Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Arts Organizations Have Heavily Invested In DEI Initiatives. Will New NEA Rules Lock Them...
The new N.E.A. rules require applicants to agree not to operate diversity programs “that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and call on grant applicants...
Study: Reliance On AI May Erode Critical Thinking Skills
“The data shows a shift in cognitive effort as knowledge workers increasingly move from task execution to oversight when using GenAI,” the researchers wrote....
Reuters Wins First Copyright Lawsuit Over AI
In the complaint, Thomson Reuters claimed the AI firm reproduced materials from its legal research firm Westlaw. Today, a judge ruled in Thomson Reuters’...
New Trump Kennedy Center Fires Deborah Rutter, Install New Board Leaders
The Kennedy Center board of trustees voted Wednesday afternoon to install President Donald Trump as chairman of the board, cementing the plan Trump announced Friday to overhaul...
The Taliban Banned Music. So What Happened To Afghanistan’s Musicians?
“It’s very strange, because one day we were honourable, respectable people of our city,” he said. “Then just one day later we became victims...
PBS Closes Its DEI Office
“In order to best ensure we are in compliance with the President’s executive order around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion we have closed our DEI...
The Beginning Of the End For Big Research Universities?
In practical terms, this means that every $1 million grant given to a school could have been transformed, at the stroke of midnight, into...
Assessing The Artistic Losses From The LA Fires
Every arts organization has been touched by the flames in one way or another. Administrators are now assessing what the future looks like, as...
Trump’s Marching Orders For The NEA
The NEA says applicants for all grants must follow "all applicable executive orders" from the White House. The guidelines state that applicants "will not operate any...
Tech’s Biggest Battle: The Box
Google owns the most popular browser, on top of which is what its developers call the “omnibox” — the box that used to be the...
For The First Time There Was Gender Parity For Major Film Lead Actors In...
Out of the 100 top-grossing films of last year, women led 42% of the films, the same percentage as their male counterparts, with 16%...
Hilton Als, Curator (And Critic)
It is unusual for a critic at a major publication to get paid for curating gallery and museum exhibitions, though Als, 64, has cleared...
Greeting Card Company Goes To Court To Claim Banksy Copyright
The company is called Full Colour Black and it sells cards emblazoned with images of street art, including works by Banksy. Its owner, Andrew...
Jeff Koons: Here’s What Really Motivates Me (It Isn’t Money)
He has been frustrated by suggestions that his art was partly driven by a desire to make a lot of money. “The value in...
“Dolly Parton” Producers Strike Back Against Homophobic Audience Outbursts
The homophobic incidents come as a new bio-musical about Parton, titled Hello, I’m Dolly, is prepping for a bow on Broadway in 2026, with the country...
How Spotify Is Dulling Our Musical Taste
AI is, obviously, kind of cool. But in their insistence on sameness and comfort, these tools remind us of the value of good old-fashioned...
You’re A Scientist. You’re Describing Your Work. Now You Can’t Use The Words “Diversity,”...
Among them are terms that Trump and others might dislike, such as diversity, inequities, or multicultural. But there are also words that almost certainly get caught in...
How To Make Sense Of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Show?
Was this the political subversion America needed? A protest performance force-fed to no one as influential as the reinstalled aspiring dictator, Donald Trump, who...
Some Recourse For Traditional Copyright Abuse
Many creators of important cultural works sell (or give away) their interests early on, when the value of their efforts is still unknown and...
Glorifying Ignorance. What Could Go Wrong?
Someone who knows more, is more successful, or who seems to be smarter than you is often seen as a threat, and so in...
What Hollywood Wants From AI
Here reflects an aspiration of Hollywood executives and some above-the-line talent to wield AI to create big films on (relatively) small budgets and help them...
Is Hollywood Making A Fatal Wrong Turn?
In focusing on how AI might disrupt existing workflows, Hollywood is missing a far more profound shift: AI is not just a tool—it is...
What Trump Portends For The Arts (Starting With The Kennedy Center)
Trump, who has shown little interest in or knowledge of the arts before, has indicated that he wants to be more than an advocate...
Trump Names New Kennedy Center Chief
“So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval...
Who Would Want To Run The Kennedy Center Now?
“As a headhunter for large performing arts centers, don’t you think it will be difficult recruiting the next CEO to the Kennedy Center now...
