Guessing who will win the next
batch of Oscars has become a major focus for a new generation of online
blogs.
A number of movie sites dedicated to talking about the Oscars have
suddenly sprung up, mostly penned by US show biz wanna-be hacks.
Apparently
they spotted a hole in the market. While people talked in the pub about which
films were going to win the Oscars, there were no dedicated sites. It turns
out that they were onto a money spinner, because not only are Oscar watch sites
getting the punters, they are also getting attention from the movie companies
who want to advertise.
Los Angeles-based journalist Tom O'Neil said that
goldderby.com was set up using the concept that Hollywood's awards season was
akin to a horse race. O'Neil said that fans were doing what the journalists
weren't, which was covering this as a real race.
Sasha Stone, a film buff
with no journalistic background, started her site awardsdaily.com because there
wasn't anybody examining the race as it unfolded.
More
here.