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Let me leap on an old hobbyhorse of mine. I read this:
"Arts & culture constitutes an $878 billion industry that is a bigger part of the US economy than sports, transportation, construction or agriculture according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis"... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/26/arts/unemployed-performer-theatre-arts.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
"Arts & culture constitutes an $878 billion industry that is a bigger part of the US economy than sports, transportation, construction or agriculture according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis"... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/26/arts/unemployed-performer-theatre-arts.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
...and it took me back to when I worked for a local TV affiliate in the '80s. I compiled attendance figures for DC theater and for DC sports, showing that more people had seen a play that year in DC than had attended professional football, basketball and baseball games in DC.
I argued this indicated widespread interest in theater & the arts (gallery attendance far outstripped theater attendance, and movie attendance outstripped both).
I noted that the station gave arts coverage 2 mins in the least-watched 5:30 pm newscast, while it gave sports....
I noted that the station gave arts coverage 2 mins in the least-watched 5:30 pm newscast, while it gave sports....
...more than 4 mins in each of the 5:30, 6:00, and 11:00 pm newscasts.
Imagine, I said, if the station covered the arts the way we covered sports, greeting the casting of, say, a star in a musical with the same fanfare as the hiring of a star quarterback...
Imagine, I said, if the station covered the arts the way we covered sports, greeting the casting of, say, a star in a musical with the same fanfare as the hiring of a star quarterback...
...or the location and design of a $100 million theater complex, the same scrutiny as the building of a stadium.
The economic impact of the arts on DC was enormously larger than the impact of the city's professional sports teams. The arts employed more people.
The economic impact of the arts on DC was enormously larger than the impact of the city's professional sports teams. The arts employed more people.
"Give me more time, and I can cover all that," I argued.
Made no difference. Months after I made the pitch, the station eliminated even the 2 mins it had been devoting to the arts.
So I left for public radio, where arts and culture have long been a valued part of the news mix.
Made no difference. Months after I made the pitch, the station eliminated even the 2 mins it had been devoting to the arts.
So I left for public radio, where arts and culture have long been a valued part of the news mix.
But I wish I'd won the argument at the station.
At the time, all five of the city's local TV stations had regular movie critics (some of whom weighed in on other arts occasionally). Now only one does, a situation echoed throughout the country.
At the time, all five of the city's local TV stations had regular movie critics (some of whom weighed in on other arts occasionally). Now only one does, a situation echoed throughout the country.
And that's a shame. More local broadcast coverage of arts and culture would be better for local economies, better for cultural funding, better for arts education, better for the audience ... better for everyone.
