I believe early Miss Americas were simply a representation of a lovely, wholesome "class" of people.
One of her callers, suggested since it was no longer about looks and beauty, why didn't they just broadcast the pageant as a radio program.
I laughed out loud in the car at that comment.
Says it all in nutshell about changing a beauty pageant into a "how do you feel about such and such" pageant.
Reminds me of the beauty pageant contestant, who when asked to tell the audience and judges about her favorite date, she replied that April 10th was nice. Not too hot, not too cold. She was pretty in that swimsuit though.
I haven't watched these things since I was in high school, maybe college. But I would guess this is not only going to kill their TV audience but more than likely it will be the demise of the pageant itself eventually.