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This blog post was contributed by Julie Chung, ZIO editorial assistant.

It seems as though lately the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are living by a motto where things need to be eliminated and changed before they only get worse. Two new adjustments have been given the OK to take effect on the awards ceremony this year, which may or may not be for the better. We will just have to wait and see.

After ratings for the Academy Awards hit an all-time low in February 2008, it has been decided that major changes in the program were imperative. Returning to the ways in the 1930s and '40s when there were commonly 10 to 12 nominees in the best-picture category, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences thought it would broaden the appeal of the show to have there be 10 best-picture nominees once again. This change came with good reason, with viewership sinking to the lowest it's ever been.

Two other announcements were made on Friday; first, the Academy approved the music branch's move to modify the voting for the best-song category, and the change makes it possible for there to be no nominees in any given year. Annually, the music branch administers a "bake-off" where voters see clips of songs (as they appear in the film) that are potential for an award. The voters then rate a song on a scale of 6 to 10 (why not 1-10, no one knows). With the new changes in the music branch, if no song earns more than a score of 8.25, there will be no nominations; then, there would be no best-song category. If one song reaches the minimum score then it will be nominated, along with the song with the second highest score. The motive behind this operation was to guarantee that a song's presence in a film counted for more than the amount of record sales, with more and more A-list entertainers providing the memorable soundtracks for films.

The second announcement that alters the traditions of the more than 80 year old awards ceremony is the way that they are going to present the "testimonial" awards, including the Thalberg Award dedicated to filmmakers, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and the honorary Oscars for recognition in career excellence. Instead of being a part of the regular Academy Awards telecast, the awards will instead be received at a black-tie event in November for a limited 500-guest commemoration.

These changes, although they seem minor at first, will yield greater ramifications in the future. Hopefully these moves of downsizing will save the failing ratings of the Academy Awards, instead of upsetting viewers who want to see the customs of the ceremony live on. Every year, new changes are debated upon based on reviewing past award seasons, but this year certainly has proven to be the most different.