TVSquad

What amazes me is how little "stars" know and maybe even most Americans, of the huge amount of charity giving ordinary people in the USA give each year, and the very large number of people who are fed or given food each week. Every church in our small area either have a food kitchen, or pantry they supply and give our each week. We are a very generous country.

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How much money does Fox take in from one episode of Idol? And they do what, 40 episodes a year? According to this site:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7000144784

It cost $705K for a 30 second ad on Idol 2 years ago. I know last year's finale had commercials going at $1.3 million.

There are about 18 minutes worth of commercials every hour. So for a 1 hour show, that would be $25.38 million on commercials alone.

Tonight is a 2 hour special. So if you take 3 hours of Idol, that's $76.14 million on commercials.

That's using numbers from 2005. Last year's Idol finale had commercials running $1.3 million for a 30 second ad.

Again, I used 2005 numbers. So it's a MINIMUM of $76.14 million from Fox tonight. Over 20 weeks, they will make close to 3/4 of a BILLION dollars on ad revenue alone.

And they are begging US for money? That's just ONE WEEK in commercials.

$5 million to them (or even worse, 10 cents per call), is like you and I dropping a penny.

Simon is on record as saying he makes about $100 million per year from recordings that come from the show.

Last night they said it costs 50 cents to feed one African for a day. 1/3 of the continent is starving. I looked up that there are about 700 million people in Africa, and it's growing, so let's say 250 million are starving.

50 cents a day to feed these people. So it will cost $182.50 to feed an African for a year. If Fox donates $76.14 million, or just the TWO DAYS OF COMMERCIAL REVENUE it makes, it can feed 417205 Africans for 1 year.

Hey Fox, how about taking these two nights' worth of revenue and forking it over to your charity and stop begging US for money?

The point is simple--IDOL is NOT giving back. They are making a token gift with tax writeoffs and trying to get US to fit the bill so they make themselves feel good.

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I am just glad to see people acknowledge the problems in this country instead of flying over to Africa with the money they made off the American Public to adopt ONE baby while dozens of other children look on.

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I actually think all the money should go to American charities. Take care of your own house before worrying about others.

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I thinks Jons last statement about seeing a picture of the person I'm helping is true. I think thats why some of those sponsorship programs where you can actually write to the child you're sponsoring and get a reply is better for me then send me your money and we'll get it there business.
I agree that we are a very generous people and the common man pays for most of it out of our own pockets everyday, through taxes, donations etc. Everytime you turn around someone needs something, someone has his hand in your pocket. And I believe we come through. The fact there is hunger in this country of ours is heartbreaking there is no need for it where do all our taxes go????? Half our darn salary goes to taxes. They pay the basketball ball coach here a million dollars for a few months of work. You'd think rather then build that expensive sports arena there would be a permanent cafeteria for people to eat for free. Hire the people standing on the side of the road with signs saying "will work for food" to run it...

Hey Jon glad to hear Phil's growing on you. It happens to the best of us!!!!

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I truly believe in giving to charity and I do give to charities as much as I can. But my thoughts are similar to those expressed above. These people such as Simon Cowell, Bono etc. need to give of their abundance and not ask the tv viewer to give. How will we ever know where the money goes anyway.

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I truly believe in giving to charity and I do give to charities as much as I can. But my thoughts are similar to those expressed above. These people such as Simon Cowell, Bono etc. need to give of their abundance and not ask the tv viewer to give. How will we ever know where the money goes anyway.

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I am not usually on the side of the rich and famous, but I have read that many of the high paid stars do indeed shell out millions. Sandra Bullock, Celine D., etc., and yes a million to them is like a dollar to the middle class. But isn't that all they are asking for is 5 or 10 dollars? As far as Fox goes and the advertising proceeds, they could give millions upon millions and never even miss the money.
A footnote, does anyone else think the way they treated Jordan tonight was wrong. A.I. knew at the beginning of the show, no one was going home. They could have allowed the contestants a night of enjoyment and got back to business as usual next week. Instead they scared the hell out of Jordan. She was visably upset. As they keep pointing out, she is only 17. What impact can this have on her and future performances? Was she the person with the lowest points? If not, she needs to be vindicated and the audience needs to be told that. Bad thing to do to anyone is to embarrass them.

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Well I must say as far as JPL fans go, I THINK I am one of the biggest. But I have to say this blog did not bring its usual smile to my face. (Although I do thank you for answering my question JP) Giving is giving, no matter where the source started from.

With all the money that was just pointed out as far as Idol makes per show, if they had not started this thing to begin with, the millions extra that were raised tonight would not be there. Nor would half the people who started to care even care. I also agree help should be provided here in the states but again the poverty that children experience here is nothing like those of surrounding countries. As Jon pointed out with the Nigerian survivor, that guy was lucky to have a dirt floor and a job.

It seems as Americans not only do we take EVERYTHING for granted but we can not help but theorize the intentions of a good deed, more entertaining that way I guess??? Very sad to think about it really. I have to admit Jon that I am a little disappoint with the way you approached the subject in this blog. You seem to have a huge heart because you take part in good causes yourself. Would you really like it if people sat back and thought the whole time you were just looking for more ways to sell Cds? I think not and I know those who would, would be greatly mistaken. So I'll share one of my favorite stories with you because this is the way I feel about the whole "Idol Gives Back" whatever their intentions may be.

"There is a man walking a long the beach after the tide has gone out. Strode out before him is a shore line covered in Star Fish brought in by the tide. 'Sad' he thinks 'unable to get back to the water all these star fish will die.' As he continues on his walk he sees a man frantically running along the beach throwing the star fish back into the water. Coming up to the man he asks puzzled 'What are you trying to do?'
'I am trying to save these star fish' the other man replies.
'That is crazy! Look at all these star fish! You will never be able to save them all, what difference does it make?'
The man trying to save the star fish runs, picks up a star fish and throws it back into the water. He then runs back over to the man who has just been walking a long and says
'To that one it made a difference.' "

Could everyone here just try and be happy? Someone is doing something for someone else that gives them a chance at a better life.

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With all of the hoop-de-doo tonight showing all of the people the money will help, I sure hope all of the donations go directly to the cause. Everyone needs to make it a habit when telemarketers call for donations to charities, to ask "What percentage goes to the actual charity?" You will be shocked how little goes to help the charity and how much is retained by the marketers themselves. I am very curious as to how much of the money raised will go to the cause. I did notice that one of the sponsors paid for Carrie Underwood's appearance. How many other performers did we think donated their time to the charity,but were actually sponsored by a sponsor that appeared they were donating the money to the cause of the charity. And yes I think it is "horendous"(sp? -Simon's word) what they do to yank these poor kids around each week. I'm beginning to understand when they described this as a reality show. They do unthinkable things to get an emotional response from the contestants (victims). I wonder which clause in their contract that they signed off on to agree to such abuse. Did the 17 year olds have to have their parents sign off for them?In spite of all of this I am an American Idol junkie and I too get sucked in to each week's outcomes. I will be heartsick if Melinda, Jordan or Lakisha goes home before any of the boys.

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I felt so very sorry for Jordin last night when she was put through such an agonizing experience so unnecessarily. There is no question that she is one of the front runners and will most likely be one of the final two to make it through. When they started talking about a "shocker" at who would be eliminated, she did not come to mind at all. I thought of two other contestants that it might be but it never entered my head she would be one of the two who were left to go through something like that. Surely, it could have been handled differently. You came up with a "shocker" for sure!!

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I think they put Jordin through it so we would know she came in last. While voting, I used the endless votes available and 3 of the 4 hours to try and save someone I really like. My absolube favorite is Jordin, and her song blew me away. I figured everyone would vote for her, so I didn't. I voted for someone that might not get so many votes. I think that is what happened, everyone figured she was safe so they voted for someone else. Normally, there is a limit on the votes, as well as the time, so it doesn't get crazy. But this time, without any limits, it got crazy. I know that I used the redial function on my phone and just kept those votes going, as long as my battery worked.

I did use a few votes on Jordin and Melinda, but only a paltry 5 votes each, before throwing several hours worth of votes to another in need. Part of that charity feel, I guess. I needed the wakeup call; I needed to know that Jordin didn't get the votes this time. I also needed to know she will need a ton of votes to offset not getting them this time. She still might not make it, depending on how much she was trailing. Adding the votes together sounds good, but we don't get unlimited votes for 4 hours this time around. Something to think about.

The cost of putting on the show is high. Before criticizing FOX for not forking over some of that revenue, be sure you subtract from that revenue the cost of doing business. There is still a profit, but not nearly as big as it appears when you don't do that. I would have liked to have seen the judges give something. That would have put their money behind their shocked faces as they learned how rotten things are in the world. I thought for a minute that Simon might have paid for something, his face was so expressive. For all I know, they did and it is just not touted. But, for the phrase "American Idol gives back" to have any meaning, it needed to be a little more obvious there is some giving back by American Idol. I think they should have tied the results to the vote, for instance. That would have been 7 million, instead of 5. It would have truly been tied to the votes, then. I think they should have shown us American Idol judges giving, American Idol sponsors giving (paying for a segment is not giving, it is advertising), and in their own way, even the contestants giving. Then, I might have been inspired to give myself.

Good question someone asked...how much actually goes to the charity?

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i am all for raising money for the needy, but it is
"american idol" isnt it? and arent there starving and needy in america.

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I am sorry, but what they did to Jordin was cruel. She will probably be there until the end when it's only she and Melinda but the emotional roller-coaster they put her through was unnecessary and downright cruel. I certainly hope they get that done to them...doubled. Don't worry, Jordin, you are great! Also, JPL, I agree with you about the charities/telethons and I am a bit put off by American Idon doing a telethon. Just how powerful do they think they are? Have they never heard of the statement (I might be paraphrasing here), "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely..." and eventually (I hope) they may be brought down a notch. Just a small notch because I like the show but they think they are invincible and...didn't they lose the colonies? Maybe they are trying to reclaim them.

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Okay I guess maybe i'm a little dumb but who is Ryan Struthers?
I was under the impression that the idols knew they all were staying. Heck, I knew it, it was on the AI message board. Jordan knew she was safe they just played another little game on us.

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Call me cynical, but nowadays I'm really hesitant to give money to any cause. I'm old enough to remember many telethons and special events to raise money. Remember the Christmas song that was to benefit Africa some years back? What about "We Are the World?" What about those Katrina fundraisers? Where does all the money go? With millions of dollars there should be construction crews all over New Orleans rebuilding homes and fixing things. There should be no starving Africans by now. I still remember Dionne Warwick's "Friends," and how some of the profits were to benefit AIDS causes. Not much, if any, money was given to anybody, and I can still hear Warwick saying that when she travels, she goes first class, so that uses some of the money. Saw and heard it myself. It seems that the only ones benefiting from all the generosity are African dictators, mayors of New Orleans, and who knows who else. I'd like to see a list of what all this money over the years has done for Africa, AIDS, and whatever else.

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Jon I thought the blog was good. Sounds like you know whats up.
Was that someone scolding you about your take on Idol gives back. What a joke who do they think you are Mother Teresa............Haha

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Charity is always a good thing. However, being a sucker isn't. As of a few years ago, the staticis showed the usual amount that actually went to where you thought it was going, was only about 10%. In other cases, people grouped together donating time, money, etc only to discover later the organization put a cap on the amount going to the fund you were asked to donate to. The rest went into a general fund that the organization had discretion over.

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Jon, I don't think that the contestants are shoved back because of this Idol Gives Back charity. I think that they are just as concerned about the plight of needy peope in places like Africa and even America. And they sang their songs in a emotional way--there was none of this showy grandstanding with their singing styles. They were really singing it to those needy, hungry people worldwide.

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Ok so i was really mad when nobody got voted off!! what was that?!?! i used to like Lakisha a lot now i dont care for her....i like everyone on the show tho...but i LOVE Blake!! hes so good...so is Chris!!! woot woot!!!

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