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In a recent citywide poll, fifteen percent- Review Please
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03 Jun 2012, 00:19
“In a recent citywide poll, fifteen percent more residents said that they watch television programs about the visual arts than was the case in a poll conducted five years ago. During these past five years, the number of people visiting our city’s arts museums has increased by similar percentage. Since the corporate funding that supports public television, where most of visual arts programs appear, is now being threatened with severe cuts, we can expect that attendance at our city’s museums will also start to decrease. Thus some of the city’s funds supporting arts should be reallocated to public television.”
The argument given states that funds supporting arts should be reallocated to public television because with the cut in corporate funding that supports public television where most of the visual arts programs are presented will impact indirectly on the number of people watching television program on visual arts and number of people visiting museums. The conclusion is unconvincing because it is based on several unsubstantiated assumptions of comparison of public television viewers and visitors to the city’s art museum. The council’s argument is seriously flawed as discussed below.
First the argument fails to show any correlation between people viewing television program on visual art and people visiting art museums. This is not evident that people who watch television programs on the visual arts also visit the art museums. It could be possible that increase in the attendance of the city’s museum was due to increase in tourist population frequenting the museum or because there was an increase in children between the age groups of 8 -12 years visiting the museum as a result of a number awareness programs initiated by the museum. So, it could be possible that though the number of programs on visual arts decreases, the number of people visiting museum will remain the same or increases.
Secondly the author assumes that the same group of people participated in the two polls. However there is no substantial information to state that the population of people who took part in the poll are the same. There could have been a surge of families who may have moved to the city within these five years who had nothing to do with the first poll.
Moreover author needs to state that whether decrease in corporate funding
For public television will cause a reduction of programs being aired on the television pertaining to visual arts. If corporate funding is normally geared towards programs on economic affairs & news, then it would be highly unlikely that the number of programs on visual arts would decrease. So an impact analysis needs to be done by the council before reaching any conclusion on the effect of the corporate funding cuts on the types of television programs being aired.
To conclude the main point about the relationship or the lack between TV viewer ship and museum visitors should appropriately taken up. Additionally the argument could be strengthened by showing clearer statistics regarding viewer ship and attendance, in terms of percentage of total population; Better understanding of the factors influencing the city’s interest in arts is needed. Without using such information the argument makes a hasty suggestion regarding city funds.