First, we reported that the government deep-sixed the PromArt program, a grant program run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade that helped cover the travel costs of Canadian artists and cultural groups to spread a little bit of Canada on to foreign shores.... The Post's Kelly McParland says: It’s possible that Ottawa is just as petty as its critics claim, and is using [former CBC broadcaster Avi] Lewis [who received PromArt funding] and the other cases to mask its retreat from funding culture and the arts.... The Globe and Mail's New York-based arts reporter Simon Houpt does not: ...the vast majority of the funds sent abroad artists and companies that Stephen Harper would enjoy with his wife and kids: $8,000 to send Newfoundland's Duo Concertante dance company to China; $30,000 for the acclaimed experimental circus troupe Les 7 doigts de la main to give 42 performances in Mexico and Germany; $15,000 to The Nickle Arts Museum of Alberta to present an exhibition for six months in Poland.

My friend and former colleague Bill Dunphy has a thoughtful analysis Bill has some favourable things to say about National Post's response to the blasts although he says the mainstream media have some lessons to learn in the wake of the coverage. Here's the top lines from Bill's posts on the subject: About two hours before this morning's grey dawn, a series of explosions tore through a propane depot in the northwest corner of the city, shaking buildings and homes, shattering windows and waking people as far as 10 kms distant from the scene.... This was breaking news with a capital 'B' and at this point, six hours distant from that 3:30 am blast, it offers some intriguing lessons in how coverage of these events is evolving in a world where digital cameras and web access are almost ubiquitous.

Hill Times reporter Harris MacLeod talks to me, Paul Wells, and Don Martin about the Prime Minister's director of communication Kory Teneycke and changes to the PMO's communications strategy since he succeeded Sandra Buckler last month: PMO's media charm offensive very much alive, Cabinet ministers more available 'Reporters, myself very much among them, are extremely susceptible to mistreatment and to flattery,' says Paul Wells The PM's new chief of staff Guy Giorno and new director of communications Kory Teneycke seem to be implementing a more friendly, accessible and available approach to dealing with the Parliamentary Press Gallery, but CanWest reporter David Akin said the government's dumping of three negative reports on the Friday before a long weekend shows that the message is still tightly managed. "I get the impression that things are shaking loose, that there's different, new protocols for ministers to be made available to media, but again I'm not so sure how that's going to shake out," Mr. Akin told HT last week.... I happened to be working and that came out Friday before a long weekend at 6 p.m., and do you think we found [Foreign Affairs] Minster [David] Emerson [Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.] anywhere to talk about it?