Published: January 21, 2008 07:54 am         

Pageant History

Staff Report

- Scholarships have been the cornerstone of the program since 1945 when Bess Myerson, Miss New York , was the first Miss America to receive a scholarship from the organization, according to the Miss America website.

- The Miss America Organization reports that last year it made available more the $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance last year. Scholarship recipients include not only Miss America but also contestants at state, regional and local levels of competition. The organization is the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women.

- In 1989, the Miss America pageant began requiring contestants to choose a platform to address an issue relevant to society or that they care deeply about.

However, the crowned Miss America has done charitable and community-service projects for many years, according to the organization. Jean Bartel, Miss America 1943, was credited with selling more Series E war bonds than anyone else in the United States _ $2.5 million worth of them.

- In 1954, the Miss America competition was broadcast live for the first time. That broadcast broke viewership records of the day with 39 percent of the television audience _ 27 million viewers, according to the Miss America organization. The Miss America telecast is the fourth longest-running live event in television history. It has been broadcast live at one time or another by all three of the country’s major networks. The Learning Channel is available in more than 93 million homes in the United States, and last year, the pageant organization announced a telecast agreement with TLC effective until 2010.