And it's not just television

"The television audience today has a coliseum mentality, and they are not cheering for the gladiator, they're cheering for the lion," said Robert W. Arnhym, director of California Miss America, the group that runs the state-level pageant. "I'll tell you this: We're going to have to cross the line somewhere or we're not going to appeal to those folks."

Too bad it was in a Times article about the antiquated Miss America contest.