Saturday, February 03, 2007

Miss America's seen better days

Andrea Arango, Cavalier Daily Opinion Columnist

MISS AMERICA represents the highest ideals. She is a real combination of beauty, grace, and intelligence, artistic and refined. She is a type which the American Girl might well emulate." These words, spoken by Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce President Frederick Hickman, commence the online introduction to the history of Miss America. The website, which goes on to give the biography of every single Miss America from 1921 to the present, is almost pathetic in its attempt to convince the viewer that this is truly a worthy endeavor. The pageant, which originally referred to itself as a beauty contest, but now calls itself an "achievement program," is nothing more than a joke.

The show, which once was held in great esteem, has lost its popularity over time, perhaps due to the gradual and building appreciation of women as more than just objects of beauty. While being dropped by ABC should have clearly pointed this out to the show's producers, it only served to drive them to a cable network: CMT or Country Music Television. Not everyone was happy with the move, for obvious reasons.

"Why is the Miss America Pageant being shown on CMT? That isn't country music! There are other channels for that stuff," wrote 31-year-old country-music fan Lee Walker on his Myspace.com blog entitled "CMT Needs Some Brains." CMT manager Brian Philips has a different perception of their recent acquisition. "Country-music fans don't live in isolation," he argued in a Multichannel.com interview.

And so, armed with a reality show, a ring tone, and armfuls of cash ($1 million to the person who successfully predicted the finalists and winner), the show moved to Las Vegas last year, hoping to reclaim some of its original popularity.In addition to this, the show was also moved off a date night, hoping that the Monday-night airing would attract a younger audience -- one who might otherwise not be home on a Saturday night.

More at the Source



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