So, who’s the latest person to be invited by ABC to join “Dancing with the Stars”?
As unlikely as it seems, the answer to this question lies in the words “Sarah Palin connection”, and the person in question is the Delaware Tea Party politician also known as Christine O’ Donnell.
Blame it on her unsuccessful run for a Senate seat last (while being endorsed by Sarah Palin herself) or having two left feet, the politician isn’t too sure whether or not she should participate in the show or not.
In asking her “friends” on Facebook, she received several comments but did not lead to any concrete decision on her part despite the fact that she was flattered about the invitation made to her. However, what she was sure about was the release of her book while continuing to remain undecided about her participation on “Dancing with the Stars”.
With the new season of “Dancing with the Stars” premiering on March 21, the cast members will be finalized and announced during the broadcast of “The Bachelor” on Monday night.
However, Christine O’ Donnell has been in news for a while now but not necessarily for the most pleasant reasons as she lost to Democrat candidate Chris Coons for one of the U.S Delaware Senate seat as well while also being caught on film, released by Bill Maher, admitting to dabbling in witchcraft while also dating a witch as well.
X Factor US has announced the largest award ever for a TV show. Simon Cowell the producer of X Factor announced they will be giving the winner of the X Factor a $5 million recording contract. Previously the largest TV awards were for Survivor and America’s Got Talent at $1 million each. American Idol does not offer a set dollar award, but provide the winner with a recording contract. While a few like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson have been very successful and may have made more than $5 million in their careers, most winners in American Idol have made average of $1 million in the year following their wins.
“We want someone that will be a global super star.” Said Simon Cowell. “If you win this competition I am gonna put my money where my mouth is.”
So where does one get to hear the best music and for free as well?
If one has to answer that question, it would be over the internet. Yes, one can listen to free online music at several radio stations that are available to anyone provided they have an adequate broadband connection that are offered these days.
And if you’re not aware of this, the truth is that one can access the most avant-garde genres of music all the way to mainstream music that is played on radio by looking for websites that are providing this service for free.
Of course, the format of radio has always been free, and whether you’ve enjoyed listening to country music or even jazz, one will find that these radio stations are as good as any that you will find in the real world.
For folks who are still in love with music from a particular era, there are a slew of radio stations that cater to these kinds of listeners as well, and when you do tune in you will find that there are a bunch to pick from especially if you’ve always enjoyed 80s music.
One way or another, the evolution of the internet radio station can only mean one thing, and that is the medium of radio will never die as it has always been free, and one where adoring listeners can always enjoy while doing anything else unlike television.
Television seems to be taking the center spot and is responsible for even driving music sales and exposure for artists. Over the years, labels and publishers avoided TV pacts, but with everyone in the industry looking for new ways of making profits, topped off with radio making its way to a slow death and music videos on MTV and VH1 being more or less rare – TV has now become a fairly important source for labels’ marketing departments.
A good example is when Mamie Coleman, VP of music and production for Fox Broadcasting spread the word to music labels and publishers of the need for a new upbeat tune for its January promotional campaign for American Idol and 24. The overwhelming response is evidence of the big impact of TV on the music production industry.
The profits can be huge. Veterans of American Idol have currently sold close to 40 million records, and have under their belt 60 number one hits and 14 platinum albums – all these are just for one TV show.
However, not all situations are win-win. Music deal-making is extremely complicated, with all parties tussling over the use of music, be it in snippets versus the entire tune, the most crucial of which are those deals that involve the internet and home video rights.
Major labels have so far shunned digital distribution, but now, with the shift in power, some major players have managed to get into the game with very low upfront costs and without the need to make use of manufacturing or distribution infrastructures.
Coleman says, “We have so much direct contact with the labels and publishers now. We are always getting people telling us they have the perfect song for ‘House’ or a great song for ‘Idol’. A lot of labels have performances for us in their offices, and when we like what we hear, we sign a deal right then and there.”
TV & Entertainment have taken a turn for the worst since it began many years ago. Many people do not keep up with what their children are watching and are using TV & Entertainment as a sort of babysitter for their children. This is not healthy or a good idea. Many children are watching programming that is not good for them to see especially at young and impressionable ages. It is important for parents to take control of the remote and limit how much and what their children are watching.
When TV & Entertainment first began it was filled with programing that taught morals and decency. Shows like Leave it to Beaver and Andy Griffith filled the screen with warm and happy thoughts of real family values. In previous years the families only had to deal with a little mischief here and there from their children. The fear of pedophiles, kidnappers, or robbers were not a big worry for the folks back then.
Children are now playing video games that are filled with violence and nudity. Some children are not able to differentiate between pretend and reality. Some have actually attempted to act out what they have seen on their video games, on TV & Entertainment programming, or in movies. It is the parents responsibility to let their children know what is and is not reality. We will probably never return to the days of purity and morality only being shown on television so we have to make adjustments for the well-being of the future generations.
Guest Post by Adrian Jilikian of Signal Television
As the internet has evolved has come the evolution of just what can be created with it. With the faster speeds and more accessibility to that faster speed has come the ability to watch television over the internet. All of the major internet companies are jumping into internet television industry and with this has ensued a huge battle between them.
The big battle has been between Fox and Cablevision as Fox has demanded some kind of compensation for their ability to be able to show their programs. Google has also gotten into the battle as networks have put a block on their ability to show their programs through Google TV. It is all become fodder for the big broadcasting networks as more and more of them are starting to have agreements with web based sites in order to be able to broadcast their programming online.
In a recent edition of the Washington Post, Marvin Ammori, a professor of law at the University of Nebraska said that ‘the future of television will hang in the balance in the next year.’ He went on to say that internet television is going to be like iTunes where consumers will be able to pick the songs that they want to hear. Internet television companies are going to be able to have the ability to allow users to have unfilitered and unblocked access to content. Ammori went on to say that the FCC is going to have to come up with ‘net neutrality’ and rules to prevent companies from blocking access to shows.
Radio has always been an integral part of our lives whether this was way back in the 70s or even now. Of course, the content that we listened to at that time has changed as well. Take for example, talk radio, which has obviously changed ‘content’ due to either restrictions or changing tastes of a new generation.
And there will be some things that never change due to the timelessness of its content, and in this instance, the reference is to gospel music (especially in the form of black spirituals that have been immortalized) which is loved by one and all, regardless of color, age or nationality especially if you are a Christian and understand English.
Since radio continues to be one of the major forms of entertainment today, most of the stations were only accessible within the United States, but with the advent of the internet, one can access several stations spanning jazz, rock and pop among a slew of other genres through the form of streaming radio. And for those of us who still love music from the eighties or the nineties, one can still find several stations over the internet that offer the best hits during those times as well.
The truth is that despite the onslaught of MTV, radio has survived and is thriving in several forms these days, and perhaps will never die because of its ability to evolve yet cater to people who still enjoy aural pleasures.
Youth entertainment, like The Chronicles of Narnia, Twilight, and Hannah Montana depend less on one-off actors and instead rely heavily on huge multi-year contracts. The cast is a crucial factor and can or break a movie or TV show. They have to commit a good part of their childhood to the characters they are playing. These, in turn, are the embodiment of the brand created for the production and are the life and soul of it. For instance, the Harry Potter series would not survive the loss of its star, Daniel Radcliffe.
Disney and Nickelodeon, in terms of children’s TV tend to follow more organized production schedules, aimed at minimizing work stress.
Paula Kaplan, Nickelodeon’s executive VP for talent says, “We respect the balance between work life and personal life. In our adult world, nobody accommodates us for down time. But in a child’s life on a set, we do take that seriously. At our studios on Sunset Boulevard, where we shoot ‘iCarly’ and ‘Victorious,’ the greenrooms are filled with games and Rock Band. We create an environment where they can have fun with their colleagues and take it easy.”
There is quite a bit of legal framework in place in terms of children’s workdays if you would like to call it that. Labor laws restrict their number of workdays, outline relaxation periods and breaks that must be built into production schedules, and a certain amount of breaks are also called for between dismissal and call-back. On top of all these regulations, children’s schooling ‘must’ take place during the week.
