July 1st, 2005
July 1st, 2005
The Miss Florida USA contestants were shooting on
The Hollywood Broadwalk Friday afternoon
Miss
Florida USA show still strong as others fail
As
Hollywood hosts the annual Miss Florida USA pageant, critics say the
popularity of televised beauty contests has slipped.
Five out of 50 young women spent the afternoon filming short segments for the pageant that will be televised live July 9 on WSVN-Fox 7 from the Bailey Concert Hall on the Broward Community College Central Campus in Davie. ''I'm bringing a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to the pageant, and as soon as this stuff is over, we'll be chowing down,'' said Lindsey Norris, 23, a bubbly blond from Orlando. The contestants have spent months preparing for the pageant, which has been filmed in Hollywood for the past five years. Unlike the Miss America pageant -- the one in Atlantic City -- this contest showcases beauty along with exemplary leadership and entrepreneurial skills. There is no talent portion of the show. More important, though, is that Miss Florida USA will be aired on television. The Miss America pageant was dropped by ABC last fall because of record-low viewership and has yet to find a station to carry the show, according to The Boston Herald. Miss Florida USA will be aired from 7 to 9 p.m. July 9. Producers estimate it will reach 5 million viewers in Florida and will be broadcast in 32 countries. Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, said people just aren't as interested in beauty pageants as they used to be. ''It's a miracle that beauty pageants have lasted as long as they have in the center of American culture,'' Thompson said. Showcasing a bevy of beautiful girls on TV has not been a novelty for years, and especially these days, when cable television is flooded with scandalous reality TV shows. ''Ever since the age of Baywatch, the appeal of these things has gone,'' Thompson said. ``You can just get that material in so many other places.'' It may be possible to regain viewers if pageants follow in the footsteps of reality TV, he said. ''The problem with Miss America is, it all happens in one night,'' Thompson said. If pageants switch to a format that lasts for several weeks, it could be their best shot at survival, he said.
But
Mary Lou Gravitt, Miss Florida USA producer since 1979, said that isn't
likely to happen. “I think we
have enough sensationalized television,'' Gravitt said. ``Some tradition has to
be held.'' Gravitt said the lack of
television coverage for Miss America is upsetting, but she said it was just a
''little slump'' because there will always be a market for pageants. The winners
of Miss Florida USA move on to the Miss USA pageant, and the winner of that goes
on to Miss Universe.
Belinda Fischer, jogging past the film crew Friday afternoon, said she enjoys watching televised pageants every so often. ''It's nice. They are very popular in other countries,'' Fischer said, referring to Miss Universe. Fischer, who moved to Miami from Venezuela five years ago, said pageants are much more popular there. Frank Gutierrez of Weston, walking with his family past the filming, said they don't usually watch pageants. But if the pageant switched to a series, he said, ``it could be nice to see it for a couple of weeks.'' His daughter, Monica, 14, didn't agree. ''It's boring,'' Monica said. ``It's just people walking around and posing.'' Current Miss Florida USA Melissa Witek said she hopes the pageant will continue to showcase women who show extraordinary leadership and who work hard for charity, because ``then we'll continue to defeat stereotypes.''
»
Real Time Video of Friday’s Pretape Session: 
Check out all the action from Friday's Hollywood Beach pretape session
Enjoy this quick time video that the
WFOR CBS and The Sun-Sentinel produced of our pretape session at The Hollywood
Beach Marriott Friday afternoon. Seems that the South Florida press loved
us this past weekend as we were featured on WSVN-Fox, WFOR-CBS and WPLG-ABC as
well as articles in The Miami Herald and The Sun Sentinel.
»Kudos & Did You Knows:
Ms. Anderson assists a member of The New Freedom Riders
-
Kudos to Miss Tallahassee USA, Kimberly Anderson on forming
"The New Freedom Riders" a horse riding club for the
chronically ill or handicapped. It features socialization between
handicapped riders and non=handicapped riders, integrating people of
all abilities. Way to do a wonderful thing Kimberly!
- Kudos to Jennifer Olkinitsky Miss West Broward USA and Sarah Callahan Miss West Broward Teen USA as they assisted assisted in last weekends Sunshine State Games Track and Field competition. The world-class track and field complex in Coral Springs hosted the state championship and our ladies gave a helping hand during the events. Good job Jennifer and Sarah!
Ms. Olkinitsky and Miss Callahan with the Pole Vaulting
Winner at the Florida Sunshine Games
- Kudos to our Miss Seminole County Teen USA Savannah Stephens as she traveled to The Palms on The Las Vegas Strip to appear in MTV Hits. They have done a series of shows call "Summer on the Strip". Miss Stephens had a speaking part on the telecast as she revealed her favorite crazy summer story, VJ' Qudues did the interviewing. Look for Miss Stephens in five episodes that will air the week of 7/12-7/19/05 on MTV. Congratulations to our next MTV star Savannah!
Miss Stephens is stilling poolside waiting for her close-up!
-
Kudos to our Miss Southwest Florida USA, Alanna Giuliani who
traveled to London to assist at the Joseph Clark School for the blind
in London, England considered the best in the country for blind
children. Ms. Giuliani mentioned that she was
honored to be the first "beauty queen"(as they called her)
the children ever met. Way to help those in need Alanna!
»
MTV
films Boca Raton beauty queen for reality show pilot
By Nicol Jenkins;
Boca Raton News
Competing
for Ms. Boca Raton among a slew of brainy beauties would seem to be enough of
a challenge for Pamela Rindone. But it wasn’t. During the entire day of the
pageant, the local beauty queen also had camera crews filming her every move.
“The day of the pageant, I woke up and they were in my bedroom,” said
18-year-old Rindone. “They were following me everywhere. They watched me put
on my makeup and they even went to the drycleaners with me.”
Rindone was chosen by producers of the Ms. Boca Raton USA pageant and MTV’s
untitled pilot reality show about what life is like behind the scenes for a
beauty pageant contestant. Filming took place at the Ms. Boca Raton beauty
pageant on May 7 at Florida Atlantic University’s campus. The show is
expected to air early next year. “They were interested in the Ms. Boca Raton
pageant, and MTV called me and asked me if I would give them names to fit the
profile. They were looking for candidates across the globe to show what
happens behind the scenes of a pageant,” said Jeanne Brander, producer and
director of Ms. Boca Raton USA and Ms. Boca Raton Teen USA pageants, which was
revived this year after a three-year hiatus. “Right off the bat, I thought
of Pam because of her personality. She’s very vivacious and charismatic and
she can definitely hold her own.” The constant filming during the pageant
took a little getting used to for the beauty contestants and crew, according
to Brander. “At first the cameras were a little unsettling because you turn
around and the cameras are capturing everything you say good, bad or
indifferent,” said Brander. “Later on, you just kind of ignored them and
continued on with your day.”
With a background in modeling, Rindone is no stranger to being in the
limelight. She’s already competed and placed in Ms. Hollywood, Ms. West Palm
Beach and Ms. Boca Raton. “I’ve done it my whole life. I was in my first
pageant when I was two years old. And when I was seven I competed for little
Miss Florida Fair and I won,” said Rindone, whose platform, or cause is
two-fold, increasing funding for education and bringing about more awareness
for breast cancer. “There have been four billion students who have dropped
out of school because they can’t afford it. I want to hold fundraisers for
the children who can’t afford an education.” Enrolling in Florida Atlantic
University in the fall, Rindone said she looks forward to majoring in
psychology and music and continuing to pursue a career in pageantry. The local
is currently rehearsing for the Miss Florida USA pageant, which will be held
in Hollywood, Fla. on July 10. “It’s
my passion,” said Rindone. “I’m addicted to being on stage and being on
camera. And I hope one day to make a career out of it.”
»Pageant News Wanted!
Are you a titleholder or at large delegate who is making appearances or doing good things in the community? We would love to tell all of the Miss Florida USA Family your story. Send pictures and updates to
telair@aol.com as we feature everything Miss Florida USA on Friday’s at Faces & Places.
»Alumni News Wanted!
If you know of any Miss Florida USA alumni in the news please drop us an email to feature them in future articles. Email all info to info@missfloridausa.com! Until next week here to good pageantry!
PICTURE OF THE WEEK!
We love pictures of titleholders doing good things for their community. So when someone forwarded this picture of our Miss Teen USA Shelly Hennig with a beautiful young lady from The Sparrow Club how could I not say “Picture of the Week”? For more information on this great organization or for more pictures of her in her cuteness at www.SparrowClubs.org.
A
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