Finding Your Voice - Prep For Final Assessed Debate - Does The World Owe Artists A Living?


Chancellor Rishi Sunak created outrage in the creative industries with his suggestion that artists, musicians and other 'creatives' should retrain and get new jobs in the current times of Covid. With the creative industries contributing massively to the UK's economy and international reputation should artists feel aggrieved about Sunak's comments? And is it the job of government to sustain the creative industries? 

CRUCIALLY - as creative people yourself, how do you think your particular area of interest in media or arts will survive the current crisis? Do YOU feel that in tough times you should be supported by government if there's not much creative work about? Do you agree with the angry reactions many artists and creatives had towards Sunak's statements? Or do you feel artists/creatives aren't a special case, and should think about getting 'proper jobs' to support their creative activity? Is there a danger that the arts will just become a hobby of the rich if people don't see it as a sustainable career? 

FOR THIS WEEK'S DEBATE I WANT TO MAKE SURE that we are ticking off all the relevant criteria for Finding Your Voice and because of this it's important that you create a blogpost in preparation for this. Have a look at the learning outcomes for this assessment: 

1.    Demonstrate awareness of key target audiences (I think we definitely ticked this off when talking about TikTok and Fyre) 

2.    Discuss a range of key journalistic styles and approaches (I think we definitely ticked this off when talking about Music Journalism and Objectivity In Music) 

3.    Outline a personal brand - THIS is the one I'm not sure we've thoroughly touched upon yet. THEREFORE IT'S IMPORTANT THIS WEEK THAT YOU DO THE FOLLOWING

- DO write an opening statement - I would like it if it could at some point include/complete this sentence. "My goal is to eventually become . . . .' - here I would like you to outline what YOUR personal brand would be - what job/area in the media are you keen on achieving/working iu? What personal interests and abilities do you want to demonstrate in your media work? Finish that sentence with those details and we're good for that last criteria. 

Fundamentally then I'm not putting you on 'sides' for this debate - crucially what's important for you to get across in this final debate is WHAT KIND OF BRAND YOU WANT TO BUILD AROUND YOURSELF IN THE MEDIA i.e What kind of media work do you want to do, and how you feel you might respond to Sunak's comments and the tough times Covid is posing for all people involved in the creative industries. 


Useful Links/Further Reading 

https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/news/ourworldwithout-open-letter-chancellor-and-secretary-state-digital-culture-media-and-sport

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/08/the-arts-rishi-sunak-job-chancellor-hope

https://fullfact.org/economy/rishi-sunak-arts-opportunities/

https://www.radiox.co.uk/news/music/artists-react-rishi-sunak-hits-out-misreporting/

https://www.thenational.scot/news/18785702.a-little-turd-scottish-artists-rishi-sunaks-arts-comments/

https://thequietus.com/articles/28978-uk-music-industry-reacts-rishi-sunak-economic-plan-coronavirus

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/10/rishi-sunaks-freudian-slip-on-the-arts

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/rishi-sunak-arts-workers-jobs-coronavirus-employment-liam-gallagher-b834074.html

http://forgetoday.com/2020/10/19/dear-rishi-sunak-the-arts-are-a-viable-career-and-they-cannot-be-ignored/


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