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Deflating: Sony Downsizes Its Podcasting Division

The company says a “significant percentage” of its podcast division has been laid-off. “Like many in the industry, we are further streamlining our structure as we continue to shift our creative strategy and focus on building big audiences across a select group of ongoing shows and our subscription business." - Inside Radio

Why Two Big AI Companies Are Hiring Poets And Fiction Writers

"A string of job postings from high-profile training data companies, such as Scale AI and Appen, are recruiting poets, novelists, playwrights, or writers with a PhD or master’s degree. Dozens more seek general annotators with humanities degrees, or years of work experience in literary fields." - Rest of World

City Of Baltimore Tops Up Its Support Of The Arts

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced additional investments in the arts through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for a combined total of $6.25 million focused on supporting arts and cultural institutions led by diverse artists and groups. - CBS News

Bollywood Star Wins Indian Court Case Over AI Use Of His Image

"Anil Kapoor (filed suit) because of the large number of morphed videos and emojis bearing his likeness going around as well as his iconic phrase 'jhakaas', first used in 1985 film Yudh. The phrase, which translates roughly as ‘awesome’ or ‘wicked,’ is now protected by the court order." - Variety

Female Comics Say Russell Brand Is The Tip Of The Iceberg In Comedy

Six years on from the #MeToo movement, they say there remains a culture of misogyny and male privilege in the comedy industry that emboldens predators and prevents women from speaking out. - The Guardian

After Going Dark This Year, Cal Shakes Will Be Back In 2024 For Its Golden Anniversary

"California Shakespeare Theater plans to produce a show of its own in 2024, after operating exclusively as a rental house this year. The production, As You Like It, ... will mark the company's 50th anniversary and run Sept. 12-29 at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda." - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)

Skilled Craftspeople Put Out Of Work By The Hollywood Strikes Are Going Real-World

"Scenic painters who once added 'Disney dirt' to make walls look old are now working on actual old walls, prop fabricators who built mechanical dolls are building folding desks, and the warehouses that once supplied set decorators and prop masters with furniture are, in this lull, selling to the masses." - Curbed

“We’re All Trying To Figure Out How To Get People To Care About News And She Just Saved Journalism In A 30-Second Video”

"I kind of fell into this avenue of media literacy influencing to help Gen Z get invested back into print media," said Kelsey Russell (whose first video got 1.7 million views), acknowledging that the platform is popular precisely because attention spans are so short." - Yahoo! (TheWrap)

Independent Booksellers Have Started Using TikTok As A Marketing Platform

"Bookstore owners and staffers agreed that TikTok increases their visibility when they make a concerted effort to use it. … Though it's time-consuming to monitor and to apply tags and trending sounds strategically, those contacted for this article said sustained engagement is worthwhile." - Publishers Weekly

The Louvre’s First Female Leader Wants To Give That “Giant Ocean Liner” An Overhaul

Yes, she wants to make the world's largest museum more welcoming, relevant, and diverse. She also wants to carve an entirely new second entrance into the building (for the people who want to see more than the Mona Lisa), and that will be a serious challenge. - The New York Times

A Pair Of New Artistic Directors At Louisville Ballet

"Lexington-native Mikelle Bruzina and Harald Uwe Kern were named Louisville Ballet's new artistic directors after former artistic director Robert Curran's abrupt resignation earlier this year after nearly 10 years with the ballet." - Yahoo! (Louisville Courier Journal)

Four Days After Abruptly Canceling Its Season, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Closes Down

The organization's entire board of directors has resigned. "This means," said a statement, "that the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony will cease all operations as of today, and will not return for any future seasons." - Waterloo Region Record (Kitchener, Ontario)

What Hollywood’s Striking Workers Are Doing While The Strike Continues

The strike has taken a toll on many less visible members of the industry, who say they are now looking outside the industry for work or considering leaving it altogether. - The Wall Street Journal

Things Emily Dickinson Collected — Now Online

Last week, a public database cataloging all those family objects—more than 8,000 of them—went live. The unparalleled collection has been assembled by the Amherst-based Emily Dickinson Museum and stored in an undisclosed warehouse in Western Massachusetts. - The Atlantic

Southbank’s New Leaders Have A Plan

Mark Ball and Aaron Wright are eager to recapture that past glory and make new connections with a programme in which established artists, rising stars and rebels rub shoulders, and different, hybrid modes of presentation are celebrated. - The Stage

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