Ken Burns Loses Corporate Sponsor

The latest victim of the recession happens to be New Hampshire resident and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

He set the “gold standard” for public television documentaries through popular series like Civil War and Baseball and he breathed life into still photographs by zooming and panning in on its subjects—a technique considered so innovative it was coined the Ken Burns Effect.

Well, a large part of his creative genius was made possible due to corporate funding. About 35% of each film was financed by General Motors, and after 22 years the relationship comes to an end. GM re-evaluated and cut many of its sponsorships after requesting federal bailout money. The 12 hour segment The National Parks: America’s Best Idea marks their last collaboration and will air this fall on PBS.

Burns and his production company Florentine Films have lined up new supporters. Hopefully we will continue to experience the Ken Burns Effect and other artistic projects during the recession. Congress approved a $50 million allocation from the stimulus bill for The National Endowment of the Arts, acknowledging that the Arts not only provide an outlet for creativity, they provide jobs, too.

NYT:"Saving Federal Arts Funds: Selling Culture as an Economic Force"

Huffington Post: "Ken Burns A Victim Of Financial Crisis: Documentarian Loses GM Backing"

(Photo courtesy Ben McLeod via Flickr/Creative Commons)