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‘The Apprentice’ wants you (maybe)
Want a chance to be humiliated in front of millions of people and then maybe go to work for The Donald?
“The Apprentice” is holding open auditions in Austin on Saturday, July 30 at the Omni Hotel downtown.
If you’d rather skip ahead of what promises to be a mile-long line, KXAN, Austin’s NBC affiliate that airs Donald Trump’s job competition show, is holding an online preaudition contest that could guarantee you a place in the later cattle-call audition.
On KXAN’s Web site, write a very brief (as in 30 words or less) explanation of why you should be the next “Apprentice.” Authors of the 10 best entries, as chosen by KXAN, will then tape 30-second segments with morning news anchor Kate Weidaw.
KXAN.com readers will watch the clips online and vote for five finalists, who will then receive wristbands and guaranteed auditions at the Omni on July 30. These five finalists will be featured on KXAN’s morning news program Wednesday, July 27. If you can’t wake up early enough to be at the station between 6 and 7 a.m., don’t bother to enter.
“The Apprentice” is possibly the most conservative of all the reality shows, with a high-paying job for the Trump organization at stake. Which means applicants should consider wearing business attire and not trying to look like “Real World” wannabes. The Donald prefers corporate types.
TiVo says, ‘Watch these ads!’
Most people buy digital video recorders for two reasons: to record shows for more convenient viewing and to delete commercials.
Now TiVo, the original digital recording device, wants viewers to watch commercials.
This week TiVo announced plans to insert symbols identifying advertisers during what is supposed to be commercial breaks. So when viewers are zipping and zapping through them, the advertisers and their products will be more visible.
The theory is viewers will be intrigued by some products and want to pause to watch them or download a “long-format” commercial.
Sounds like a hard sell, but TiVo is frantically looking for ways to stem the tide of its ongoing revenue decline. The company, founded in 1997, has more than 3 million subscribers but has yet to turn a profit.
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