UK: Local Economic Partnerships to replace Regional Development Agencies
"Ministers have confirmed their intention to abolish RDAs [Regional Development Agencies] and support the creation of Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs), to be in place by March 2012 at the latest. They have also indicated that some of the RDAs' current functions will continue at a national, rather than local level.
The Government has stated that a White Paper will be published in the autumn which will give greater detail and, we expect, clarify a number of issues – such as which work will be carried out locally, which nationally and which not at all.
RDAs accept this change is coming, and are committed to helping ensure as smooth a transition to the new arrangements as possible. Our main task in the meantime remains to support economic recovery and future growth."
(England's Regional Development Agencies, 2010)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
UK Film Council axed by the UK coalition government
"The UK Film Council became one of the highest profile quangos to be axed by the coalition government after culture secretary Jeremy Hunt unexpectedly announced its abolition.
In a raft of mergings, streamlinings and closures, Hunt also axed the Museums, Libraries and Archives council (MLA). ...
Film producer Tim Bevan, who chairs the council, said: 'Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation. People will rightly look back on today's announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK's more successful growth industries, deserves better.'
Since it was created by Labour in 2000 the UKFC, with 75 staff, has been responsible for handing out more than £160m of lottery money to over 900 films. Successes range from Bend it Like Beckham to Gosford Park to Fish Tank with the occasional dud - notably Sex Lives of the Potato Men - along the way. Last August the Labour government began consultation on merging the film council with the BFI."
(Mark Brown and Maev Kennedy, 26 July 2010, Guardian News and Media Limited)
Fig.1 'Centurion' is a Pathé Productions presentation in association with the UK Film Council of a Celador Films Production of A Film by Neil Marshall.
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
NZ on Screen: An Archive of Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Culture
"In 2007 NZ On Air initiated the NZ On Screen project as an integral part of its digital strategy. Since 1989 NZ On Air has funded over 15,000 hours of local television production. Much of this content, as well as thousands more hours supported by broadcasters, film investors and other funding sources, is not easily accessible to the public.
NZ On Screen is unlocking the treasure chest, providing access to the wealth of television, film, music video and new media produced in NZ, along with knowledgeable background information."
(New Zealand on Screen)
Fig.1 Murphy, G. (1981). Goodbye Pork Pie. Aotearoa New Zealand, NZ Film.
Fig.2 Tamahori, L. (1994). Once Were Warriors. Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Film Commission
Fig.3 Ballantyne, A. (2009). The Strength of Water. Aotearoa New Zealand, NZ Film.
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Acquiring new media works
"Museologists face a new reality in our fast-changing high-tech world. Works with technological components pose unfamiliar challenges and require acquisition procedures that differ from traditional practices. Primarily, this means giving careful consideration to the notions of copyright (intellectual property), conservation and artist collaboration prior to the purchase of media-based art.
The Survey of New Media Cataloguing Practices report, produced by the DOCAM Cataloguing Structure Committee, indicates that few museum institutions have established a specific policy for acquiring new media works. Yet a policy of this sort is an important tool: used to assess the characteristics and short-, medium- and long-term conservation and exhibition needs of such works, it can help museums make informed choices when envisaging additions to their collections."
(DOCAM)
CONTRIBUTOR
David RogersonSHARE
Reading ban on leaked Harry Potter
"Fourteen fans bought Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from The Real Canadian Superstore in Coquitlam on the west coast of Canada before managers realised their mistake [selling books that were under embargo]. But readers will be unable to share their knowledge after Raincoast Books, the book’s Canadian publisher, was granted a 'John Doe' injunction prohibiting the buyers from even reading their copies before the publication date.
The supreme court of British Columbia issued a court order preventing anyone from 'displaying, reading, offering for sale, selling or exhibiting in public' their books. J. K. Rowling’s legal advisers said that the author was entitled to prevent buyers from reading their own books even though they had not broken the law.
'The fact is that this is property that should not have been in their possession,' said Neil Blair, a legal specialist for Christopher Little, the author’s literary agent. 'Copyright holders are entitled to protect their work. If the content of the book is confidential until July 16, which it is, why shouldn’t someone who has the physical book be prevented from reading it and thereby obtaining the confidential information? How they came to have access to the book is immaterial'."
(The Times Online)
CONTRIBUTOR
David RogersonSHARE
