News from the Sector

Comcast Seeks Review Of FCC Decision Over Traffic Blocking; Legal Fight Over Net Neutrality
Washington Post, 9/4/2008
"Comcast is now appealing the Federal Communications Commission to block the regulatory agency's decision to cite and sanction the company for blocking certain Internet traffic. Comcast challenged the FCC decision Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington DC."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090402280.html

Cultivating Demand for the Arts: Arts Learning, Arts Engagement, and State Arts Policy
RAND Corporation, 2008
"Audiences for classical music, jazz, theater, visual arts and other art forms have all declined as a percentage of the population in recent years, and as this new RAND report argues, reversing that trend will require more than simply expanding the supply of art and people’s access to it. It will also require cultivating more demand through arts education and other means to ensure that there are more people sufficiently knowledgeable about the arts to want to engage with them. This study, the third in a series by RAND on the evolving role of state arts agencies in building arts participation, examines what it means to cultivate demand for the arts, why it is important to do so and what state arts agencies and other policymakers in both the arts and education can do to make it happen."
http://www.wallacefoundation.org/NR/rdonlyres/26F2BAD4-70B3-41FE-82B5-EA08BF970A99/0/CultivatingDemandfortheArts.pdf 

How to download free books, music, and movies from local libraries
Christian Science Monitor, 9/5/2008
"In a time when practically any question can be answered through a Google search, brick-and-mortar libraries are evolving to remain relevant. Rather than cede ground to search engines, e- book readers, and download services, more than 7,500 US libraries are adopting their competitor’s tricks and offering digital means to access books, music, and movies – free of charge."
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/09/05/how-to-download-free-books-music-and-movies-from-local-libraries/

Old antennas cause complaints in digital TV test
Washington Post - AP, 9/9/2008
"Problems with old-fashioned television antennas were the most common issue among residents of Wilmington, N.C., a city that volunteered to switch to digital broadcasting more than five months before the rest of the country. The troubles foreshadow the difficulties that viewers nationwide may face. . . . While public education efforts have focused on making sure viewers are aware of the transition and the government coupon program, very little has been publicized about the potential need for antennas."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090902517.html

Sony Follows the Met Opera to the Movies
MusicalAmerica.com, 9/4/2008
"With such phrases as 'for the first time ever,' Sony Pictures’ Hot Ticket division has announced plans to 'cinecast' the final performance of 'Rent,' which closes on Sunday after a 12-year run on Broadway. The event will be cinecast in 'select movie theaters....utilizing the latest in High-Definition video and digital audio technology.'. . . Are Hollywood and Broadway following in the Met Opera’s HDTV footsteps?"
http://www.musicalamerica.com/news/newsstory.cfm?archived=0&storyid=18834&categoryid=1

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Culture and Communities
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Acting out contributes to brain health as we age, study shows
Chicago Tribune, 9/7/2008
"For nearly 15 years, Helga and Tony Noice have been studying how acting skills can improve brain function in older people. They've documented that memory, comprehension and problem-solving skills all improve in people who apply mental exercises used by actors. And now, with a third grant from the National Institutes of Health, they'll be able to share what they've learned with a wider audience."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0907-health-actingsep07,0,6898813.story

Braddock's mosaic and other such public art projects may help revitalize communities
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), 9/5/2008
In Braddock, PA, "Mayor John Fetterman is hoping to transform the distressed borough -- both aesthetically and economically -- partly by making Braddock an arts community."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08249/909534-42.stm

Market will help make Concord an arts capital
Concord Monitor (NH), 9/8/2008
As Concord, NH, continues to develop its Creative Economy Plan, a Concord Monitor editorial suggest that affordable live and work spaces will be key. "High rents and housing costs are the biggest roadblock in the path of a truly explosive arts scene. Concord lacks the old mill buildings and dilapidated downtown blocks where young artists can afford to live and work. The trick will be to make such space available with incentives that don't involve subsidies that further burden taxpayers."
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/OPINION/809080329/1027/OPINION01

San Antonio arts community has a big-dollar impact on the city
San Antonio Business Journal, 9/5/2008
"San Antonio’s artistic workforce is painting the city’s economic canvas with a total impact of $3.4 billion, according to new figures calculated by Steven Nivin, Ph.D., chief economist for the city’s Economic Development Department. What’s more, as proof that city officials are continuing to mold San Antonio as a cultural hub, there are a handful of new initiatives — ranging from a city Public Arts Master Plan to the city’s largest-ever call for local artists to work on projects funded by the $550 million 2007 bond package."
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2008/09/08/story3.html

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Education and the Creative Workforce
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Improving Arts Education Is Key to Stemming Audience Decline, RAND Study Finds
AScribe Newswire, 9/8/2008
"Policymakers have underestimated the critical role of arts learning in supporting a vibrant nonprofit cultural sector, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today. The study was commissioned by The Wallace Foundation and conducted by RAND, a non-profit research organization. Despite decades of effort to make high-quality works of art available to Americans, demand for the arts has failed to keep pace with supply. Audiences for classical music, jazz, opera, theater and the visual arts have declined as a percentage of the population, and the percentage of these audiences age 30 and younger has fallen even more. . . . Calling upon evidence that experiencing and studying the arts in childhood increase the likelihood of arts participation later in life, the study urges policymakers in both the arts and education to devote greater attention to cultivating demand for the arts by supporting more and better arts education."
http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20080905.125810&time=07%2000%20PDT&year=2008&public=0

Arts funding for schools faces state budget ax
Sacramento Bee (CA), 9/4/2008
"Just two years ago, the state of California made a strong statement that it wanted its students to enjoy education in such arts and music programs. The state's one-time infusion of $500 million was the nation's largest single investment ever in arts education. It was followed with $105 million in annual funding. . . . But the current budget crisis may undo the state's renewed commitment to the arts. Elizabeth Graswich, Elk Grove Unified School District's director of communications, said her district worries the ongoing arts funding may not survive a proposed 6.5 percent cut to schools' categorical funding in the 2008 budget."
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1209049.html

Britain seeks math teachers and ballet dancers
Reuters UK, 9/9/2008
"Britain needs more math teachers, hovercraft officers and ballet dancers, according to a draft list of occupations with a shortage of workers published by a government advisory body on Tuesday."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUKL93790820080909

Specialties abound in San Mateo schools
San Francisco Chronicle, 9/10/2008
"In a grand 1,600-seat theater on North Delaware Street in San Mateo, actors sing and dance the best of the Broadway musicals. All are public high school students. . . . Nearly 19,000 students attend public school in San Mateo [CA], where the arts are thriving, and choices abound for younger students."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/08/SBFG11TT4S.DTL

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International Relations and Culture
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Cultural Theme Planned for 2012 Olympics in London
ARTINFO, 9/5/2008
"The London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) announced on Thursday that it would launch a four-year program of cultural events to lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Designed to highlight the country's arts and culture, the $70 million project will comprise 500 events, including a Shakespeare festival and a light show at Windsor Castle, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation."
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/28496/cultural-theme-planned-for-2012-olympics-in-london/

Drescher to become voice of US
Melbourne Herald Sun (Australia), 9/6/2008
"Television star Fran Drescher will serve as the newest envoy for US public diplomacy, with trips planned later this month to eastern Europe, the State Department said Friday. Star of the television comedy hit, The Nanny, Drescher will join baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr and US figure-skating superstar Michelle Kwan as envoys who help polish Washington's image abroad."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24303102-23109,00.html

Greece gets antiquities back from U.S. collector
Reuters, 9/3/2008
"Greece celebrated on Wednesday the return of two rare smuggled antiquities from a prominent U.S. collector and expressed hope other ancient Greek treasures housed overseas would one day be sent home. A fourth century B.C. bronze vase and the upper part of a marble tombstone were returned by U.S. collector Shelby White in August, a year after the Culture Ministry started lobbying to get them back on evidence they had been smuggled out of Greece. . . . In the past two years, the Greek ministry has launched a hunt for thousands of ancient artifacts smuggled out of the country. Many museums around the world have started returning smuggled objects to their countries of origin."
http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSL340449420080903

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Creativity and the Law
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Meet the Latest Copyright Scofflaw -- Meet the GOP
Wired, 9/5/2008
"Seattle-based rock band Heart on Friday informed the GOP it was not amused with the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket. Late Thursday, the group's hit song 'Barracuda' was blaring in the background when the presidential hopefuls kicked off their campaign at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Heart's publishers -- Universal Music and Sony BMG -- sent the Grand Old Party a cease-and-desist notice, marking the third time in as many months the GOP has been accused of hijacking copyrighted works as it jockeys for the White House."
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/meet-the-latest.html

No Fair Use: Rowling Wins Copyright Spat Over H.P. Lexicon
Wall Street Journal, 9/8/2008
"After four months of deliberating, Judge Robert Patterson has ruled that the H.P. Lexicon infringes J.K. Rowling’s copyright in the Harry Potter series. . . . Judge Patterson ruled in Rowling’s favor because the 'Lexicon appropriates too much of Rowling’s creative work for its purposes as a reference guide.' He also wrote that, 'While the Lexicon, in its current state, is not a fair use of the Harry Potter works, reference works that share the Lexicon’s purpose of aiding readers of literature generally should be encouraged rather than stifled.'”
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/09/08/no-fair-use-rowling-wins-copyright-spat-over-hp-lexicon/

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Public Investment in Culture and Creativity
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Ballard's plan to cut arts funding by a third elicits outcry in Indianapolis
Indianapolis Star (IN), 9/9/2008
"Arts supporters and anti-tax activists sparred Monday over half a million dollars in the City-County Council's hearing on the city's proposed $1.1 billion budget for 2009. Mayor Greg Ballard's plan to cut public funding for the arts by a third, to $1 million, next year dominated the discussion by about 25 speakers in front of a crowd of roughly 100. The council is scheduled to vote on the budget Sept. 22 and is not expected to make major changes."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080909/LOCAL18/809090371

Indy not ripe for arts fund
Indianapolis Business Journal, 9/6/2008
Sam Stall of the Indianapolis Business Journal suggests that a United Arts Fund "might provide that sorely needed cash" to Indianapolis arts organizations. "It’s an approach United Way chapters across the country long have used to raise funds for human-service organizations." Sixty-four cities have a united arts fund, according to Americans for the Arts. But the establishment of one in Indianapolis would face numerous challenges, the article warns.
http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page.asp?content=19582

Our Arts Funding Quagmire
Hartford Courant (CT), 9/7/2008
Frank Rizzo criticizes Connecticut's "loopy two-tier funding for the arts." Permitting some organizations to circumvent the state's competitive arts grant funding by lobbying for a special budget line is "political, unfair and inefficient."
http://www.courant.com/entertainment/columnists/hc-voice0907.artsep07,0,4407343.column

Republican VP a Museum Foe
artnet, 9/4/2008
"Much of the copious news coverage swirling around Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain’s surprise pick for vice president, has focused on the relative inexperience of the freshman governor of Alaska. . . . However, the 44-year-old Palin had proven experience with one thing during her brief tenure in government: slashing museum funding."
http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artnetnews/artnetnews9-4-08.asp

Wanted: A Healthy Cash Infusion for Italy’s Starved Cultural Institutions
New York Times, 9/3/2008
"Arts institutions across Italy are reeling from a sweeping round of budget cuts adopted this summer by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s four-month-old conservative government. More than $1.3 billion has been slashed from the culture ministry’s budget for the next three years. The cuts have affected hundreds of museums and archaeological sites that depend on state money, as well as opera houses, theaters, filmmakers, libraries, archives and conservators of monuments and artworks; they also threaten the lush countryside, which the Culture Ministry is expected to protect."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/arts/design/04pinc.html

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Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Business Partnerships
To view other recent "Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Business Partnerships" items, please click here.

Economy Causing Older Donors to Cut Back Gifts, Study Finds
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 9/4/2008
"The troubled economy is causing more older donors to cut back their giving this fall, while younger people plan to step up their giving, finds a new study by the Grizzard Communications Group, a direct-marketing firm that works with nonprofit organizations."
http://philanthropy.com/news/philanthropytoday/5599/economy-causing-older-donors-to-cut-back-gifts-study-finds

Internet Donations Boost Charities
Lakeland Ledger (FL), 9/1/2008
"Besides being a banner year for charities, 2007 saw more people donating dollars online, a trend that has some organizations rethinking the way they reach out to potential donors. . . . Although more fashionable with the 20-something set, online giving is catching on with the wealthy, older generation."
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080901/NEWS/809010367

Older Americans Seek New Volunteer Incentives, Report Finds
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 9/9/2008
"Seventy-three percent of adults between the ages of 44 and 79 volunteered for an organization in the past year, but significant barriers remain to tapping the full potential of these 'experienced Americans,' according to a report commissioned by the AARP. According to the report, titled "'More to Give: Tapping the Talents of the Baby Boomer, Silent, and Greatest Generations," "70 percent of respondents said they preferred to volunteer without a regular schedule. The same percentage said that a lack of time was a significant barrier to their volunteering, and more than half said another significant barrier was their need to make money."
http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=5636

Volunteering 'can help you live longer'
ThirdSector (UK), 9/10/2008
"Volunteering has a range of health benefits and can even prolong the lives of volunteers, according to a study commissioned by Volunteering England. Volunteering and Health: what impact does it really have? is a systematic review of 87 relevant health studies carried out by the University of Wales Lampeter's voluntary sector studies department. It found that volunteering also boosts confidence and self-esteem, reduces hospital visits, and makes people better able to cope with depression, stress and illness."
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/channels/Volunteering/Article/843394/Volunteering-can-help-live-longer/

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Announcements from the Community

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