[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Oct 8 2003, 09:55 AM\']Not that I'm planning a trip to Los Angeles anytime soon, but I am rather curious about MY eligibility. My mother works for an advertising agency (reception), and I've done a few voiceovers over my career. While technically that doesn't put me in the broadcasting business, I would think that advertising is also frowned upon (I'm pretty much assured of being not able to win any radio contest--not that I ever could be lucky caller number five).
So am I permanently ineligible?[/quote]
My understanding has always been that a contestant cannot be an employee of the production company and their corporate parents or the network or stations broadcasting that show or a member of the *immediate* family of an employee (in other words, cousin, maybe, greatgrandchild, yes, spouse or child, no).
In other words, if you work for Fremantle, CBS, Viacom or any subsidiary or affiliate (which I would assume would mean BMG Music Group or Random House, since Bertlesmann owns both those companies and [through the wall of The RTL Group] Fremantle), you're ineligible for \"TPIR.\" If you work for the NBC or ABC or Fox stations, you're eligible.
However, the nature of broadcasting does cause some crazy connections--I particularly think of Michelle MacKenzie-Voigt, a winning contestant on \"$100K Pyramid,\" because I used to know her. Michelle was and is a director at WTTW, Chicago's main PBS station. However, at the time I believe her husband was directing \"Siskel & Ebert,\" which although produced by Disney was taping at WBBM, the CBS-owned station. Technically, I believe her husband was a Disney employee, but there may've been a question that could've kept her from being placed on \"$25K Pyramid\" but didn't stop her from appearing on \"$100K Pyramid,\" which wasn't on any CBS-owned stations despite being taped at a CBS facility (and wasn't even on in Chicago at that time--I didn't see her performance until getting GSN over a decade later).
Of course, outside of not being able to watch her performance unless her cable had WOR, I don't think Michelle objected to being put on \"$100K Pyramid.\"