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The Unpredictable Power Balance Between Othello And Iago, And How Actors Have Pulled It Off

“Othello is Shakespeare’s only major work in which the hero and antihero are given equal weight. … As the Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom summed up the dichotomy: It is Othello’s tragedy, but it is Iago’s play.” Ben Brantley considers 13 Othello-Iago pairs, going back nearly a century. - The New York Times

The Historic Buildings Lost In The LA Fires

It's been almost two months since the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena, including several noted historic and cultural landmarks like this one, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. - NPR

UK TV Exec Warns That AI Companies Are Extracting £125bn From Creative Industries

Alex Mahon told MPs that if the government pursues its proposed plan to give AI companies access to creative works unless the copyright holder opts out, it would put the UK creative industries in a “dangerous position”. - The Guardian

Small Nebraska Museum Says It Has Discovered Five Edvard Munches

Much like Munch’s iconic painting, this suite of five “never-before-seen” works made around 1893 all depict the main figure on a bridge alongside a pair in the background. In this case, the central character displays a range of emotions, from happiness to anger and boredom. - Hyperallergic

BBC To Cut Spending On Content By Almost $200 Million

A plummet in international co-productions is one major factor that led to an expected surplus for the past year becoming a £33 million ($42.5 million) deficit. (That followed a £492 million/$634 million deficit the previous year.) So the BBC’s content budget has been reduced by £150 million to £2.5 billion ($3.222 billion). - Deadline

Historic Landmarks Damaged In Myanmar Earthquake

“The most significant damage to cultural heritage sites appears to have occurred in and around Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and the home of many ancient monasteries and palaces.” - ARTnews

Now-Fired Kennedy Center VP For Social Impact Speaks Out

Marc Bamuthi Joseph: “Monday afternoon we began to construct a plan, because we engage with scores of arts organizations, and it’s not easy given … those fully-executed contracts to just say, ‘OK, this s— don’t exist no more.’ … Then the leadership decided that it was gonna happen that day.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Kennedy Center Employees Brace For More Cuts And Layoffs — But Are Its Finances That Bad?

“Staffers at the Kennedy Center are bracing for more cuts following the dismissal of several employees and a message from administrators that the performing arts center is in poor financial shape, a claim several of them dispute.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Ozy Founder Carlos Watson, Convicted Of Fraud, Gets Prison Sentence Commuted By Trump

Just hours before he was due to surrender to Federal authorities to serve almost 10 years in prison, Watson received clemency from the Trump White House. - CNBC

Former Director Of Santa Fe Opera Arrested For Soliciting Minors

Charles MacKay, who was general director of the summer company from 2008-2018, was arrested in March in Powell, Wyoming after having allegedly solicited two teenagers for sex. - Santa Fe New Mexican

Entire Staff Of Institute Of Museum And Library Services Placed On Leave

“According to a statement from AFGE Local 3403, which represents IMLS workers, the agency's staff was notified by email about being placed on paid administrative leave for 90 days after a ‘brief meeting between DOGE staff and IMLS leadership.’ Employees had to turn in government property, and email accounts were disabled.” - NPR

Canada’s Juno Awards Celebrates Canadian Music, Takes Digs At US

Michael Bublé handed Canadians a heartfelt dose of patriotism at the Juno Awards on Sunday, setting the tone for a night of not-so-subtle references to Canada's current tensions with the United States. - CBC

Hollywood Workers Protested AI. Now Hollywood Is Using AI

It was only two years ago that actors and writers shut down Hollywood with strikes demanding protections from AI. Now the technology is controversially creeping into TV, movies and video games. Two films honoured at the Oscars even used the technology. - BBC

Where Journalism Is Being Reinvented

What if this so-called “extinction-level event” isn’t the end of journalism but just the end of a certain kind of journalism? It’s a crisis, yes—for the people losing their jobs, for the old-school media barons, for the hedge funds. But for journalism as an institution? - The Walrus

A Musical About The End Of The World

The End has more than one meaning. On the surface, the title refers to the end of civilisation. But “the end” can also mean the purpose of something, like the meaning of life. As one of the songs on the film asks, how can we make a “life worth living”? - The Conversation

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