REPORT: STAFF AND CREW BAILING ON AMERICAN IDOL

Apparently convinced that this will be the last season for Fox’s once-dominant American Idol, staff and crew members working on the show are desperately seeking new jobs, RadarOnline reported today, citing an unnamed insider. “The crew and staff on “Idol” are not new to the industry and have been around the block before. They know a sinking ship when they see one,” an insider told Radar. Although the talent contest still draws ratings that many other TV producers would envy, they are a fraction of what they once were — and the show has a hefty production budget, what with producers, host, and judges drawing multimillion-dollar salaries. Some analysts have observed that one of the chief complaints against Idol is that in recent years it has often focused more on the feuding judges than on the contestants. “They just can’t compete with The Voice,” Radar’s source said. “They have likable judges and talented contestants. Idol got too showy and lost sight of what the show was really there to accomplish.”