“It is occasionally indicated to us that we are apparently setting out to give the public what we think they need–and not what they want–but few know what they want and very few what they need. In any case it is better to overestimate the mentality of the public than to underestimate it. He who prides himself on giving what he thinks the public wants is often creating a fictitious demand for lower standards which he himself will then satisfy.”
Sir John Reith, BBC internal memorandum (November 1924)
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
