Kennedy Center to Help Arts Programs in Economic Trouble

"Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative" was announced this morning. Essentially, the program is a high-tech support service through which arts administrators can talk to the center's personnel about shrinking income, budget-conscious audiences and other difficulties in keeping the doors open.

"Crisis" is not too harsh a word, says Kaiser, 55, the center's president. "You see this multiple whammy. The length and depth of this economic downturn is unprecedented in my lifetime."