Smithsonian Deal Was Not Made in Secret, Small Says

SMITHSONIAN DEAL WAS NOT MADE IN SECRET, SMALL SAYS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jacqueline Trescott]
Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence M. Small defended the Smithsonian's television development deal with CBS/Showtime Networks yesterday, saying the agreement was not reached in secret and that restrictions in the contract would affect only a very small number of filmmakers. But the Smithsonian will not release the contract; it will not even say how long it runs. Small said it is up to the Smithsonian to decide on what films might come under the restrictions. Small spoke to journalists after a closed-door meeting of the Board of Regents, the institution's 17-member governing body headed by John Roberts, chief justice of the Supreme Court. In a letter to the Smithsonian last week, two influential congressmen asked the regents to review the Showtime deal at their meeting. Small said the regents' response was being drafted and would be sent to Capitol Hill "in the next couple of days." He declined to discuss the regents' reply to Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC), the chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Smithsonian's federal money, and Rep. Norman D. Dicks (D-Wash), the ranking minority member.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801689.html
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