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Kennedy Center Ticket Plan Adds a Board Seat to the Checkout Questions
· New York time
The Kennedy Center plans to switch to Ticketmaster, raising conflict-of-interest concerns because former center president Richard Grenell was a paid board member of Ticketmaster's parent company while the parties were negotiating, NPR reported. The overlap is the reason for the concern. A ticketing arrangement affects how audiences access events, and a paid board role at the provider's parent company raises questions about how the negotiation was handled. The reported relationship is not itself a finding of wrongdoing. For a cultural institution, the choice of ticketing provider is both a practical business decision and a matter of public confidence. Patrons encounter the outcome at the point of purchase, but the questions about the arrangement begin earlier, when the parties are negotiating. An explanation of the decision-making process can help people understand how competing interests were addressed. The relevant issue is not whether a ticketing company has a parent company, but the timing of Grenell's paid role alongside the talks involving the center. Ticket buyers are accustomed to finding extra information at checkout. This time, the additional question sits behind the counter: who was on which board while the ticketing arrangement was being discussed? The seating chart has become part of the story.
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