ARTS

SMITHSONIAN BLOCKING ACCESS TO NATION'S HISTORY BECAUSE OF SWEETHEART
DEAL

JOHN HEILPRIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS - Two filmmakers were refused access to
the Smithsonian Institution's collections for their projects but
researchers generally have not been restricted so far by the
Smithsonian's semi-exclusive deal with a cable network, congressional
investigators say. The public has justifiable concerns nonetheless about
the 30-year contract between the Smithsonian and Showtime Networks Inc.,
a cable network owned by CBS Corp., according to the Government
Accountability Office. . . Filmmakers, historians, archivists,
librarians and other researchers have criticized the venture for its
confidentiality and its potential to limit public access to the
Smithsonian's vast public resources.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SMITHSONIAN_SHOWTIME?SITE=
MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


GAO REPORT
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07275.pdf

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