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Awards shows will only get more important.
In the promotional commercial for the Golden Globes, the ultimate punchline delivered was: “if we play our cards right, this will be the last awards show.” Their point was facetious of course, they, Poehler and Fey, are among the finest in the hosting game. Very slightly edgy, but never misunderstood — the ultimate combination for a moderately reflexive moment. Awards allow for a group of writers, actors, or some other interested audience, to offer some kind feedback about what is good, and what is not as good. But what do awards shows really do, and why would we keep having them?
Nobody Knows
Among the stranger ideas that students encounter in New Media 101 (or whatever it is called at your local state institution) is derived from Richard Caves classic Creative Industries: nobody knows what will actually sell. Of course there are some media products that, by virtue of their absolute simplicity will always sell. These for the most part are uninteresting, there will be a market for pictures of attractive people that are intended to stimulate, the news, sports, and weather will also have some cache. What is harder to model are dramatic and comedic products. You should check out his literature review for the extreme details, but basically no one has done a particularly good job of knowing which programs will actually hit.
