The following is excerpted from a letter I wrote to a news reporter for the Miami Herald who erroneously claimed Florida was in the subsidy business. The reason I share this is ANY TIME you read an article pertaining to our business that appears misleading or incorrect you should move quickly to set the facts. Letter follows:

The state of Florida has a film incentive program, not a subsidy program. Using the word subsidy is not only incorrect but a misnomer. It's tremendously important to understand the distinction. The incentive program is money provided for production in the can (in other words, once funds are spent and the product finished or completed, funds to offset are then provided). Spend an amount, get a certain amount back. A subsidy is provided up front as assistance, with no stipulations. A subsidy is a grant. Your misuse of such terminology is not only dangerous to the industry (because it foments animosity among those who do not work in it) it is also uninformed. A little due diligence would have prevented this, and I hope you'll take a little more time with your next article in regards to the film and television industry to ensure you are not doing a dis-service to the thousands of people who work in and benefit from it's presence, meager though it sometimes might seem.