Why is plight of the arts ignored by national media? Culture matters

EVERY morning I turn on the television to hear the latest on the Covid-19 pandemic and then linger for a while as hard news softens into more light-hearted topics.

Sport is always featured on broadcast media as presenters do their best to inject some enthusiasm into activities that haven’t been practised for weeks.

Yet there is never, ever any mention of the theatres, cinemas and various live music venues that are all suffering grievously during this lockdown.

Already, there has been at least one theatre in the Midlands that has closed and this may indeed be an ominous portent of things to come. It’s not just that the arts are valuable contributors to the British economy, we should also not lose sight of the fact that culture enriches all our lives.

Entertainment is essential to people’s general spiritual health and wellbeing – but you’d never know that from watching television. So why are the arts being ignored?

From: Henry Cobden, Ilkley.

IS anyone perturbed by the ‘dumbing down’ of Radio 5 Live?

It used to be a great comfort. Now it’s just full of self-opinionated ego-maniacs like Colin Murray whose sole qualification appears to be spouting drivel at the expense of licence fee payers.

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James Mitchinson

Editor