Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Huge Gender Pay Discrimination Suit Against Disney Moves Forward
Disney in 2019 was hit with a suit accusing it of “rampant pay discrimination.” The case cleared a major hurdle Dec. 8 when a...
Controversy Over White House “Nutcracker” Video
The clip drew heavy criticism on Fox News and in The New York Post. It was shocking to see something as innocuous as “The Nutcracker”...
As Disney Turns 100, Looking At Its “Problematic” Movies
Recent Disney films like the animated “Strange World,” with its gay teenage protagonist, have become cultural flash points. But “Pocahontas” prompted a full-blown fracas. - The...
Mozambiqan Uses Dance To Critique His Country
Born the year after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975, Panaíbra Canda, 47, has used his art to offer searing critiques of his...
We’re Distracted. So Now Watching A Movie Seems Like An Accomplishment Equal To Reading...
You know what watching a movie felt like to my easily-distracted hamster brain? It felt like an accomplishment. It felt smart. It felt like...
Uh-Oh: The Spotify-cation Of Books Is Coming
The “The Long Tail” was that a slew of niche content creators would prosper on the internet. That has proved illusory for most of them. It’s...
The Storytellers Shaping American Stages
What we have witnessed on the American stage over the past three decades is the emergence of what is now multiple generations of playwrights...
Wier Harmon, 57, Seattle Impresario-In-Chief
“His innate belief that we’re better together — whether that’s through civic discourse, music, theater or any of the magic that happens in the...
The Theatre Entering Public Domain This January
In the world of theatre, this means that not only are vintage stage works no longer subject to royalties, but they can be repurposed,...
Why LA’s KUSC Now Has The Largest Audience For Classical Music In The Country
"There’s an openness and curiosity about ideas here. We’ve always been interested in what’s new, what’s next, and what’s the way forward. That shows...
Web Publishers Fear Google Search’s New AI Will Kill Their Traffic
While Google says the final shape of its AI product is far from set, publishers have seen enough to estimate that they will lose...
Artistic Censorship? Mostly Not…
"No one is stopping the artist from making art about anything that they want... But artists who make a living from their work are also entrepreneurs,...
State Of The Music Industry (And Trends Going Forward)
Post-pandemic trends that will grow the market most: a) the rapid rise of AI, and B) the rise of the consumer-creator. Consumer-creators transformed photography...
Spotify Clarifies New Rules On Payouts To Artists
Spotify states that redistributing the revenues from the end of the tail will be more impactful for ‘these tens of millions of dollars per year...
An Expanding Inequality In The Theatre World
The 2000s, as economic inequality in the nation has gone from bad to worse, the theater world has become more profoundly unequal. No one...
Oprah Lands In The National Portrait Gallery
The oil painting by Chicago artist Shawn Michael Warren presents the iconic talk show host-turned-media mogul in virtuosic detail, wearing a dramatic purple dress...
Arts Relief Funding Was Massive. Here’s Where It Went. Now What?
Now that the pandemic relief funds have stopped, many arts organizations are scrambling to balance their budgets. The new report says "the duration" of...
Will AI Turn The Web Into Fodder?
If ChatGPT reproduces news updates, what reason is there to click on the original? How many times have you Googled for more information after...
Ben Sasse: The Moral Decline Of Great Universities
Today, free will, individual agency, forgiveness, personal improvement, and healthy cultural cross-pollination are all obliterated by omnipotent determinisms. - The Atlantic
Teachers In France Strike To Protest Controversy Over Renaissance Painting
Housed at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the display of the 1603 canvas Diana and Actaeon reportedly “disturbed” some students, according to the...
Argentina’s New President Puts Ministry Of Culture On The Chopping Block
On the chopping block is the Argentine Ministry of Culture, along with the ministries of Health, Labor, Social Development, and Education (which Milei had previously...
How Big Brands Use Christmas Music To Sell Things To You
How does music support these brands, and what subconscious effect is this having on our shopping behaviour? - The Conversation
An AI Art Installation That Insults Viewers
The installation, “AI & Me,” was first shown this summer at the Metropolink #09 Festival in Heidelberg, Germany, as an experiment into how far humans are...
Big Streamers Promised They’d Invest In Canadian Content. Now Canada Wonders How?
As 2023 ends, the country’s TV and telecom regulator is at odds with American streamers over how much cash they are now obligated to...
Netflix’s List Of What’s Being Watched Makes For Interesting Reading
After poring over the giant spreadsheet, here are some things that stand out. - The Hollywood Reporter
