Last weekend, I was a member of a media panel at a provincial arts forum held in Saskatoon. I was asked as a publisher of a weekly newspaper to examine arts coverage; the daily press was also represented as well as independent radio and television, the CBC and an arts magazine.
The question we were asked to examine was: Can the media be a tool to raise public debate about and awareness of the value of the arts and the contribution they make to the people of Saskatchewan?
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The easy answer is yes.
As the only rural person on the panel, I felt called on to say something which I fervently believe to be true and which is not stated often enough – the rural areas are not a cultural wasteland. Contrary to the popular belief in some circles, there is culture and an appreciation for cultural events in our rural areas.
The rural audience of today is a more sophisticated one as a whole than has ever before existed. People are better educated and more travelled; their horizon is far beyond the farm gate and the town limits.
The town I call home is 120 miles from Saskatoon, yet we have people who think nothing of driving to the city for a concert, a play or an art exhibit, returning the same evening. This happens around the province, and I am constantly amazed that the people who run these events in Regina and in Saskatoon and other urban areas have not picked up on this rural interest.
Like many others on the panel, I made suggestions about how the media, in my case the weekly press, and the arts community could work together.
At the end of the presentation, there were a scant few minutes for questions and comments from the audience. One gentleman remarked that we sounded as if we were talking to arts publicists. He wants, he said, to see not a journal of happenings, but more in-depth arts reporting and analysis. So do I, and I wish I had the time to answer him.
I would have told him that we in the media do not possess crystal balls nor do we find things out by osmosis.
We need to be told when things are happening.
Sometimes we do find out for ourselves, but in these days of tight budgets and fewer staff, we of necessity rely more and more on outside contacts for story tips and ideas.
The day of the artist as artist, if it ever really existed, is past. The day of the artist as artist and publicist is at hand.
The bald fact is, if you want your story told, be it in the arts field or any other, don’t wait for a knock at your door.
Get out and knock yourself.
