Federal Arts Endowment Sharply Cuts PBS Grants

[alp227]

Source: New York Times

The National Endowment for the Arts made sweeping cuts in its support of established PBS shows on Wednesday, and for the first time awarded significant grants to an array of gaming, mobile and Web-based projects.

Among the PBS programs receiving significantly less financing under the 2012 Arts in Media grants were “Live From Lincoln Center,” which was awarded $100,000 last year and nothing this year.

The Metropolitan Opera received $50,000 for its national “Great Performances at the Met” telecasts, $100,000 less than in 2011. WNET in New York received $50,000 to support other “Great Performances” productions and the same amount for “American Masters,” compared to $400,000 for each last year.

Paula Kerger, PBS’s president and chief executive, called the reduced grants “disappointing.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/arts/federal-arts-endowment-sharply-cuts-pbs-grants.html

[elleng]

1. Posted here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002611914

[Justice wanted]

2. I seriously have to wonder IF these cuts where being made to FORCE PBS stations and programing

to accept money from election campaign for advertising. Remember what was allowed a while back.

http://billmoyers.com/video/

Bill Moyers Essay: Keep Political Ads Off Public TV

[Archae]

3. Gaming???

As in gambling?

[elleng]

5. Gaming

'Both public and commercial media are in a fluid state, she said, adding that “as a federal agency I think it’s imperative that we assume a leadership role and help move the field forward.”

In particular, she said, the endowment hopes to encourage a public media sector for gaming. Among the projects the endowment financed were a University of Southern California video game that uses the writings of Henry David Thoreau; Power Poetry, from Odysseus Group of New York City, which encourages youths to write poems via texting; the Flea Theater’s production of a play using interactive technology; and Spelman College’s “HERadventure,” an augmented reality computer game featuring a superheroine.'

[n2doc]

7. What? No Angry Birds? n/t

[WCGreen]

8. Failed artists....

Shoot them at the large Museum to see if you can get one through the open window....

[penndragon69]

4. The republions are at it again.

It's bad enough that they have operatives in the management at PBS,who are hell bent on
de-funding and killing PBS altogether.

It's all about silencing ANY media outlet that has the power to speak out against right wing
fascist tyranny.

No money for PBS means more money for wasteful defense spending and corporate welfare.

[melm00se]

6. the overall

NEA budget (submitted by President Obama as part of his FY2012 budget) contained cuts of $21 million (source) with the following justification:

In the current fiscal environment, the Administration has chosen to reduce funding for grants programs
at the National Endowment for the Arts. The National Endowment for the Arts is working with its sister
agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities, to better coordinate and/or consolidate their
administrative functions in areas of mutual interest. Such efforts will help to reduce overhead costs at both
Endowments, which could produce savings that can be reallocated to partially offset some of the grants
programs.

p. 64 TERMINATIONS, REDUCTIONS, AND SAVINGS BUDGET OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

So while the Republicans have plenty of cuts to be responsible for, this one is on Obama.

[BlueIris]

9. What, too much slightly less biased than usual news and information? nt

[fascisthunter]

10. anything objective is liberal bias

according to corporate right wing owned media.