2008 Woodie Awards
A Crowning Blow for Miss America
Amy S. Rosenberg
Issue date: 5/3/05 Section: Entertainment
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.- The woman in the long gown and big hairdo stands in the center of the stage, wiping away tears, surrounded by her fellow contestants, watched by millions in television land.
It is the quintessential "Miss America" moment -- except that it's not.
It's Nadia Turner being booted off "American Idol," and therein lies the problem for the Miss America brain trust as it desperately tries to get someone in Hollywood to rescue the storied old American icon.
The reality shows have stolen the tried-and-true Miss A formula, given it a few twists and left the girl paralyzed in her heels.
Still without a television contract five months before showtime -- ABC dumped the show last year after years of ratings declines -- the pageant is trying to stave off imminent meltdown by embracing an extreme makeover.
The Miss America Organization has hired the William Morris Agency to shop a pageant telecast reworked as a reality show, with competition stretched over several episodes, backstage access and possibly even an open vote for the winner. (For that, there is precedent: In the original pageant in 1921, on the beach, audience applause counted for 50 percent of scores.)
But change is always dicey in Miss A land, where protectors of the faith warn that they will not allow their girls to be embarrassed or subject to ridicule. Translation: no Simon Cowell, no bug-eating, no backstage backstabbing (hey, a Miss A contestant would never backstab, right?).
"We're not going to rush into anything," insists the guy in the hot seat, pageant CEO Art McMaster. "We're just coming off a bad relationship. We want to find the very, very, very, very best fit. We've always considered ourselves a reality show. Our problem is we are only one night a year."
Indeed, the multigenerational appeal of sitting before the TV, appraising candidates and waiting in suspense for the winner is a ritual that "Miss America" practically invented. Now, families are doing that two and three times a week with "American Idol," "The Apprentice" and the like. No need to wait for "Miss America" on a late-September Saturday night.
It is the quintessential "Miss America" moment -- except that it's not.
It's Nadia Turner being booted off "American Idol," and therein lies the problem for the Miss America brain trust as it desperately tries to get someone in Hollywood to rescue the storied old American icon.
The reality shows have stolen the tried-and-true Miss A formula, given it a few twists and left the girl paralyzed in her heels.
Still without a television contract five months before showtime -- ABC dumped the show last year after years of ratings declines -- the pageant is trying to stave off imminent meltdown by embracing an extreme makeover.
The Miss America Organization has hired the William Morris Agency to shop a pageant telecast reworked as a reality show, with competition stretched over several episodes, backstage access and possibly even an open vote for the winner. (For that, there is precedent: In the original pageant in 1921, on the beach, audience applause counted for 50 percent of scores.)
But change is always dicey in Miss A land, where protectors of the faith warn that they will not allow their girls to be embarrassed or subject to ridicule. Translation: no Simon Cowell, no bug-eating, no backstage backstabbing (hey, a Miss A contestant would never backstab, right?).
"We're not going to rush into anything," insists the guy in the hot seat, pageant CEO Art McMaster. "We're just coming off a bad relationship. We want to find the very, very, very, very best fit. We've always considered ourselves a reality show. Our problem is we are only one night a year."
Indeed, the multigenerational appeal of sitting before the TV, appraising candidates and waiting in suspense for the winner is a ritual that "Miss America" practically invented. Now, families are doing that two and three times a week with "American Idol," "The Apprentice" and the like. No need to wait for "Miss America" on a late-September Saturday night.