audiences news stories on Newser

Radio Hosts Squeezed by Too Much Listener Info

Sarah Quinn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:10:37 CDT

Radio stations are collecting more and more data on the listening habits of their audience, and even popular hosts like Ryan Seacrest are feeling the pinch. Seacrest says Clear Channel execs told him to zip it because ratings would rise if "you actually play some more music," the Wall Street...

Tweeting Beethoven a Noteworthy Development

Matt Cantor — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:23:00 CDT

In a bid to win over multitaskers and technophobes, the National Symphony Orchestra will tweet along with tonight's performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, the Washington Post reports. Audience members with appropriate gadgets can sit in a special section on the lawn at Wolf Trap, in suburban Virginia, and follow posts...

Broadway Audiences Berated for Bad Acting

Rob Quinn — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:51:45 CDT

Boorish audience members have been around for longer than Shakespeare's plays but veteran theatergoers say bad behavior is definitely on the rise, the Wall Street Journal reports. Audience members have been spotted passing around buckets of chicken, putting their smelly bare feet on the seats in front of them, and...

Economy Tanking, Americans Race to Movies

Wesley Oliver — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:17:04 CST

Americans are dealing with the recession by hiding in dark rooms with a band of brothers, a gun-toting grandma, and a bumbling mall cop, the New York Times says. Hollywood’s ticket sales have jumped 17.5% this year. Ticket prices rose, but so did attendance, by nearly 16%. “It’s not...

Wacky Garb Key to Conventions

Kate Rockwood — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:08:58 CDT

Political die-hards flock to conventions in outlandish costumes, temporary tattoos, and head-to-toe buttons—“as much red, white and blue as possible in a patriotic arms race,” Robin Givhan writes in the Washington Post. Yet these goofy fans are integral to the messy, democratic process—by making it accessible to the...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... at the Cineplex

Caroline Zimmerman — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:52:38 CDT

Cineplexes are boosting stagnant sales by showing more live broadcasts, the New York Times reports. From the Metropolitan Opera to the Mets, high-def feeds are luring fans for less than the price of a live concert or ball game. "We can now replicate Carnegie Hall across the country," an exec...

Bee Movie Goes to Head of the Class

Kevin Spak — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:20:47 CST

In a rare second-week coup, Bee Movie topped the weekend box office and passed fellow sophomore American Gangster, Variety reports. The Denzel Washington flick dropped 44% after leading last week, while Bee fell just 32%. Newcomer Fred Claus took third, with a less than stellar $19.2 million, while Lions...

Why Do We Cry at Movies?

Sam Gale Rosen — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 04:30:29 CST

Why do we cry at movies? Washington Post film critic Desson Thomson, recalling his own waterworks watching emotional films, checked out some research to find out. Audiences weep out of empathy, according to one expert. Women definitely cry more than men (four times as much) and weeping releases internal toxins....

Vampire Flick Takes $16M Bite Out of Box Office

Emily Roysdon — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:23:12 CDT

Vampire-seekers made 30 Days of Night number 1 this weekend amid pale box office numbers, Variety reports. Other new entrants couldn’t top Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? , The Game Plan , or Michael Clayton , which took second, third, and fourth, respectively. The AP reports that audiences want “something to...