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American Idol 3

Fantasia and Diana are Idol 3 finalists; voting company says the problem is local.

by Andy Dehnart 20 May. 2004 | 8:00 am

Fantasia and Diana are Idol 3 finalists; voting company says the problem is local.
Georgians, you can stop rioting now and get your rotary dial phones ready; Hawaii, get ready to secede from the union. Jasmine Trias left American Idol 3 last night, leaving Fantasia Barrino, 19, and Diana DeGarmo, 16, to battle it out for the title next week. Meanwhile, the voting drama continues: USA TODAY interviewed, exclusively, the company that counts the votes. Telescope Inc.’s Sandy King said the problem is local, not national: “The call figures are astronomical. Only a certain number can be processed at the local level.” Using technical jargon designed to confuse and bewilder lay persons, she explained, “We’ve got the biggest, best and fairest system available.” The Associated Press got into the middle of the action, calling furiously from different locales. Their reporters only managing to make four successful calls out of more than 100 tries. They didn’t really discover much, except in Georgia, where “the second call went through and a vote for DeGarmo was placed. But after hanging up, the phone went dead for 17 minutes.”

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association, Andy, 40, directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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