This month, it’s (mostly) all about the Benjamins.
The Comcast-Time Warner Merger is Dead (and Other April Stories)
The mega media company folded under pressure from lawmakers, other mega companies, and everyday Americans.
Changes to Federal Rules for Nonprofits (and other July stories)
Policymakers approve budgets for the NEA and NEH and consider a number of changes to rules governing charitable donations, while the IRS makes it easier for small organizations to secure nonprofit status.
Late spring public arts funding update
FEDERAL Jane Chu is inching towards nomination as the next NEA Chair, as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to approve her candidacy with “no controversy.” Over the past few years, Republicans appear to be content to let the NEA languish in level-funding purgatory rather than continue to whip up theRead More
Early spring public arts funding update
FEDERAL In the recently released federal budget for fiscal year 2015, President Obama proposes a meager increase in allocations for the arts compared to last year. Federally-backed museums will enjoy the bulk of that increase, while funding for NEA and NEH is essentially unchanged after factoring in inflation. Speaking of those agencies, President Obama also announced his plan to appointRead More
Around the horn: campaign finance edition
ART AND THE GOVERNMENT A federal judge recently ruled that Pandora must continue to pay ASCAP, which represents song writers and publishers, a 1.85% composition royalty. It was a (not entirely clean) victory for Pandora, which was arguing against a rise to 3%. The Future of Music Coalition has a good primer on the issue.Read More
Around the horn: Flight 370 edition
ART AND THE GOVERNMENT Seems that New York City’s recent bill forcing schools to report out on the availability of arts education in its schools comes not a moment too soon: an audit from the state comptroller found that roughly half of seniors graduated from high school without having met arts education requirements. Denver isRead More