2005
SPEW VIEWER
Careful analysis reveals that the single greatest threat
to the Miss America Pageant
is the decline in the number of viewers of the broadcast.
Lower ratings mean less
income from the sale of commercials aired during the
pageant. SPEW addressed
one of the causes in the decline last year, lack of a
pageant host capable of drawing
a larger audience. While continuing that effort, this
year SPEW is again taking bold
and direct action aimed at increasing pageant viewership.
SPEW taped the pageant
and will, as in the 2004 season, increase viewership
by lending the tape of the program
and recording the number of viewers. At some point,
to be determined later, SPEW
will report the result of this effort. SPEW hopes
to inspire others to increase pageant
viewership and report the increase.
Here are some tips for others who would like to Save Pageant Everyone Wants.
Don't overdo it. We have found that, although a few people
are willing to watch the
entire pageant program, which this year was reduced to
2 hours, most people will
not be able to spend that much time. Last year
SPEW taped the first five minutes
and the last thirty, which seemed to be about the right
amount of time. People were
much more receptive to the idea of having the tape in
their home for a week, if they
knew that it was just thirty-five minutes in length.
Talk it up. Several months before the pageant, SPEW
suggests beginning mention of
the pageant. By the time there is some announcement of
the selection of the host, SPEW
increases both the frequency and the fervor. Try to get
a buzz going with questions such
as Do you think so-and-so is a good choice for pageant
host? Some people will become
so interested that they will remember the date and time
the pageant airs and will watch it.
Be understanding. SPEW has concluded that the Miss America
Pageant consistently
chooses a date which conflicts with almost everyone's
activities. It happened to us more than
once and that is how we first came to tape the show.
That is also how we discovered
that the pageant can seem longer than anyone really has
time for.
Be ready to make adjustments. This year Miss Washington
was a Golden Gloves title
holder as well as a violinist. We knew that taping
the first five minutes and the last
thirty would mean that viewers of the tape would not
see our state's representative unless
she was a finalist, and this year there would be just
five finalists. So we extended the
amount of recording time at the beginning of the pageant,
during which the pageant
participants introduce themselves. We hope this
worked and will let you know. We
recorded less of the end of the program so as not to
go beyond what seems to be the
limit. (SPEW apologizes for the
error which resulted in exceeding our 35 minute limit
by 15 minutes. Setting the tape
to start at the announcement of the ten finalists
corrects for the error, reducing
the running time to 28 minutes.)
Be organized. SPEW is setting up a list of weeks
and allowing friends of SPEW to
choose a week convenient to their viewing planning. We
may also use this list to
record the number of viewers.
Don't be too organized. Last year we found that
some buzz developed from the
viewing of the tape. Others asked to borrow the tape
because they had heard of its
existence from someone who had seen it. Try to
leave some open time in the
schedule as you sign up viewers.
Pass on suggestions. Last year one of SPEW's viewers
had a little party during which
viewing of the pageant tape was a highlight. The
viewer had a friend whose boy friend
had just moved out. The first five minutes and
last thirty of the pageant was just the
thing to go with the comfort food and commiseration.