NEWS FLASH

Dick Clark Is Dead at 82 | TMZ is reporting that American Bandstand and New Years Rockin’ Eve host Dick Clark is dead at 82. Clark had suffered a strike and Type II diabetes, and apparently finally sucuumbed to a heart attack. Clark was, to a certain extent, a reminder of a time when American entertainment had more narrow offerings but a broader consensus. The 22.6 million people who tuned in to count down to midnight with him and Ryan Seacrest are about as many people who watch anything together anymore. Seacrest and American Idol are the heirs to Clark’s legacy, but the era when that legacy would have been worth the most is past, and passing, and it’s not yet clear what’s to come.