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For The First Time In Its 167 Years, This Newspaper’s Reporting Is 100% Paid-For By Subscriptions

The Irish Times (like most outlets) always depended on advertising to fund its operations. This year, thanks to the strategy followed by its leaders (and the fact that it’s owned by a trust rather than an asset management firm), the paper’s 150,000 print and digital subscribers cover the newsroom’s expenses. - Press Gazette (UK)

Recent US Post Office Delays Are Hitting Publishers Hard

Recent USPS service problems aren’t exclusive to newspapers. But for a business where timeliness is baked into the value proposition, they can be uniquely damaging, leading subscribers to cancel and even, in some cases, threatening advertising revenue. - NiemanLab

The Broadway Director Who Helped Stage The Milan Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

Creative coordinator Sammi Cannold: “I think what would surprise people most is how mathematical it is. From the outside, it looks like pure spectacle and emotion. But behind the scenes, it’s geometry, timecode, safety protocols, wind calculations, the positioning of 35 cameras, traffic flow for hundreds of performers, etc.” - Playbill

How Russian Musicians Think About Russian Music

For some Ukrainian musicians, the new reality they have chosen is “no Russian words from my lips, no Russian music from my hand”, as Nazarii Stets, one of the players of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO), founded and conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, puts it. - The Guardian

Workers At Hollywood’s Writers Guild Union Strike Against The Union

The union maintained that “Guild management has surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in bad faith surface bargaining, showing no intention to come to an agreement on most of WGSU’s core issues.” - The Hollywood Reporter

An Evolving Notion Of Literacy That Explains Everything

Literacy literally restructured our consciousness, and the demise of literate culture—the decline of reading and the rise of social media—is again transforming what it feels like to be a thinking, living person. - Derek Thompson

Grand Rapids Ballet Lays Off Executive Director And Eliminates Position

“Grand Rapids Ballet has dismissed executive director Mary Jennings after less than two years in the role, replacing her with an interim CEO as the ballet rethinks its leadership strategy.” - Crain’s Grand Rapids Business

Why Frederick Wiseman Was The All-Time Best Documentary-Maker

Between 1967 and 2023, he made forty-seven features (nearly one a year), many of them running considerably more than two hours. His body of work, considered in terms of number of features and of total running time, is one that probably no one in his generation or younger can match.  - The New Yorker

How Consolidation Has Wrecked Publishing

Here’s the problem: Those Big Five control over 80% of the trade publishing market. Indie publishers exist, but they need more support—a lot more support—than they’re getting. - The Honest Broker

Judy Chicago Walks Away From “Nightmare” Google Project

The celebrated visual artist Judy Chicago has walked away from a major commission at Google’s headquarters project in the Loop, comparing an aspect of working with the tech giant as “a nightmare.” - Chicago Sun-Times

California City Reports $1.5 Million Embezzled From Its Arts Funding Agency

“The statement from (Fresno Arts Council), which handled public grants set aside by the local parks and arts tax for the past few years, said the arts council began securing records and initiating ‘appropriate next steps’.” Meanwhile, the City Council has removed the granting process from Arts Council control. - The Fresno Bee (MSN)

If The UK’s Biggest Institutions Are Struggling, There’s A Structural Problem

If the National Gallery – one of Britain’s leading attractions with over 4 million visitors a year – is struggling to balance its books, it indicates wider structural problems in the arts industry. - The Conversation

Russia Produces Great Artists. Why Not Great Science?

Russia produces world‑class artists and brilliant scientific inventors, yet few globally successful technologies. Why? - Nightingale Sonata

CBS’ Attempted Censorship Of Colbert Backfires Spectacularly – 10X Online Views As Typical Ratings

CBS lawyers tried to block Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas legislator James Talarico, but Colbert posted it online instead—where it exploded, drawing far more viewers than TV. By defying CBS and the FCC’s new “equal time” rule, Colbert turned attempted censorship into a viral publicity gift. - The New Republic

Algeria’s Most Famous Author Faces Legal Cases For Misusing A Terror Victim’s Story

Kamel Daoud's Goncourt-winning novel Houris is about a woman whose throat was slit at age 5 during a terrorist massacre and who can now barely speak. An Algerian woman — whose psychiatrist was Daoud’s wife — has brought legal cases accusing the author of using her life story for the book without permission. - The Guardian

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