Is AT&T The Diebold Of American Idol?
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Don't be fooled
A day or two ago I talked about how the new Green Day album is the best music release of the year or, perhaps, the decade. So you can probably guess I'm not a fan of American Idol. I've never watched it and it pisses me off when someone tries talking with me about it. However there was a story about the show in yesterday's NY Times that I couldn't resist reading. If you don't believe that Dielbold helped Bush steal the 2004 election in Ohio, among other places, you probably won't believe that AT&T helped Kris Allen steal his Idol championship from Adam Lambert. And, no, it isn't because AT&T are a bunch of Mormon homophobes-- at least as far as I can discern.
AT&T, one of the biggest corporate sponsors of American Idol, might have influenced the outcome of this year’s competition by providing free text-messaging services and lessons in casting blocks of votes at parties organized by fans of Kris Allen, the Arkansas singer who was named the winner of the show last week.
Representatives of AT&T, whose mobile phone network is the only one that can be used to cast American Idol votes via text message, provided the free text-messaging services at two parties in Arkansas after the final performance episode of American Idol last week, according to the company and people at the events.
There appear to have been no similar efforts to provide free texting services to supporters of Adam Lambert, who finished as the runner-up to Mr. Allen.
...In addition to the free texting services, representatives of AT&T also helped fans of Mr. Allen at the two Arkansas events with instructions on how to send multiple, simultaneous “power text” messages into the American Idol voting lines.
By sending 10 or more text messages at the press of a single button, “power texts” have an exponentially greater effect on voting than do single text messages or calls to the show’s toll-free phone lines.
The efforts appear to run afoul of American Idol voting rules in two ways. The show broadcasts an on-screen statement at the end of each episode warning that blocks of votes cast using “technical enhancements” that unfairly influence the outcome of voting can be thrown out.
And the show regularly states that text voting is open only to AT&T subscribers and is subject to normal rates.
AT&T admits (brags) that "more than 178 million text messages crossed its network as fans interacted with the American Idol TV show this season, the highest total for any season and up from the 78 million messages AT&T reported last year." The Orange County Register estimates that that represents as much as 20% of the total votes cast.
It was painful to even watch 2 minutes of Idol but here's some early Billy Idol:
Labels: American Idol, ATT, Billy Idol
posted by DownWithTyranny @ 5:00 AM
4 comments
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4 Comments:
YES.
We KNOW who ATT supported the previous 8 years and who rolled over the easiest when asked to spy on Americans without court order.
There is almost always a better choice in every market. That includes YOU iphone junkies with your overpriced fragile phone that doesn't have video or infrared.
My biased surveys of the airline stewards has T-mobile as the best.
I dont want to talk in-depth about the American Idol Tragedy, I just want to make a small comment about the AT$T influence.
I watch portions of American Idol from time to time aghast at the way they do covers of songs instead of real live performances of indvidual music. To me, talent is not measured in copy-cat syndrome, rather that of a person who can create their own character--
Thats the background to my statement: Anyone who thinks that votes cast by text message actually count for a damned thing are kidding themselves. How many record labels are going to waste their money on a person who is chosen by text message to be a singer? The fact is that the record labels are a defunct industry built on untalented and wasteful layers of lawyers and shitty performers. Of course AT$T wants the money from their biased vote casting systems, because after all, the best conspiracy in the world is the one where " My IPHONE WORKS ON IDOL THE BEST!" Suddenly they sell more IPHONES, more I-MUZIC and more RINGTONES at $2.50 a pop.
Mormon homophobes??? What did that have to do with anything being said here???...anyways, I would just like to point out that one does not have to hate gays in order to object to same-sex marriage. Advocates of same-sex marriage are always playing the homophobic card in order to demonize those who disagree with them, but it is as silly as saying that if you are against abortion and prostitution, then you must hate women.
While this is wayyyyy in the past, I still think there is something very fishy about the results of the season 8 voting and I will never believe or trust AT&T or American Idol ever again. Rumors abound - from U of Ark tech students jamming Lambert's phone lines to bribery by gamblers. BTW, the Mormons have done some studies on homosexuality through the BYU network. Their conclusion? Homosexuality is NOT a choice. The LDS church is now one of the most supportive religious groups of gays. Please don't count them among the homophobic.
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