Going, going, gone?

FROM Carmel Audsley
Editor, Perform Magazine
e [email protected]
w http://www.performmagazine.com.au

Your editorial about dwindling arts coverage in the United Kingdom (APe-mail 196, 15 September) is true here in Australia as well. I used to work for the (only) major metropolitan newspaper in Brisbane, and prior to that was editor and publisher of a magazine devoted to the performing arts in Queensland. I had to let the print version of the magazine go because even though the magazine targeted arts patrons and potential ticket buyers, advertising revenue was going to the metropolitan newspaper because that’s where companies have traditionally spent most of their advertising budget. However in return, arts companies received limited coverage from the metropolitan paper and, as you pointed out, they are only interested in the ‘stars’ to interview. In place of the print version, I established a website a couple of years ago to give the performing arts in Brisbane the coverage they deserve, to educate and inform people who may not know about the arts, and, ultimately, to provide more bums on seats. It’s not a UK problem – the arts rank lower than a snail’s belly compared to sports in this country. How wonderful it would be to see achievers in the arts or sciences on the front page of our newspapers instead of a sportsperson.