Beautiful beggars can't be choosers

Well, as crazy as it sounds, maybe it makes sense for the Miss America Pageant to be moving to CMT.

There is, after all, that whole big-hair thing that country music and beauty pageants have in common.

And, while there's been no talk yet of moving the pageant from Atlantic City to the Grand Ole Opry, if Miss Tennessee wins the crown it's going to look more than a little bit suspicious.

But don't be surprised if the gals who sing about the cheatin' man who stole their pickup truck and left them cryin' in their beer get bonus points during the talent competition.

While it's a bit surprising that Miss America will be crowned in January (not in the traditional September) on CMT (the country-music equivalent of its sister network, MTV) it's no surprise that the pageant is moving to cable. It had no choice after ABC unceremoniously dumped the event after years of bad ratings that were only getting worse.

Once a big-time TV event, the Miss America Pageant fell victim to changing American tastes. About the only thing that might have saved it as broadcast-network programming would have been to put all the contestants on an island, make them eat bugs and vote each other off.

As you'd expect, Art McMaster, president and CEO of the Miss America Organization, tried to make this sound like a big victory for the pageant.

"After thorough discussions and negotiations, we are confident that Miss America has found the perfect match in CMT and MTV Networks," he said in a prepared statement. "Miss America's move to cable will give it the proper promotion and attention it deserves."

Which is like a baseball pitcher declaring that being sent down from the majors to the minor leagues was always his biggest dream.

Which is not to disparage CMT, which has done a nice job of carving out a niche for itself in the crowded cable/satellite universe. But it's only a niche.

C'mon, a lot of the viewers who might still be interested in watching Miss America have never heard of CMT.

But beggars can't be choosers. And, given that none of the broadcast networks — and, apparently, none of the top cable networks — were interested in taking Miss America to the prom, she's going with the boy who asked her.

AS EXPECTED, the Pax network is about to bite the dust. As of Thursday, stations around the country — including Paxson-owned KUPX-Ch. 16 in Salt Lake City — will no long be carrying Pax network program (slim though that was).