THE ARTS

Status Stays Quo: The Washington Post, New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer have lost their bid for public access to subcommittee meetings of the National Endowment for the Arts where arts grants are discussed. A federal judge in Washington agreed that the newspapers were seeking to preserve the public’s right to know how decisions on arts grant applications are made but said access to the full council meeting, taking place today and Saturday, “is sufficient to ensure that interest.” The judge ruled the three newspapers failed to prove the need for an emergency order requiring that the meetings be open.