In 1957, local businessmen established a national scholarship program, and the first national competition was held in Mobile the following year. Originally conceived in the 1920s as a traditional Southern beauty pageant to promote Mobile’s azalea blossoms, the event grew in the post-war years. “We like to think we pioneered that thought.”

“When we began, there were no opportunities for women for scholarships,” Bellew said. Junior Miss competitions have awarded about $90 million to participants across the country. Most contestants made the decision to apply before or during their sophomore year to make that timeline. They had to win their local and state contests so they could get to the national finals in Mobile within six months of graduating from high school. Instead, contestants were judged on interview technique, talent, scholastics, fitness and self-expression.Ĭontestants could apply only once to become America’s Junior Miss. Beauty was not one of the judging criteria. “We don’t call ourselves a pageant,” said Bellew, “although we are formatted in a pageant fashion.”Īmerica’s Junior Miss prided itself on its differences from conventional pageants. Executives seem to grimace every time they hear it. Part of that is a smart move: to embrace who you are.”Īt America’s Junior Miss headquarters, “pageant” is a sensitive word. “He doesn’t try to change what Miss USA is. “Donald Trump has a different product,” Bellew said.

The Miss USA program, which is owned by Donald Trump, attracted 8 million viewers in April.

Traditional competitions are flailing behind more sensational contests such as Miss USA, which teamed up with “Fear Factor” this year to show bikini-wearing contestants covered in gallons of live worms and fish oil. Last week, the 84-year-old show, which had 85 million viewers in 1985, announced it was moving to a cable channel, Country Music Television. Miss America, perhaps the nation’s most historically successful pageant, was dropped by ABC last year after its television audience fell below 10 million. Last week, as Bellew was watching the televised show, a volunteer turned to her and said: “If I didn’t know the girls, I wouldn’t watch that for two hours.” Every former Junior Miss and volunteer in the room agreed.Īmerica’s Junior Miss is not the only distressed pageant. Yet even the program’s most devoted fans admit the show’s format was stilted. The contestants, she said, delivered the best reality they could. “They tell us they want more backstabbing,” Bellew said, “but ugliness and viciousness is a problem for us. This year, Junior Miss relied heavily on local taxpayer support, with the city and county of Mobile providing a third of the program’s $1-million budget.Īfter experimenting with a behind-the-scenes “reality” TV concept last year, the program was told it needed more cutthroat competition.

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