[JPL] Panel proposal

[Arturo]

I attended the TAAC Open Dialogue conference of the Association of American
Cultures which was held here in Downtown Denver last week and learned about
a myriad of important issues we'll be facing in the very near future. I am a
forever optimist and dislike doomsday scenarios however there is a possible
legislative move that could seriously hamper the arts in the future if
passed, it's the "flat line tax" reform that will eliminate tax deductions
or benefits for non-profits and for the firms that donate monies for the
arts. Another fact that surprised me to learn is that as late as 1972 the
top ten pop charts accounted 85% of the entire music industry sales,
currently the top ten pop charts account for only 13% of the market share. I
have an entire folder full of other stats and information that has radically
changed my view on the future of the arts as a whole in the US and how
public radio must change in order to survive and be relevant, not just a
blip on the screen. With that in mind I propose a panel titled "How What We
Know Is Standing In The Way Of What We Need To Learn"  In this panel we can
discuss the rapidly and radically changing world of the arts and public
radio and how we ought to completely change our mindsets and perspectives,
how we need to revamp our plans and strategies and not rely on what we've
learned in the past because it's losing validity. How we can change our
obsession with the object, in our case jazz and creative music and focus on
being consciously responsive to the dynamic environment.

I understand this approach calls for us to completely change our way of
doing business day-to-day and requires a commitment to opening our minds to
novel ideas taking us out of our comfort zones that we are so accustomed to,
some of us might not care because it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks,
besides we may not be around in the next 5-7 or 10 years, however if we are
truly dedicated to passing the torch of our patrimony and livelihood then we
must not rest on our laurels, we must adjust to the changing world around us
and alter our game plan.

Arturo Gómez