It's like oxygen: Media coverage, 24/7. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines. Surveys tell us that arts and culture matter to people, but driving that message home is a losing battle without the media.

The most obvious example: the media love sports. Even though a boatload of reports prove that more people attend professional arts than professional sports in Cincinnati (and nationally), sports is represented by full segments on every local newscast. Sports teasers run daily at the top of the front page of both local newspapers and each has a daily section devoted to sports.

Players are local celebrities, to be honored or vilified, but regularly appearing in the headlines and getting face time on TV.

At the end of the day, the media have told us what's important - and by omission, what isn't.

In 2003, arts and culture is going to make news. Choices about how to report the news - as isolated incidents or in the context of something a lot bigger than a Bengals season in terms of attendance, local economy and community empowerment - will make a difference.

Media coverage can change our community's perception of itself, and could invite us to think of ourselves as an arts community.