Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
LA’s Art Gold Rush Ends, Actual Work Begins
The carpetbaggers have packed their Hermès bags and fled back east. What remains? The unglamorous business of building a real art scene—one gallery lease...
Paramount Debt Rating Lowered To “Junk” After Warner Deal
Fitch Ratings downgraded Paramount Skydance’s long-term issuer default rating from “BBB-” to “BB+,” putting it into speculative-grade investment territory (aka “junk”). - Variety
Supreme Court to AI Art: Sorry, Humans Only
The high court declined to revisit whether algorithms can hold copyright, leaving AI creations in legal limbo. While tech bros rage and traditional artists...
Why Is It So Hard To Make The Case For Universities?
The “constitutive” role of universities cannot merely be announced to like-minded audiences or extracted from sympathetic courts. - Chronicle of Higher Education
The Role Of Arts And Culture In Turbulent Times
When the news and social media are flooded with opposing interpretations of events, outright lies, and about a zillion editorial style video shorts that...
Live Nation Anti-Trust Trial Begins
The government says Live Nation retains its grip on the music industry with strong-arm tactics like demanding that artists use its promotion services in...
Tilly-The-AI Actor Gets Her Own Universe
AI talent studio Xicoia, which created Norwood, has announced plans for a “rapid expansion” for the digitized actor. The developments include a digital universe...
The AI-Written College Essay And The Decline Of Thinking
Surely the most dismal prospect is that we will lose sight of our own forms of thinking and understanding if those terms are assimilated...
What If The Future Of Public Broadcasting Doesn’t Include Broadcasting?
If we were to launch a new local, mission-driven public-service media entity today, what would it look like? - Editor & Publisher
Why Is There A Shortage Of Understudies In Toronto Theatres?
For at least three years running now, shows in Toronto have been disrupted because theatres did not have adequate understudy coverage. - Toronto Star
Poet Threatens To Sue Arts Council England After Defunding
A poet is threatening Arts Council England (ACE) with legal action after a magazine it funds withdrew her work from publication based on her “social media...
Miami Public Broadcaster WLRN In Turmoil
The future of public radio in Miami is at stake in an escalating conflict between South Florida Public Media Group, which manages WLRN, and Miami-Dade County...
There Are No Psychopaths?
While it has been researched across hundreds of empirical studies – especially since the explosion of research in the late-1990s – there is still...
Lufthansa Changes Musical Instrument Carryon Rules After Incident
As of March 1, Lufthansa Group, citing “customer feedback,” said it would be applying “a new, more generous” carry-on policy for small instruments, such...
Too Many Basket Weavers?
Ontario is one of the provinces to see the highest economic impact from the sector, according to the report. - The Conversation
Turmoil At This Year’s Berlinale Has Some Wondering If Germany Can Run Big Cultural...
Some "wonder if the German government’s views on permissible speech, shaped by its sense of responsibility for the Holocaust and desire to stop antisemitism,...
The Louvre Scandals And A French President’s Legacy
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, is at risk of losing what could be a legacy-defining cultural project: a $1 billion-plus refurbishment of the Louvre, which...
How Paramount Finally Succeeded At Buying Warner
As much as David Ellison and his team had been telling anyone who would listen that his business would ultimately prevail in buying a...
In Walking Away, Netflix Won The Warner Deal
For Netflix, such a deal would have complicated the business model for a company that had already vaulted to a leading position in Hollywood on its...
Live Nation Antitrust Trial Begins — Will The Music Juggernaut Be Broken Up?
For Live Nation, the stakes are high — a possible breakup of the company, or at least a disruption of the lucrative business model...
How A Phone Ban Changed One School
Anton Caldwell, Shawnee's librarian for more than 20 years, says he knew right away the ban was working. The number of students visiting the...
Mamdani Picks A New Culture Commissioner For NYC
An experienced curator with a community-forward approach, she has held several key positions at Creative Time, the High Line, and elsewhere. She has even worked at...
Warning: Age Verification Laws For Social Media Are A Disaster
While social media bans may seem like a prudent measure to protect children, they are not only ineffective, they endanger both children and adults....
Ode To A Great Editor
During my own editing stint, I came to understand writers as prisoners of their own minds, pressed up against the bars of the words...
California Attorney General Warns Paramount Buy Of Warner “Not A Done Deal” Yet
Rob Bonta’s cold water on the Paramount-WBD fireworks comes a week after the CA Department of Justice opened a probe into any deal to take over WB...
