Editorials
533 results
Page 49
When a communicator blames his audience
When a playwright blames his critics: An open letter to Itamar Moses
Not many playwrights have the guts to declare, as Itamar Moses recently did, that critics are “fragile and infantile.” Unfortunately, in the process Moses also violated one of the first laws of professional communicators: “Never blame your audience.”
Editorials
5 minute read
A colloquy: Playwrights and their critics
Playwrights, critics and the Internet— and where does Broad Street Review fit in?
In an exchange of e-mails, director/designer David O'Connor chastises Dan Rottenberg for heavy-handed editing and for his critics' “unprofessional and inappropriate” behavior. Dan Rottenberg responds: Why should theater people monopolize the right to free expression and the right to be different?
Editorials
9 minute read
Are theatrical readings necessary?
The Hairy Ape as a work in progress: Why do theater companies hold advance readings?
Behind BSR's recent controversy over critics who review theater readings lurks a more fundamental question: Why do theater companies hold readings and previews of unfinished works in the first place? And why haven't other artists— like, say, Beethoven and Picasso— followed suit?
Editorials
5 minute read
Blinking at Malcolm Gladwell's tipping point
When outliers blink at the tipping point: Malcolm Gladwell discovers the obvious
What do Jesus, Lenin, Osama bin Laden and Martin Van Buren have in common? All somehow escaped the notice of the facile pop sociologist Malcolm Gladwell.
Editorials
5 minute read
Momentous local events since 1908
Momentous local events since 1908: A few that Philadelphia Magazine overlooked
Philadelphia Magazine celebrated its 100th birthday in December by picking the region's 100 most momentous events since 1908. Who could argue with the magazine's #1 choice: the invention of the cheese steak sandwich in 1930 (three places ahead of Penn's invention of the computer in 1946)? But grouches may quibble with some other selections. Browse the magazine's full list and then consult my list of crucial moments Philadelphia overlooked.
Editorials
5 minute read
Chris Satullo at WHYY: Solution or problem?
The journalist as social worker: My problem with Chris Satullo
After 11 years at the helm of WHYY, Bill Marrazzo has finally hired someone to oversee the public broadcaster's radio, TV and Internet news operations. Now for the bad news: The new position will be filled by the Inquirer's former editorial page editor and columnist, Chris Satullo. What do Marrazzo and Satullo have in common? Both men think like social workers instead of broadcasters.
Editorials
6 minute read
Postmodern art, postmodern finance?
The arrogance of bankers (and other dubious explanations for the financial meltdown)
The New Yorker's John Lanchester recently equated financial derivatives with postmodern art and literature. In today's financial markets, Lanchester argued, “value” is as difficult to understand as “meaning” in literary deconstruction. It's an intriguing analogy, but also a very shallow one.
Editorials
3 minute read
Bill Marrazzo's WHYY pay package
What price Public TV?
Bill Marrazzo and the $740,000 question
Bill Marrazzo’s compensation as president of WHYY has been assailed by the Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine alike. They say he makes more than anyone in public broadcasting while delivering much less. These quantitative comparisons, while valid, strike me as beside the point. It’s not Marrazzo’s compensation per se that alarms me, but his board’s fuzzy rhetorical contortions (as well as Marrazzo’s) in response to the furor.
Editorials
6 minute read
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Obama limericks
The Obama limerick sweepstakes: Round 1
Can a humorist spoof a black president's race without sounding racist? Let me take a crack at it.
Editorials
1 minute read
Derivatives and the World Series
The second crash of '08:
Our 'derivative' World Series
What do Wall Street and the World Series have in common? Both require widespread suspension of disbelief in order to function effectively. And both collapsed this fall, raising several awkward questions, such as: Did the two teams playing in this year’s World Series really deserve to be there?
Editorials
5 minute read