LA TIMES: MICHAEL DORF AS NEA CHAIR?

“The Obama transition has stayed pretty disciplined in keeping appointments under wraps until they become official. But it increasingly looks like Michael Dorf, a Chicago attorney who has played key roles in shaping arts policy in both his city and on a national level, is the leading candidate to become chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts in the Obama administration.

At least, he’s won the outspoken support of union leaders who represent workers in the arts and entertainment fields and who, after years of feeling left out in the cold about the NEA appointment, are energized by what they view as the president-elect’s interest in their opinions. On Jan. 7, about 10 top officials of these unions, including the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity and the American Federation of Musicians, took part in an hour-long conference call in which they interviewed Dorf. They did so, says Paul E. Almeida, president of the Department for Professional Employees of the AFL-CIO, to which the unions belong, with the ‘background understanding’ that Dorf is a likely pick for the job, that ‘there’s a there there with this guy.’”