"(He) brought a commanding presence to historical figures like Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and King Edward VII, and to notables of classic theater like King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman. He was perhaps best known to American audiences for his performances in British television imports." - The New York Times
Projected economic gains from hosting such events can appear impressive on paper, but questions remain about who ultimately benefits. Several reports in support of hosting mega-events use inflated numbers to document indirect economic impacts and job creation without accounting for initial public spending and other hosting costs. - The Conversation
Vicky Holt Takamine, who has spent decades mastering and teaching hula and working to preserve native Hawaiian culture, has been awarded the 31st annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, given each year to a 'highly accomplished figure' who has 'pushed the boundaries of an art form." - The New York Times
Afterwards, fundraising became much more of a spectacle. Donors were re-imagined and empowered as “saviours”. Celebrities began to view endorsement of charities as a key part of their star profile. - The Conversation
Everyone seemed to know which books the term picked out, what the generic bones of the novel were, and why novels mattered. People talked about “the death of the novel” as though it could mark an inflection point in the history of civilization. - The New Yorker
Authenticity is not a feeling, but an active way of being defined by conscious attention to the fit between who we are and the situation(s) in which we find ourselves. - 3 Quarks Daily
Yes, the future chief of Fox News, fresh off getting Nixon re-elected, took control of a California show called Mother Earth, revamped it (badly) and took it to Broadway, where it flopped. Meanwhile, the show's composer, one Toni Shearer, quit — and ended up fronting one of the 1970s' superstar groups. - Playbill
The site welcomed a record-breaking four million tourists this summer alone, and up to 30,000 per day during the peak summer season. Records were broken this year when 36,000 visitors descended on Pompeii during one of the site’s Free Sundays. - Artnet
"About two dozen smaller, low-cost specialty streaming services have generated significant subscriber growth over the last couple of years. … This includes streamers from traditional cable networks (AMC+, BET+) as well as those (for) specific genres, including British television (BritBox, Acorn TV), horror (Shudder) and anime (Crunchyroll, Hidive)." - The New York Times
"The incoming Trump administration has made it clear that deregulation will be at the top of its priority list, and the companies that own local TV stations — Nexstar, Sinclair, Gray, E.W. Scripps and Tegna, among many others — are practically giddy at what it could mean for them." - The Hollywood Reporter
In a classic case of life imitating parody, the liberal-leaning humor outlet ("America's Finest News Source") purchased Jones's conspiracy-mongering far-right website at a bankruptcy auction held to cover part of the $1.5 billion verdict Jones owes for slandering families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims. - CNN
"The 1,700 pieces dating from the third to the 20th century have been given permanently by the Sir Percival David Foundation. They had been on loan since 2009. It means the British Museum now holds one of the most important collections of Chinese ceramics ... outside the Chinese-speaking world." - The Guardian
"Shock waves from the war have been felt throughout the arts and cultural world, with movie productions, museums and book festivals — not to mention universities, institutions and entire industries — experiencing bitter conflict over what qualifies as tolerable speech about the conflict and its combatants." - The New York Times
