4 ms·

The Miss America one, brilliant. Haven't see the "Miss America" one personally (and I won't) but I can tell you that that particular institution has been a lau

The Miss America one, brilliant. Haven't see the "Miss America" one personally (and I won't) but I can tell you that that particular institution has been a laughingstock for decades. If he has something new to ridicule about it, kudos, but I doubt it changed any already fully-formed opinions from his viewers.

pbh101 12y ago
I suggest you watch it. I enjoy his show but most of his stances are decently predictable (and I generally disagree with). This is one that surprised me.
oliverthrowaway 12y ago
That was kind of what made it brilliant. The Miss America pageant makes some grandiose claims about how they're the world's largest source of scholarships for woman -- 45 million in a particular year. They showed that (a) They were using some sleight of hand, and the real number was something like 100 times less than that (b) That still made them the largest source of scholarships for women
- gohrt 12y ago
  That's actually a huge misconception, and LWT got it wrong: Miss America's paltry scholarship program is the largest provider of women-only scholarships. Many many non-women-only programs give more scholarship money to women than Miss America.
  - adamnemecek 12y ago
    That's exactly what their claim was though. Like to the dot.
- taeric 12y ago
  Yeah, just to emphasize oliverthrowaway's point. It was the call to arms to increase donations to other women's organizations that really made that piece brilliant. And really, I think that is the brilliance of John Oliver's work. It is not all just a mocking of news. Often times there is a call to arms at the end. Even if the goals are ridiculous, it is getting people acting. And that is huge.
- Lawtonfogle 12y ago
  There is a slight difference between 'largest source of scholarships for women' and 'largest source of women-only scholarships for women'. I doubt Miss America is the former.

pbh101 12y ago

I suggest you watch it. I enjoy his show but most of his stances are decently predictable (and I generally disagree with). This is one that surprised me.

oliverthrowaway 12y ago

That was kind of what made it brilliant. The Miss America pageant makes some grandiose claims about how they're the world's largest source of scholarships for woman -- 45 million in a particular year. They showed that (a) They were using some sleight of hand, and the real number was something like 100 times less than that (b) That still made them the largest source of scholarships for women

gohrt 12y ago
That's actually a huge misconception, and LWT got it wrong: Miss America's paltry scholarship program is the largest provider of women-only scholarships. Many many non-women-only programs give more scholarship money to women than Miss America.
- adamnemecek 12y ago
  That's exactly what their claim was though. Like to the dot.
taeric 12y ago
Yeah, just to emphasize oliverthrowaway's point. It was the call to arms to increase donations to other women's organizations that really made that piece brilliant. And really, I think that is the brilliance of John Oliver's work. It is not all just a mocking of news. Often times there is a call to arms at the end. Even if the goals are ridiculous, it is getting people acting. And that is huge.
Lawtonfogle 12y ago
There is a slight difference between 'largest source of scholarships for women' and 'largest source of women-only scholarships for women'. I doubt Miss America is the former.