Dick Clark and the Rise of “The Demo”

Dick Clark and the Rise of "The Demo"

I didn’t want Dick Clark to die. I want the myth that he spawned to die.

Very few people know what I’m about to report.

Clark bears responsibility for the obsessive quest to attract young audiences on television. He unwittingly gave birth to what we call “The Demo” — the target audience that falls between the ages of 18 and 49.

Two years ago, when I turned 50, I was kicked out of the demo. All 50-year-olds are. Most go quietly. Not I. I realized quickly that to destroy the demo, I had to understand it. So I turned to one of the most knowledgeable people in our business.

 

Michael Schulder: From a Researcher at ABC News; To a Writer at The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour on PBS; To my five years as a Writer for Peter Jennings at ABC World News Tonight; And 17 years as a Senior Executive Producer at CNN.

FOLLOW US ON

Wavemaker on YouYube
Wavemaker YouTube Channel