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This Country’s Public Radio Broadcaster Has Shut Down After Voters Refused To Fund It

Radio Liechtenstein, which began broadcasting in 1995, went off the air at 6:00 pm Thursday, following a referendum last October in which 55.4% of voters elected to revoke the law that funds the station. Plans for privatization never materialized, as no buyer appeared interested in such a tiny market. - AP

How Fandom Can Make A Phenomenon Out Of A Word

Fandom has long facilitated deep dives into media in which fans analyse, discuss and track their favourite storylines and character arcs. This has been particularly true of the science fiction and fantasy genres, due to their complex and expansive narrative universes. - The Conversation

The Palace Of Versailles Restored An Opulent Fountain Using 17th-Century Techniques

“The gold leaf had washed off the 350-year-old statues, leaving a behind dull, ruddy scene. Algae had spread across the 13 statues, leaving marks down Apollo’s dashing face that appeared like a trail of green tears. Things were not much better internally.” - Artnet

Concerned About Climate Risks, Getty Will Sell $500 Million In Bonds To Enhance Protection

The Getty maintains earthquake and fire insurance but, as expressed in the filing, there are concerns “such insurance could become unavailable at rates considered reasonable by the Getty Trust.” - ARTnews

The Artistic Touch: Work Feels More Real When It’s A Bit Fake

I like genre fiction for the same reason I like black-and-white film, stylized dialogue, animation, the paintings of Marc Chagall or ballet: things feel more real if they’re obviously a little fake. - The Point

Ralph Fiennes To Direct His First Opera — And He’s Starting At The Top

The three-time Oscar nominee will direct Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Paris Opera. (He played the title role in a 1999 film adaptation of the Pushkin novel on which the opera is based.) The production runs from Jan. 26 through Feb. 27, 2026 at the Palais Garnier; Semyon Bychkov will conduct. - AP

Dance Companies Respond To Anti-DEI Trump Efforts: We’re Not For Sale

"The response of these dance leaders reinforces my belief that the Trump administration’s move to suffocate diversity in the arts is ultimately doomed to fail. The voice of Americans of all races, genders and ability levels is a bell that cannot be un-rung and the arts are endlessly inventive, subversive and evolving." - New City Stage

Bots Sucking Up Data Are Straining Wikipedia’s Servers

Automated bots seeking AI model training data for LLMs have been vacuuming up terabytes of data, growing the foundation's bandwidth used for downloading multimedia content by 50 percent since January 2024. - Ars Technica

Director Of The  National Museum of African American History and Culture In DC Put On Leave

Kevin Young’s leave came two weeks before Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of what he described as “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” within the Smithsonian. - The Guardian

Leadership At Ballet Companies Worldwide Is Overwhelmingly Male: Analysis

Out of 213 classically-based companies examined, only 30% of artistic directors are women and 70% are men. Women comprise 32.3% of artistic directors at second companies and 46.2% of assistant or associate artistic directors. Nearly half (49.2) of company executive directors are female. - Dance Data Project

London’s West End Ticket Sales Plateaued In 2024

SOLT’s update on attendances for 2024 shows that 17.1 million attended performances – the same as in 2023. When compared with 2019 – the year before theatres shut due to the pandemic lockdowns – attendances are up 11% (from 15.3 million). - The Stage

Barcelona Is Transforming A Giant Eyesore Coal Plant Into A Creative Hub

Like Battersea, Barcelona’s plant is set to undergo a radical transformation into the new Catalunya Media City—a cutting-edge hub for digital arts, technology, and education. - Fast Company

AI Expert: Why AI Won’t Take Over Creative Writing

As a professor of computer science who has authored hundreds of works on artificial intelligence, including AI textbooks that cover social impact of large language models, I think understanding how the models work can help writers and educators consider the limitations and potential uses of AI for what might be called “creative” writing. - The Conversation

John Oliver Sued For Defamation By Health Insurance Executive

“Filed last week in New York federal court, the complaint from Dr. Brian Morley, the ex-medical director of health insurance corporation AmeriHealth Caritas, … (states) “Defendants falsely told millions of viewers … that Dr. Morley testified in a Medicaid hearing that ‘he thinks it’s okay if people have shit on them for days.’” - Deadline

Texas Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Fine Museums Which Display “Obscene Material”

Following the attempted prosecution of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth for child pornography over an exhibition of Sally Mann’s photography, a state representative has proposed a law that would fine a museum $500,000 per item per day for displaying anything deemed “obscene or harmful material.” - Fort Worth Report

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