i
■The Haydon Art Gallery director
takes at a look at the art scene from a
different perspective, making the
move to work as an arts reporter for an
online newspaper.
BY MELANIE MENSCH
For the past 12 years, arts and enter
tainment journalists have asked, prodded
and interviewed Anne Pagel. Now, the
director of the Haydon will be the one ask
ing the questions.
Leaving her job at the Haydon Art
Gallery, 335 N. 8th St., Suite A, Pagel will
begin her new career Sept. 15 as an arts
and entertainment writer for
NE.StatePaper.com, a free Internet news
paper Web site.
“It’s hard (to leave),” Pagel said,
“because I’m so attached to the Haydon.
But I know the people there are capable
and able to continue the Haydon’s suc
cess.”
Teliza Rodriguez, who served as
Pagel’s assistant for the past year, is now
the gallery’s manager. Alyssa DeFrain, for
mer administrative assistant, steps up as
office manager.
“Teliza has a magnetic personality
and a great sense of art,” Pagel said. “The
Haydon's success is due to the energy of a
whole lot of people. It’s very upbeat.”
Although Pagel said writing for the art
community was an exciting opportunity,
she will miss the Haydon.
“It was a satisfying experience,” she
said. “I’m going to miss working directly
with the art and the artists.”
As a budding journalist, Pagel will
report not only on art galleries and
exhibits, but architecture, music, per
forming arts and other entertainment
performances stateA e.
“Nebraska has a responsive audience
for the arts,” she said. “With the number
of art galleries between Lincoln and
Omaha and the rest of the state, there’s no
shortage of good stuff. Now 1 can encour
age others to go as well as critique what’s
going on.”
Produced by the Integrated
Publication and Information Systems
Institute, StatePaper.com offers every
thing a traditional newspaper would
have: news, politics, sports, opinion and
business along with arts and entertain
ment.
However, the 1-year-old Web site
breaks the mold of traditional journalism
by being a strictly online newspaper,
which is free to subscribers.
Ed Howard, managing editor of
StatePaper.com, said Pagel’s addition to
the staff was a blessing.
“Her reputation at the Haydon far
exceeds Lincoln, even Nebraska for that
matter,” he said. “She has an outstanding
knowledge of art, both on the aesthetic
and promotional level. It is exceedingly
difficult to imagine someone better.”
Pagel’s door of opportunity opened
last summer when she wrote freelance
stories for StatePaper.com.
“I don't really have any journalism
training,” she said. “But every single job
I've had was a writing job. Whether it was
press releases, newsletters or essays, I was
always required to write something.”
Pagel said her art expertise would
benefit her writing style.
"At the Haydon, I was constantly cri
tiquing art. Now I have to effectively com
municate art to people with good, solid
information and a credible interpreta
tion,” she said.
Although being married to UNL jour
nalism associate professor Bud Pagel may
be an added bonus, Pagel said reporting is
her job now, not her husband’s.
“Don’t think for a minute that Bud’s
writing for me,” she said with a laugh.
“He’s been a huge help over the years
with critiquing. He tells me what makes
writing better, but I’m the one writing the
stories."
--__
J2K-_.... v ——■_____I
Jennifer Lund/DN
After 12% years, Anne Pagel is leaving her position as director of the Haydon Gallery to become an arts and entertainment writer. She will be writing for
a Web newspaper, NE.StatePaper.com.
J
Movie industry rebuts allegations
it targets youth with R-rated films
■A recent Federal Trade
Commission report will be the
subject of a hearing today in
the Senate Commerce
Committee.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — As a par
ent, Kevin Foxe understands the
concern over marketing Violent
films to children.
But as a filmmaker, he knows
how important it is to have a
trailer for a new film screened
right before the audience settles
down for a blockbuster.
“I'm actually surprised to see
some of the trailers I see with
certain movies,” Foxe, an execu
tive producer of “The Blair Witch
Project,”’ said Monday. “I'm sit
ting in the audience and I say,
‘Why am I sitting with my kid
watching a trailer for"The Cell?’
“Yet if I'm making a movie,
I'd love to have my trailer in front
of the No. 1 box office movie”
Movie trailers were just one
target of a Federal Trade
Commission report issued
Monday accusing the entertain
ment industry of marketing vio
lent songs, films and games to
children.
The FTC not only criticized
the movie industry for showing
coming attractions for violent
films to young audiences but
also for allowing underage
patrons to buy tickets to R-rated
films.
The report, the result of a
yearlong study, concluded that
movies rated R - which require
an adult to accompany children
under 17 to the theater - and
video games that carry an M rat
ing for 17 and over are routinely
targeted toward younger peo
ple.
The FTC did not single out
specific film studios, record
labels or video game makers for
criticism.
Industry officials rebutted
the allegations, which will be the
subject of a Senate Commerce
Committee hearing today.
“We believe we are market
ing our material appropriately,
but we are reviewing our mar
keting practices to ensure this is
the case,” said Ken Green, a
spokesman for the Walt Disney
Co.
“There is no enterprise in
America that is more attentive to
the parents of this country than
the movie industry,” added Jack
Valenti, president of the Motion
Picture Association of America.
“Instead of bludgeoning us, I
think Congress should say con
gratulations to the movie indus
try.”
Representatives of the music
and video game industries
issued similar statements.
The FTC, hoping to avoid a
First Amendment legal battle, is
not pressing for legislation regu
lating the entertainment indus
try, but is calling instead for an
expansion of voluntary codes.
One theme struck by enter
tainment executives Monday
was the unfairness of painting
the industry with a broad brush.
Independent filmmakers, for
instance, said that while they
produce many films with violent
and sexually oriented content,
their small budgets prevent
them from doing the kind of
blanket marketing that could
result in inappropriate advertis
ing.
“A movie in wide release has
millions of dollars behind it and
the concept of targeting flies out
the window,” said Mark Urman,
co-president of Lions Gate
Films, which released the blood
soaked “American Psycho" this
year.,
“You’re going to touch and
reach everybody.
“In the independent arena
we’re forced and very careful to
aim our marketing where it
should be going. I don't think we
can be accused of creating
appetites that couldn't or
shouldn't be satisfied.”
And executives were unani
mous in rejecting any sugges
tion that the government should
regulate movie marketing.
“Our members have the
right to express themselves and
to tell a story the way they see it
as artists," said Cheryl Rhoden,
‘There is no enterprise
in America that is
more attentive to the
parents of this
country than the
movie industry.”
Jack Valenti
president of the Motion Picture
Association of America
assistant executive director of
the Writer’s Guild of America.
“The audience can accept or
reject that, but government or
other entities have no right to
suppress that expression. They
can criticize it and that’s certain
ly fair. But they don’t have a right
to attempt to block its distribu
tion.”
None of the movie studios
will be represented at today’s
hearing.
Stacey Snider, chairwoman
of the motion pictures group at
Universal Pictures, withdrew
her name after learning she was
the lone studio representative to
accept the committee’s invita
tion to testify.
“She has declined to partici
pate ... because it would be inap
propriate for her to be the only
studio head speaking for the
motion picture industry,” said a
studio spokeswoman.
'Survivor 'series
far from death
■CBS plans on running the
smash-hit adventure-game
show once again; creator Mark
Burnett is writing a book
to go along with the popular
series.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The next
chapter in the "Survivor” saga
is, fittingly, a book. THE book.
The official “Survivor" book.
Just out, it’s a good read.
Good enough, in fact, to remind
anyone who needs reminding
that - Doggone it! - a book can
be as good as a TV show.
“Survivor” The Book is co
written by Mark Burnett, the
brilliant hauteur of the CBS
adventure-game show that
gripped the nation this summer.
It may be a bit fatuous for
him to liken “Survivor” to a
“clever 'nature-based' way of
providing men and women with
an opportunity to discover who
they really were.”
Even so, the value of
Burnett’s book is that he alone
has the big picture.
Not only was he onsite and
privy to the 1,300 hours of tape
pared down for the series' 13
episodes, he was the guy who
hatched the whole scheme.
Published by TV Books,
“Survivor'’ is nicely timed to the
marathon rebroadcast of
“Survivor” The Series, begin
ning Friday on an almost nightly
basis.
CBS has dubbed this encore
“the Olympic Alternative,”
which it surely will be. For
“Survivor,” the game is over and
the million-dollar winner,
Richard Hatch, identified.
This time around, the 39
days on Pulau Tiga will unfold
not as a contest but as a drama
building step by step to the out
come you already know.
For an enhanced viewing
experience, you might want to
have the “Official Companion
Book” within easy reach, a bit
like an opera-goer bringing the
libretto to the performance.
Or maybe you’re among
those who too proudly declare,
“You know, I haven’t seen a
minute of ‘Survivor.’” Fine.
Consider this book a useful
crash course in cultural aware
ness.
So there you have it: a TV
series: a book. If only that were
all.
But it’s only the beginning.
There is no need (or space) to
recap the product tie-ins, mer
chandising strategies and cross
promotions represented by
“Survivor” The Brand.
Please see BOOK on page 9
