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WFAA to Cover Local Performing Arts


by Jerome Weeks 22 Jul 2009 11:13 AM

With the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts set to open in three months, WFAA-TV has decided to assign arts coverage as a permanent beat to its longtime movie reviewer and Good Morning Texas regular, Gary Cogill (talking opera with Sister Helen Prejean, left).  Which probably explains his appearance this morning at the Wyly Theatre […]
CTA TBD

With the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts set to open in three months, WFAA-TV has decided to assign arts coverage as a permanent beat to its longtime movie reviewer and Good Morning Texas regular, Gary Cogill (talking opera with Sister Helen Prejean, left).  Which probably explains his appearance this morning at the Wyly Theatre for the announcement of the Jazz Roots series at the DCPA.

Mike Devlin, WFAA president and GM, is quoted in the press release stating an argument I used to make regularly (and futilely) at the Dallas Morning News:

“Sports teams grab headlines,  however on any given night just as many, or even more people attend a significant number of concerts, movies, theater, museums and other cultural happenings in D-FW than the large athletic events.”

He added, “Performing arts in Texas deserves comprehensive reporting.”

It only took a new, half-billion dollar arts center.  Welcome, gentlemen.

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About Jerome Weeks

Jerome Weeks is the Senior Arts Reporter/Producer for KERA. Previously at The Dallas Morning News, he was the book columnist for 10 years and the drama critic for 10 years before that. His writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, American Theatre and Men’s Vogue magazines. View more about Jerome Weeks.

COMMENTS

  • Lou Michaels

    YEAH! It is about time the Dallas arts were covered regularly by WFAA. WhooHOOO!

    • Wow! I hope that WFAA remembers Fort Worth and the great art scene we have here, too!

  • Vicki

    Hooray! Thanks, WFAA — and thanks Jerome and KERA for blazing a trail here in cyberspace.

    • Emily

      Thank you so much for giving the arts the equal coverage it deserves!

  • Cameron Cobb

    This is great news.

  • Lulu

    Yes! Dallas NEEDS this! Thank you, WFAA!

    • If WFAA would give local arts one tenth of the coverage they give Hollywood, all us local artists would have a career.
      WFAA if you love Hollywood so much, why are you here?

      I doubt there will be any real coverage of anything other than some trendy society arts events. WFAA is there to promote their parent company, Disney not Dallas and it shows year after year after year.

      As a local musician, painter, writer, filmmaker, publisher, in Dallas, WFAA and the other local networks are worthless when it comes to any support for any aspect of local arts.

      Dallas Morning News gave up having a reporter that solely covers local arts years ago. WFAA never did have one that I know of. And it shows.

  • Lynn

    I’m glad to learn of the new assignment for Gary, even though I will miss him in his role at GMT and as the movie reviewer. The Arts Community will have a great advocate for them in Gary.