It isn’t because of censorship. Rich accepts the convenient excuse why viewership is down (It MUST be because of those ‘holier than thou’ types in the Bush White House.), and fails to look at the real reasons why.

People watched these shows because 1) The people in the movies were someone they admired, and who were above petty politics. The year that actors started pontificating on the Oscar stage, was the start of the decline in viewership. The Oscars were an island of glamor and if an actor wanted to make political comments, that was not the place to do it.

2) The shows became unbelievably BORING. They took away the production numbers at the Oscars supposedly to save time, when they should have found a way to eliminate a category or two.

3) The majority of films have become either unimaginative or over the top with special effects.

4) The films being presented for awards are for the most part, ones that have been presented only over the last couple of months and in limited release; just in time to be eligible for awards.

That’s fine if you happen to be in a city that has one of these limited release theatres. But the majority of people who hear about these films can’t see them at the same time as Academy voters or the media. If you haven’t seen the film, why would you be interested in seeing if they get an award or not?

That’s a few reasons, but there are probably more that others can propose.