Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Netflix’s Algorithms Have Changed What We’re Watching
Algorithm movies usually exhibit easy-to-follow story beats that leave no viewer behind; under this regime, exposition is no longer a screenwriting faux pas. -...
What If The Moral Arc Of The Universe Bends Toward… Chaos And Confusion?
Reality, as we now understand, does not tend towards existential flourishing and eternal becoming. Instead, systems collapse, things break down, and time tends irreversibly...
What Does It Really Mean The “Reasonable” People Can Disagree?
To say that “reasonable people can disagree” can encourage suspension of judgment in response to important matters of personal and social concern. - 3...
The Last Days Of Arts Criticism?
Arts criticism has been vanishingly difficult to break into for ages, no one’s idea of a growth industry. But publications have managed to make...
Rethinking Where Broadcasting Is Now
Broadcasting no longer conveys a geographic monopoly on the distribution of content. It’s becoming clear that a business model based largely on the broadcast...
So What Really Does The Edinburgh Fringe Do For Theatre?
If it works for the few but not more widely – in particular, if it doesn’t work for global-majority artists or those breaking with...
How Are We Defining Art Movements In The 21st Century?
Gone for the most part are the -isms that defined artistic movements in the 20th century: Cubism, Surrealism, Fauvism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism. Manifestos too are increasingly...
Claim: Elimination Of Government Funding To Rural Public Broadcasting Will Push Stations Left
Instead of toppling our radio towers, the funding cut is just likely to make them lean further left. Was that the White House’s and...
Anthropic Settles Class Action Copyright Suit Brought By Authors
Anthropic has reached a preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by a group of prominent authors, marking a major turn in of the most significant ongoing AI...
AI Music Generator Suno Lays Out Its Defense
"No Suno output contains anything like a ‘sample’ from a recording in the training set, so no Suno output can infringe the rights in...
Giles Havergal, 87, Longtime Artistic Director Of Glasgow Citizens Theatre
Havergal, with his co-directors, the designer Philip Prowse and the playwright and translator Robert David MacDonald, ran the beautiful jewel of a Victorian theatre on...
YouTube’s Sneaky AI Processing
“They’re training us, the audience, to get used to the AI look and eventually view it as normal.” - The Atlantic
Rethinking The US Art Market
In the space of just a few weeks, four prominent U.S. galleries announced they would cease operations in their current forms. - Artsy
Egypt Changes The Visitor Experience Around The Pyramids
In April, the government announced the pilot launch of the pyramids area development project, leading to changes at the world’s most famous archaeological site. -...
The Secret To Teaching Students To Read?
After a few Fridays, I noticed that one of the most inveterate nonreaders was not only listening, but also looking at his book, even...
How CPB Budget Cut Has Impacted Rural Public Broadcasting
Several station managers across Alaska said they worried their station would end up with nothing more than an antenna to rebroadcast content created in...
Why Is The University Of Chicago Taking A Step Back From Humanities?
The move to scale back humanities doctoral programs is either a prudent acknowledgment of the cratered job market for tenure-track professorships... or it is a cynical...
Social Media Pulls Out Of Mississippi Over Age Verification Law
The company says that compliance with Mississippi’s law—which would require identifying and tracking all users under 18, in addition to asking every user for...
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water Addresses Leaks
Particularly problematic are the flat roofs and terraces that make Fallingwater so indelible — and provide the perfect place for water to pool. - Washington...
Is Edinburgh Fringe Being Compromised By Rising Costs
Fringe has long since eclipsed the original festival it was founded alongside. It typically sells upwards of 2.5 million tickets a year. But 80 years on,...
How To Talk (And Creatively Solve Problems) With A Chatbot
ChatGPT, as ever, was upbeat, inexhaustible, and, crucially, unfazed by failure. It made suggestions. It asked its own questions. Some avenues were promising; others...
Why Pittsburgh’s Three Largest Theatres Need To Merge
If the merger proceeds and is successful, it could become a national model for regional theater companies in other cities and states around the...
In Defense Of Peter Gelb
Mr. Gelb undermined his focus on new works with a comically misguided guest essay for The New York Times that managed to antagonize every remaining...
Broadway Theatres Oppose Proposed Casino For Times Square
Owners of 24 Broadway Theaters are taking their opposition to a new Times Square casino right to theaters goers by stuffing a pamphlet into copies of...
Can We Please Reframe What An AI World Will Mean To Us?
Rather than asking AI to hurl itself over the abyss while hoping for the best, we should instead use AI’s extraordinary and improving capabilities...
