Justice must be seen to be done

I came across an article in the New York Times recently that made me stop and think. It was entitled "For ‘American Idol,’ Voting Early and Often". It spoke of the practice of block voting to determine the winner of the extremely popular but very lame American Idol "reality" show. Block voting goes like this..."Erika McMahan of Conway, Ark., who with two of her friends sent in 11,700 votes by text message on the final night of this year’s" competition. How can this be a fair and accurate assessment of a singer's popularity and what ever happened to one person, one vote kind of honesty?
The article went onto say: "Such practices are having an outsize effect on American Idol results is the obvious conclusion presented by a strange anomaly that has grown over eight seasons of “American Idol.” Even as the show’s audience has declined in recent years, the number of votes being cast has risen sharply. Just how many people are casting block votes — which seem to be at odds with the show’s own rules — is unclear."
"Viewer voting is undoubtedly the ingredient most responsible for the success of American Idol, because it creates a built-in audience for the contestants’ recordings. A belief by viewers that their participation is meaningless if they don’t cast votes by the hundreds or thousands could limit their interest in the show. Viewers place a certain trust in a show like American Idol. They trust that the system is somehow democratic and not being influenced by one person sending in 10,000 votes at a time."
Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less who wins or loses Idol. To me the show's only validity is unearthing new talent that would have not got the chance otherwise. Classic cases are Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Daughtry; the biggest selling artist of 2007, worldwide. But this commentary is about the message sent to society that manipulation scores, money (to send out 10,000 text messages) wins, and that the ordinary viewer and voter doesn't matter. It is about honesty and transparency in a system that is participated in by millions. Come on Idol, Fox and Fremantle, sort it out and make it fair! Don't let something else that is enjoyed by many descend into farce, there aren't many heroes left. As my old boss used to say, "Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done!"