Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 22, 1995 TAG: 9507240065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: F.J. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Vanessa Williams. Jessica Hahn. Gennifer Flowers.
To make a bigtime splash in America these days, a scandal is just the ticket. And now - though her scandal pales in comparison to that trio's lurid exploits - Andrea Ballengee steps up for her 15 minutes of fame.
Ballengee, who told pageant judges that she'd like to run for Congress someday, may have lost the right to represent the state in the 1995 Miss America Pageant, but she stands to gain a lot more - if she plays her cards right.
"She'll fit right into Congress," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia and author of "Feeding Frenzy," a book that analyzes the media's obsession with political scandal. "She's already got the experience and proven she can falsify herself with the best of them. This is her ticket to fame and fortune."
"It's too premature to put a value on her story right now," said Gregg Clifton, a Boston-based media and entertainment representative. "If she's successful in challenging it in court, she might be bigger than life. If she loses, well, then she's back to her own level of talent."
Clifton - whose firm, Bob Woolf & Associates, represents nearly 120 media, sports and entertainment personalities, including Larry King and Larry Bird - said the potential value of Ballengee's story depends on the public's perception of her ordeal. An injunction barring the pageant from crowning a new Miss Virginia could sway public opinion toward her, thus increasing the value of her story. But a failed legal effort could backfire.
Legal action also would involve the Miss America Pageant itself, he said, catapulting it onto the national stage.
Kristen Kuligan, another Woolf agent, said Ballengee's first step to a lucrative book or made-for-television movie deal is to generate as much press as she possibly can from the scandal.
"She should send out a press release," Kuligan said, "and contact all the talk shows. Once that happens, she may be able to generate enough interest for a bigger project. She shouldn't wait too long, though."
A director, who declined to give her name, at the Washington, D.C., office of modeling agency Stars Inc. said it was impossible to put a dollar value on Ballengee's tale, but she could expect to earn at least "a couple of thousand."
"If there's something else behind it, then of course it's going to be worth more" - maybe up to $100,000, she said. "She's probably going to really dish the dirt."
Indeed, Ballengee did send out a press release and did dish the dirt to the producers of "American Journal," that TV show's managing editor said.
Esther Pessin said "American Journal" had a camera crew in the Roanoke Valley and produced a three-minute report that includes an interview with Ballengee. The segment will air Tuesday, but the show is not broadcast in the Roanoke market.
"It's funny and it's sad at the same time," Sabato said, "but if she capitalizes on this, then clearly the [Miss Virginia Pageant] committee made the right decision."
by CNB