Amid all the sturm und drang about the dying American newspaper business, there’s been a slow build-up of enthusiasm for the notion of non-profit journalism. While there’s some naïveté in the idea that non-profit status can magically fix a broken business model, I can’t help but be attracted to the idea of journalism as public [...]
Barry Hessenius has posted an interview with me on his eponymous blog. For the record, I’ve never been a particularly tactful person, so it’s not like this is anything new or deliberate.
Today’s NY Times features a sloppy article on the “snags” associated with non-profit/for-profit hybrid business models. I’m thrilled that the mainstream media is talking about this stuff, since it’s been a favorite subject of mine for years, but the reporting is rife with factual errors and dubious conclusions.
First, call me a nitpicker, but I’m really [...]
For the past several years, my morning coffee companion has been “You’ve Cott Mail,” a daily roundup of the very latest arts industry news distilled into a simple email, readable in under five minutes. In my opinion, any professional in the performing arts should view it as their Daily Variety – vital for staying abreast [...]
A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of presenting at the Missouri State University Public Affairs Conference on emerging new models for the non-profit sector.
The presentation is now online if you’re interested in that kind of thing. I should warn you that it includes some clips of my PowerPoint but they got screwed [...]
I was in DC yesterday for a presentation/discussion of the NEA’s 2008 Survey on Public Participation in the Arts. The report is accessible and worth a quick read, but I can summarize its findings in one sentence: public participation in the arts is seriously in decline. This is true across essentially all audience demographics and [...]
Artists are natural entrepreneurs. In general, they are innovative, enthusiastic, hard-working, highly intelligent, and resourceful. That last attribute is the subject of this post…resourcefulness.
Entrepreneurs come up with a great idea, then go out and find the resources or develop the capabilities to “make it happen.” Or, they look at what they already have available and [...]
Andrew Taylor nicely summarizes what lots of folks are talking about these days:
[T]he economy is delivering a gut punch to so many cultural organizations, and the people and organizations that support them. Endowments are down 30 to 50 percent…. Foundation endowments are down, too, so some grants and gifts that were expected are being delayed [...]
I’ve often argued that the traditional non-profit model discourages necessary risk-taking. It does this for a few reasons:
1) Employees can’t own stock, so they don’t benefit from financial success. Yet they’re still vulnerable to financial failures (i.e. they can lose their jobs or suffer career setbacks). To a lesser extent, the same is true for [...]
Novelist Tao Lin has invented a provocative new way for artists to sell out.
I am offering 60% of the U.S. royalties of my second novel to “the public”.
I am selling 6 shares (of 10% of the U.S. royalties of my second novel) for $2000 per share.
For each share you own you will receive 10% of [...]
This link requires a Fractured Atlas membership to access.
Login