plotless drama of pure movement, and Stravinsky's music led him to some of his most innovative choreography." New York Review of Books 11/29/02

Pina Bausch - Old Is In When Pina Bausch decided to restage one of her classic works with dancers over the age of 60, she had 120 volunteers. "They all had some kind of shimmer in their eyes. They saw this as the chance of a fabulous new life experience, a new adventure." The Guardian (UK) 11/27/02

No Permission To Move Why are police raiding clubs in New York? To stop people from dancing? Village Voice 11/26/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. MEDIA
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#media
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Every Season Wonder why certain kinds of movies are released at certain times of the year? Big-deal movies in December, action/fluff in summer, art films in January... "Today, the majority of a film's box-office receipts are reaped in the first fortnight of release, and a week's delay can make or break a film, so movie schedules are more finely tuned and globally calculated than ever before." The Guardian (UK) 11/29/02

TV - The Business Against Quality Why do good TV shows get canceled? "The big lie in television is that network executives are idiots. Most of the time, that's not true. They're smart, but their decisions are guided by fear of failure and job loss. Because they're smart, they usually like quality shows. But because it's a business, those shows often get canceled." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12/01/02

MTV Of The Arts? "Classic Arts Showcase" is the project of one Lloyd Rigler, who decided on his own in the early 90s that there should be more arts on television. He provides round-the-clock feeds of performances by artists "available free, by satellite, to PBS stations, educational and community access channels and other nonprofit broadcasters since 1994; it currently reaches an estimated 65 million homes." But it's free to all but Mr. Rigler - he's plowed $50 million into the project without a hope of ever getting it back. The New York Times 12/01/02

Buying Local There's local programming, and then there's local programming. A station in Raleigh North Carolina has started an all-local all-the-time format, playing only music by local bands. "WBZB went on the air July 15. Its signal is so weak the station can be picked up in the car only in a small area because power lines interfere with it. It can only be heard in parts of Raleigh, and it broadcasts on the Web." Toronto Star (AP) 11/30/02

Where Are The Women? There seem to be more high-profile women in the movies these days. But that doesn't mean there are more women in movies. In a recent study, women accounted for 25 percent of all characters in the top 250 films released in 2001. "That is about five percentage points higher than when researchers first tallied roles - in 1952. (On prime-time network television, women account for about 38 percent of the roles, a number rising more quickly than in film.)" It's even worse for women over 40 - they get only 8 percent of female roles. "The percentage of working directors among the top films dropping from 11 percent in 2000 to 6 percent in 2001, and from 14 percent to 10 percent for female screenwriters." San Francisco Chronicle 11/29/02

Cry For Independence As the British government opens up ownership of broadcasters to foreign companies, a new report says independent producers need some protection. "Under quotas, terrestrial channels have to offer 25% of their programming to independent companies. But the actual average was only 15% because channels were unwilling to offer news or large outdoor events to independent production." BBC 11/25/02

Lockout Time was when aspiring movie biz hopefuls would hang out on the studio lots and watch. The story goes that "Steven Spielberg's professional movie career began the day he decided to jump off a tour bus at Universal Studios Hollywood and wander around the back lots. While exploring the buildings, he found an abandoned janitors' closet and turned it into his office. He would go to work there everyday, wearing a business suit and tie, walking past the security officers. After some time, the security guards had seen him so often they would wave him through the gates, no questions asked." But now, studio security locks down the lots to outsiders. Backstage 11/24/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. MUSIC
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tower Records' Struggle Music store giant Tower Records is struggling to get out of bankruptcy. "As 2002's countdown to Christmas began, the family-held chain of 113 stores in 21 states - known for its steep prices, deep selection, and store band appearances - is in the hands of a corporate restructurer. The company recently cut 90 jobs and sold 51 profitable stores in Japan. More closings are imminent." Philadelpia Inquirer (AP) 12/01/02

Bocelli Spawn There are those who think that one Andrea Bocelli is one to many. And then there is the music industry. "While the Tuscan tenor has inspired a following so devoted that it borders on being monotheistic, his success has sired a new musical genre and a host of fresh faces." They're known as "pop tenors, PBS tenors or Baby Bocellis," and they're selling millions and millions of recordings. "Bocelli and his brood have awakened the sleeping giant of the recording industry: devoted adult fans." Philadelphia Inquirer 12/01/02

What Are We Supposed To Do Now? What are classical musicians supposed to do now that recording companies no longer want to record them? They can start their own labels, of course - but despite some admirable attempts, for the most part it's almost impossible to get your recordings in front of consumers. "As the industry contracts, music is steadily reverting to its natural state of ephemerality: hear it live, or it's gone forever." La Scena Musicale 11/29/02

Blessed With Success What's the fastest growing segment of the US recording market? Contemporary Christian music, "or in the land of acronyms, CCM. It generates $800 million a year in album sales, more than jazz and classical combined." The most successful bands sell out arenas and sell millions of recordings... The Telegraph (UK) 11/29/02

When Good Concert Halls Go Bad Since Chicago's Orchestra Hall was retooled in 1997 there have been complaints, lots of them about the sound. Now the orchestra has hired another acoustics expert to see about fixing the sound. Chicago Tribune critics weigh in with their concerns. "In the discussions here, which also include CSO officials, sound consultants and performers, we tried to find out why the sound at Orchestra Hall has gotten worse since the 1997 renovation. Exactly how bad and why was at the core of our conversations." Chicago Tribune 12/01/02

De Larrocha's Last Public Concert Pianist Alicia de Larrocha, plays her final public concert at Carnegie Hall, and retires. "As departures go, Ms. de Larrocha's appearance was unusually low-key. Not much had been made of it publicly, although her retirement at 79 was not entirely unexpected. Like any musician who has enjoyed a long career, Ms. de Larrocha has seen performance style, and the tastes that drive it, move through cycles of change and reconsideration. In the Spanish works in her repertory she has remained peerless, but in Mozart, the expansion of the early-music world and the expectations it has created have been challenges for her." The New York Times 11/27/02

Toronto Symphony Recovers While other orchestras around North America post bad financial news, the Toronto Symphony has some good to report. Last year, the Toronto Symphony declared itself "on the precipice of complete collapse" after posting a $7 million deficit and seeing its subscription sales drop alarmingly. The orchestra's then-executive director quit. This year's been another story - the orchestra has reduced its deficit to $5 million and fundraising for the season was up 50 percent. National Post 11/23/02

Playing The Part What is it about the music of Arvo Part that makes its listeners become cultish in their devotion to hearing it? "According to the unsentimental evidence of record sales, Pärt's music reaches far beyond the conspiracy of connoisseurs who support most new classical music. He is a composer who speaks in hauntingly clear, familiar tones, yet he does not duplicate the music of the past. He has put his finger on something that is almost impossible to put into words—something to do with the power of music to obliterate the rigidities of space and time." The New Yorker 11/25/02

Adrift On A Sea Of Styles It used to be that music followed some sort of stylistic order of the day. Listeners might not agree with it, but at least there was some sort of guiding aesthetic at work. Today, there's no sense of direction. "A decade of hard listening has produced little evidence of a shared culture, let alone a common trajectory. What is disorienting is the smorgasbord of opposites - past and future, tonal and atonal, control and freedom - that these and other contemporary works collectively represent." Montreal Gazette 11/23/02

Anti-Piracy Measures Futile Say Engineers A group of Microsoft software engineers has concluded that digital anti-piracy measures are ultimately futile. They presented a paper this weekend that states that "the steady spread of file-swapping systems and improvements in their organisation will eventually make them impossible to shut down. They also conclude that the gradual spread of CD and DVD burners will help thwart any attempts to control what the public can do with the music they buy." BBC 11/25/02

Met Opera Attacks Web Fan Metropolitan Opera fan John Patterson started a website called Metmaniac.com to "celebrate and annotate nearly 70 years of Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. It featured nearly complete lists of broadcasts from the 1930s to the present, but the lists were not linked to anything. It also provided a message board for opera lovers to discuss shows and buy, sell and trade tickets." But last week, the Met sent Patterson a cease-and-desist order, which shut the site down. The company claims "the name MetManiac and the contents of the site violated their trademarks and copyrights." Wired 11/22/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. PEOPLE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#people
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Best Job In British Art "Norman Rosenthal is the master of the big production. He occupies a unique and enviable role in British art. While other gallery directors find themselves bogged down in bureaucracy, in running an institution, Rosenthal can devote his time to conjuring up the dreamiest exhibitions. His track record is amazing. When he arrived at the Royal Academy 25 years ago, it was a fusty and largely irrelevant institution. Today, it is one of the world's great exhibition spaces." The Guardian (UK)11/25/02

Beyond Prodigy Midori has spent her adult life trying to live beyond being a child prodigy. "In many ways, she says, she has spent her adult life pushing to create the normalcy she missed as an international child star. Her image as a prodigy was carefully cultivated by those around her. 'They would tell me things like, 'You have to say you like classical music, you never listen to anything else'." Christian Science Monitor11/29/02

Watts Will Make Full Recovery Pianist Andre Watts has been released from the hospital after suffering a subdural hematoma just before a Nov. 14 concert in California. He's expected to recover fully and resume performing. "Hemorrhages like these are fatal in 50-60 percent of people. He was in the very fortunate 40 percent of people who make it through the event. The bleeding was on the anterior part of the brain, away from the fine motor area." Doctors describe Watts as "personable" and "Zen-like" during his hospital stay. Orange County Register11/27/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reimagining Buffy "Fan fiction" is "a potent underground genre" where fans of fictional pop culture figures weave new stories from their own imaginations. "Cult TV series such as Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Star Trek inspire wild tangents of fancy and fornication" and the internet has given the genre a serious following. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 11/30/02

Supplementary Pleasures Everything about The Times Literary Supplement, that "coded message to the intellectual elite whose 36 pages of densely packed articles have come out regularly for the past century and a bit" is "endearingly odd." The TLS's "circulation has never topped 50,000 and is now level-pegging at about 35,000 worldwide" but its influence is enormous. The Times (UK) 11/29/02

Attacking The Judge Who Didn't Read Michael Kinsley's claim not to have read all the books as a judge of this year's National Book Awards has a fellow judge annoyed. "His failure to read more books represents an abdication of responsibility—and a cynicism about the literary enterprise. When was the last time someone boasted in print of not doing his job? Which raises the question: Why did he agree to judge the National Book Award?" Slate 11/26/02

Another Swipe At Lilly Meghan O'Rourke suggests that Ruth Lilly's gift of $100 million to Poetry Magazine is a bad idea. "The gift, though well-intentioned, is foolish. The real problem is that the gift is the essence of bad philanthropy—an overblown act of generosity that undermines its own possible efficacy. Poetry, which had a staff of four, an annual budget of $600,000, and a circulation of approximately 12,000, is suddenly among the best-endowed cultural institutions in the world. If Lilly were truly interested in advancing poetry, the best way to do it would have been to spread the wealth around. Lilly should have given $10 million to 10 different magazines or started a nonprofit foundation with an elected board to hand out grants to writers. This would have started a conversation, not a cultural hegemony." Slate 11/26/02

• Share The Wealth So many resources in the hands of so few. "The vision of an 800-pound tastemaking gorilla, no matter how august, is not a rosy one for all concerned." There are many other ways Lilly could have made a bigger contribution to the cause of poetry. How about giving a lot of it away to other magazines? Village Voice 11/27/02
• All Funded And No Place To Go? Many applaud heiress Ruth Lilly's gift of $100 million to Poetry magazine. And yes - giving money to something so worthwhile as poetry is a good thing. But really - what can a big slug of money do to help the cause? It's not like funding our way to the moon, or underwriting research for a new drug. "The fact is, poetry's current problems aren't the sort that are easily solved by large infusions of money." OpinionJournal.com 11/26/02

Art Of Words An American designer has produced "an interactive program (found at Textarc.org) that reproduces the text of more than 2,000 books as works of art. The software converts the text into an interactive map that allows viewers to quickly see relationships between words and characters at a glance, even without having read the book." BBC 11/28/02

New Yorker In The Black? The New Yorker magazine has been promising it's on the verge of profitability for years. Now it finally looks like the magazine is in the black and is expected to announce a profit of $1 million. "Since Si Newhouse took over The New Yorker 17 years ago, he's sustained losses estimated at more than $215 million - including nearly $40 million over the past five years alone." New York Post 11/26/02

Big Brother Protest George Orwell's estate is protesting the publication of a parody of the author's 1940s book Animal Farm. "The contemporary setting can only trivialize the tragedy of Orwell's mid-20th-century vision of totalitarianism. The clear references to 9/11 in the apocalyptic ending can only bring Orwell's name into disrepute in the U.S." The New York Times 11/25/02

I'm Just Writing To Say Fuhggedaboutit You can't be a writer without getting rejection letters. But, as any writer knows, it's how you're rejected by that publisher that really counts... MobyLives 11/25/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. THEATRE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#theatre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mousetrap Turns 50 The London production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap celebrates its 50th anniversary onstage with a performance for Queen Elizabeth (also celebrating her 50th year in production). "Christie's famous whodunnit is the first stage production to achieve the milestone of half a century, opened on 25 November, 1952. More than 10 million people have seen the classic since it opened and the play has been performed in more than 40 countries and been translated into over 20 languages." BBC 11/25/02

Needless Waste Why aren't more theatre performances recorded? Especially the really good ones, the historic ones? "We have the technological means to record a show without huge financial outlay and with a fair degree of style. It's called video. We do commit theatre to tape in this country but we do so so sparingly, so shamefacedly, that it ought to be a national scandal." The Telegraph (UK) 12/01/02

Israel To Cut Theatre Budgets In a cost-cutting move, the Israeli government proposes to cut the budgets of the country's national theatres by 25 percent. "Theater executives say the cumulative 25 percent cut in their budgets threatens to topple the entire industry." Ha'aretz (Israel) 11/27/02

German Theatres Downsizing Financially struggling German theatres have eliminated 6,000 jobs out of 45,000 in an effort to cut expenses and survive. But theatre leaders say "eliminating more would be impossible without damages to the substance." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 11/29/02

Director Quits Over Scottish Arts Policy Hamish Glen, artistic director of Scotland's award-winning Dundee Rep and one of Britain’s most highly-acclaimed theatre directors, has angrily quit the theatre and says he is joining "the drain of talent to the south". He accused the government of not supporting the arts and predicted "a bleak few years of theatre-making in Scotland. 'It becomes very dispiriting if somehow the culture doesn’t feel itself able to invest in its own success. It is a very energy sapping battle with no light at the end of the tunnel'." The Scotsman 11/28/02

• What About Scottish National Theatre? There are increasing doubts about the Scottish executive's commitment to a plan for a national Scottish theatre. There are "mutterings in the theatrical world that it is using the alleged commitment to a national theatre to hide its other shortcomings in arts policy." The Scotsman 11/28/02624

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. VISUAL ARTS
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#visualarts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Et Tu, Saatchi? Charles Saatchi is probably the biggest collector of contemporary art in Britain. But he's down on the Turner Prize and its judges (Like a lot of others are these days). He says the real art is going on outside of the Turner world and that he prefers "something that gives real visual pleasure and makes you sit up and think, not the pseudo-controversial rehashed claptrap that Turner judges actually believe is cutting-edge art." The Telegraph (UK) 11/24/02

Contemporary Art - The New Impressionists? This fall's auction season has confirmed one big shift in the art collecting world. "Whether new fortunes, changing fashion or opportunity are offered as an explanation, Post-War and Contemporary art has become as or even more valuable a profit center for the three houses as Impressionist and Modern art, the traditional motor of their business." Forbes 11/27/02

The "Un"-Turner The "Alternative Turner Prize" is a plea "for a wider and more generous choice of art and artists" than is recognized by the Turner Prize. This year's shortlist of eight has three painters, two internet artists, a sculptor, a photographer and a graffiti artist. It will be judged by a panel of critics drawn from conceptualist and traditional schools. Organizers "insist it is not an anti-Turner event, and is at great pains to distance itself from the Stuckists, who protest outside the Turner Prize ceremony every year." The Guardian (UK) 11/30/02

Buy High, Sell Low? Dotcom pioneer Halsey Minor bought millions of dollars worth of paintings at the top of the market. Now he has another venture to fund, and he's selling off his art. "Mr. Minor stands to lose about $13 million on the Christie's sale alone, scheduled for Thursday. And experts speculate that he has already lost $10 million on paintings the Gerald Peters Gallery recently sold privately, including works by Hopper and Hartley." The New York Times 11/29/02

One (Bad) Way To Choose Public Art Art for the walls of Denver's main performing arts complex is put up on a first-come-first-served basis. Artists sign up and wait until their turn comes up. But the art is democratic, it's almost nearly always bad, writes Kyle MacMillan. "It is only logical that what is shown on the walls of the Boettcher and Buell should be of the same caliber as the dance, music and theater presented on the stages of the two halls. Anything less demeans the performers who appear there, and it reflects badly on an otherwise vibrant local art scene and the city at large." Denver Post 12/01/02

Open Season Art openings aren't about the art. In the popular imagination, they are glamorous affairs, exclusive soirees where stylish sophisticates rub shoulders with artists from the fringe. In truth, they're mundane occasions. Imagine a year-end office party held every month and you'll get the idea." Los Angeles Times 11/28/02

GalleryWalk What is America's Second City of art (after New York, of course)? "Despite its endemic sprawl and persistent inferiority complex, Los Angeles is the nation's second city for the visual arts, and commercial galleries are a vital part of the scene. With nearly 100 that present public exhibition programs and keep their doors open during regular hours, Los Angeles is second only to Manhattan and well ahead of Chicago, its closest competitor, which has about 60 comparable galleries." Los Angeles Times 11/24/02

Why Can't Public Buildings Be Art? Richard MacCormac's design for a London Tube station has attracted hordes of fans. "The station manager enjoys its obvious theatricality and musicians have responded to its magic. There isn't even any graffiti on the wall. It is a lovely thing, a happy surprise as the jaded tube traveler emerges from the fetid heat of an underground train into the regenerative joys of born-again Southwark." The station design was inspired by music and theatre, says MacCormac. So why can't more public buildings be this way? The Guardian (UK) 11/25/02

Artist Offended By Exhibition Name An artist in Newfoundland is protesting the name of a show of his work at a local gallery that used to represent him. But the name is taken from the name of one of the artist's own paintings. The artist accuses the gallery of being offensive, but the gallery owner maintains "It's my painting. It's the title of the painting. The artist named the painting. What's the problem?" It's hilarious. I didn't name the painting. He did. It's not like it's written on the back of the painting. He named it. Now he's claiming the painting is defaming himself." National Post 11/26/02

China In The Recent Past The first Guangzhou Triennial is a good check of the stew of styles emerging from Chinese art in recent years. It's been a period of experimentation, and the rest of the world is taking notice. "As evidence of the growing global buzz about China's art, opening night drew groups of collectors and donors from the Museum of Modern Art and the Asia Society in New York. And in a sign that its museums are also entering the global mainstream, the gift shop at the Guangdong Museum was filled with attractive tie-in products, including T-shirts and watches with images by leading artists." The New York Times 11/25/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9. ISSUES
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New York's Growing Arts Development A study of the arts in New York says activity is expanding rapidly, and not just in traditional arts districts. "With an astonishing 52% growth rate over the past nine years, New York's cultural industry is responsible for more than 150,000 jobs. While analysts foresee continued slow or flat employment growth for financial services, they predict the creative economy will continue growing, almost across the board." Backstage 11/26/02

Closing The Borders On Culture The US's new visa controls are keeping many international artists from appearing in the country. "The long-term effects of the visa delays already are being felt. In addition to fewer U.S. concerts featuring artists from countries on the State Department's terrorism watch list (which includes Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Morocco and Sudan), fewer albums from those artists will be released in the United States because record companies can't count on performances to publicize the artists' new songs. "The impact of this crisis will show up two to three years from now. This crisis will have a long- term impact on the music world and cultural exchange marketplace." San Francisco Chronicle 11/26/02

Too Much Heavy Lifting Why must the British government try to coerce arts organizations who want funding? The arts get attached to education, to multiculturalism, to every social good of the moment. "There is a feeling across the performing arts that subsidised companies have been drained of vital energies during the Blair years - or, at the very least, have been distracted from their core function of creating art. A resentment has crept in. Many performers don't want to be educators." London Evening Standard 11/26/02

Not To Take Offense, But... The Australia Council releases a set of guidelines for artists in "dealing with indigenous communities". The intent of the guidelines is to "encourage greater respect and understanding among the arts industry in working with indigenous communities" But one section "asks artists to consider how their work will affect the indigenous group on which it is based, whether it 'empowers' indigenous people or whether it reinforces negative stereotypes." Is this a reasonable (or wise) request? "How do you judge whether a work empowers or not? And one person's negative stereotype is another's attempt to tackle a tough subject." Sydney Morning Herald 11/26/02

Freedom To Create Is freedom of expression in the arts at more risk now than in the past? A conference organized by the National Arts Journalism Program debated the issue last week in New York. "Copyright is stronger than ever, which experts say will plunge us into the Dark Ages. Copyright is weaker than ever, which experts say will plunge us into the Dark Ages. The confusing thing is that both statements happen to be true." The New York Times 11/26/02

• Do Students Have The Freedom To Express? Last year, a student in a San Jose high school showed a violent poem he had written to another student, who was so scared she reported him. He ended up being expelled and spending time in juvenile hall, though he hadn't commited violence himself. Is student speech protected? "While there are no concrete statistics, students increasingly face a range of punishments for threats as school administrators take a closer look at conduct that could presage violence." San Jose Mercury-News 11/25/02624

Imagineering Without Imagination (Or $) Disney built its name on the imagination and investment of creative "Imagineers" who succeeded in capturing the imaginations of visitors of all ages. But as the Disney stock price sinks and revenues slip, the company is slashing at that all important R&D that made it famous. "Disney is in a bear trap right now. They're incredibly investment-averse. But the problem is, if you don't fund the Imagineers to constantly come up with something new, you lose a big piece of what the brand means — which is that you go to the Disney parks to see stuff you can't see anywhere else." Wired 11/25/02

Still Wild About Winnie After a month of debate, a BBC poll names Winston Churchill the greatest Briton of all time. "Participants in the survey voted the second World War leader top of the list of the country's 100 most significant individuals, with 447,423 votes. He beat his nearest rival, engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, by more than 56,000 votes." BBC 11/25/02

The Art Of Getting Elected In American elections, arts policy hardly even rates a mention. But Australia's Victorian government is up for election, and the major parties are scrapping to differentiate their arts policies from one another. If campaign promises are to be believed, the arts are in for some funding increases. The Age (Melbourne) 11/25/02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10. FOR FUN 
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#forfun 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Line, Please! Everyone forgets a line now and then. But a Philadelphia performance of a Tom Stoppard play last week spiraled out of control when one of the actors missed a line, then another and another. Finally, a script was deposited onstage and the poor actor made his way through recovery. "To anyone who has been onstage with much to do, not knowing what to do next, the experience is like the centipede stopping to think which of its many legs it should move - and becoming paralyzed. Quick recovery is possible. Or not. An actor spooked by the experience is cast out of the world of that character and into the cold, with no protection." Philadelphia Inquirer 11/24/02

Writing For $133 A Word Any doubt modern publishing is big business? In 1975, the year’s best-selling book, E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime sold 232,000. By 2000, John Grisham’s The Brethren exceeded the sales total of “Ragtime” by twelvefold. So what do the big-time authors make? A New York Magazine survey does the math: Tom Clancy gets $45 million for two books, which works out to an advance of $42,694 per page, or $133 per word. See what some of the others make... New York 11/24/02