Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
The Classic Novels That Were First Rejected By Publishers
Six of the greatest works of modern literature were repeatedly and humiliatingly rejected by publishers and their distinguished advisors, who were blind to their...
Why Musicians Are Leaving Spotify
"The sound quality is horrible. The disposable-ness of music has become almost culturally endemic, and then obviously the financial aspect of it is a...
Data: How US Arts Are Doing
Both revenue and expenses declined in 2024, with average revenue hovering slightly above expenses. Average total revenue fell 25% while expenses decreased by 23%, leaving organizations with an increasingly smaller...
Is Writing Really Thinking?
Strangely, it means you’re not thinking when you’re reading. Does anyone believe that? - 3 Quarks Daily
The Essential Dohnanyi Recordings
Crucial to Dohnanyi’s conducting was his belief that musicians had to perform older music in a contemporary way. “I’m not interested in the Brahms...
Police Consider Charging Banksy Over Latest Mural
On Tuesday, however, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they are treating the mural as potential “criminal damage.” Should charges follow, the famously anonymous artist could...
Massive Leak Shows China Is Exporting Its Surveillance/Censorship Firewall Technology Around the World
Researchers found that it has been operating a sophisticated system that allows users to monitor online information, block certain websites and VPN tools, and...
West Point Alumni Group Cancels Award To Tom Hanks Because… You Know…
Hanks, 69, was to receive the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award, which recognizes an “outstanding citizen” who did not attend West Point and has a...
Critiquing Donald Trump’s Architectural Aesthetic
In the end, matters of “style” are not matters of “taste,” in some shrugging, subjective sense. They are matters of value. Classical minimalism, meant...
How To Break Free Of Your Digital Prison? Try A Little Boredom
What digital platforms take away is more than just our attention being “continuously partial” — they also limit the deeper kind of reflection that...
Why Did Public Trust In Universities Decline?
It is rooted in the widespread perception that they have become ideological monoliths, barely tolerating the expression of any conservative opinions on campus. It...
What Are Intellectuals To Do In A Time Of Fascism?
For the last couple of decades, we’ve seen a growing assault on critical inquiry, academic freedom, and safety, alongside the casualization of labor, rising...
Might These Ideas Save Classical Music Institutions?
Might London’s most civilised music venue have the answers that classical music needs if it is to claim the audience that is undoubtedly there,...
Report: Met Opera Looking To License Its Intellectual Property
According to the Agence France-Presse, “Gelb is actively exploring other sources of raising funds including licensing agreements of its intellectual property, as well as naming...
Anthropic’s Copyright Settlement With Authors Isn’t Good
Writers aren’t getting this settlement because their work was fed to an AI — this is just a costly slap on the wrist for...
Dissecting The Met Opera’s Deal Of Convenience With Saudi Arabia
As one of the foremost arts institutions in the US, the Met gets the funds it needs, and its partner gets the imprimatur they...
Anthropic Settles Class Action Suit With Writers And Publishers With $1.5B Copyright Deal
The settlement allows Anthropic to avoid going to trial over claims that it violated copyrights by downloading millions of books without permission and storing...
Update On Top US Funding Agencies
Work at cultural funding agencies in the United States—the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library...
What Latin American Literature Tells Us About How Authoritarian Takeover Happens
"To me, the greatest danger that Latin American literature foretells for higher education is the insidious way capitulation to authoritarians changes both individuals and...
Scientific Objectivity Is A Myth. Here’s Why
Scientist Ludwik Fleck is credited with first describing science as a cultural practice in the 1930s. Since then, understanding has continued to build that scientific knowledge...
16-Hour Waits To See Shakespeare? Ah, It All Makes Sense…
Blame it on the excitement over the $85 million renovation of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, or the yearlong hiatus that it prompted....
Downsizing? Powell’s Books Lays Off 18 Staff
The Portland company laid off 18 employees in July, August and September, according to a Powell’s spokesperson. - The Oregonian
An Arizona School Board Tried To Prohibit Arts Educators From Renewing Professional Memberships. Kids...
Arts educators and advocates successfully killed a proposed move in Arizona's Peoria Unified school district to bar arts educators from renewing memberships in their...
Smithsonian Museum Director Attacked By Trump Gets a New Job Running Milwaukee Museum Of...
“When I left the Smithsonian, a number of organizations reached out, and they were all different types,” Sajet told The Washington Post, adding that...
Kennedy Center Dance Ticket Sales Crater. Only Four Percent Of The House Sold??
Ticket sales are so poor, the Stuttgart Ballet will be performing for an Opera House between 4 and 19 percent full when the German...
