American Idol Producers take my advice

I was pleased to see the American Idol producers take the advice in my last post and keep Randy Jackson as a judge. He's a link to the glory days of Idol, when it was the most popular show on television and watching it was a national duty. That will keep us long-time fans of Idol happy while the new fans tune in to see Nicky Minaj, Keith Urban, and Mariah Carey. I hope the new judges help Randy raise his game; he seemed a little tired by the end of last season. These new judges help American Idol appeal to a broader demographic, and bring some contemporary artists to the picture. However, new judges do not always result in new ratings -- the X Factor ratings are down year over year, even with the addition of Britney Spears. In their zeal to join the celebrity judge "arms race," I hope the producers haven't lost sight of who the real stars of the show are -- the contestants. After all, the show is called "American Idol," not "America's best talent Judges." More time for the judges means less time for the contestants. If I was producing the show I'd spend most of my time figuring out how to make America empathize with and root for my contestants. The most important task the judges have every season is picking the contestants that will make the most compelling personalities. The judges and producers need to remember they're casting a television show, not necessarily picking the best singers. When we create our own content, it's easy to lose sight of the central spine of our work. Especially in longer works things come up, other pressures come to bear, and we make adjustments. It's only when we step back to review the final piece that we realize we went totally off the rails, and need to fix the problem in revision. The American Idol shows are live; there's no chance to go back and fix them. In order for the show to succeed, the producers need a strong focus on the show's stars - the contestants. For your content to succeed, you need to keep the same strong focus on the key aspects of your piece.