Purists aren’t a fan of bells and whistles

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 7:42 PM

There's an interesting debate on how the spelling bee should be broadcast.

8:52 p.m.

Many old spellers seem quite bothered due to the "bells and whistles" of the modern bee era. They believe the bee should still remain a solely academic pursuit without the features that are meant to gain a wider audience. Many were extremely perturbed last year when make-up was applied to contestants on stage.

However, bee officials, in a quite effective attempt to market the bee to a wider audience, have stepped outside tradition in the past three years and looked for innovative measures. They know entertainment sells.

But many say it affects all parts of the bee, including the word list.

-Josh Dawsey

What do you think? Should it be academic or entertaining or a mixture?