Lately, Missosology received a lot of requests to review several beauty pageants and decide whether their status can be upgraded and thus make them a part of the Missosology ranking. Deciding which pageants are deserving to be in the Big4 Ranking (which will probably make it Big5 or Big6 in case more will be added) is a complicated issue. Last year, Missosology published an article defining Big4 Pageants as pageants that goes beyond the finals night. In the article we've shown that unlike minor pageants, Big4 winners are very active pursuing their causes, showing up in events and being closely followed post pageant night. 

The list is quite long if the reasons will be listed on what makes a pageant a Big4 Pageant. In this article we will be tackling a crucial component - the media. A Big4 pageant attracts media attention. It is one of the best ways to gauge if a certain pageant is truly, well, big! 

This year, the pageantry world kicked off with Miss World contest. The victory of Yu Wenxia grabbed the newspaper headlines in China. Not only that. As far as Bolivia, Yu Wenxia is on the cover of newspapers! The oldest and biggest among the Big4 Pageants, Miss World is closely watched by the media across the globe. Results are usually on the main page of newspapers and TV news in some countries announce the results.

Miss International may not be as popular as the other 3 of the Big4 pageants but it grabbed headlines in so many countries too. Myanmar was very ecstatic on their Big4 comeback such that even the Miss Internet finish of Nang Khin Zay Yar grabbed headlines in all forms of media. Newspaper headlines were filled with news of Japan's first ever Miss International with local newspapers in Okinawa as well the most popular paper in Ikumi Yoshimatsu's home prefecture called Saga Shinbun. 

The results of Miss Earth 2012 pageant filled all the newspapers in the Philippines the very next morning. But the headlines reached as far as Honduras, Spain and of course, in Czech Republic where respected internet news portals splashed their pages with the Tereza Fajksova's photos.

And finally Miss Universe which is the undisputed queen of Big4 pageants with a very large following and is perhaps the most reported pageant in the world. Major news networks in the United States and many across the globe reported the victory of Olivia, in print, online and on air. This includes a local newspaper on the city where the pageant was held called Las Vegas Sun and as well as in neighboring California where Los Angeles Times carried the story online. Newspapers in the Philippines also gleefully splashed their covers with news since the Philippine bet, Janine Tugunon, is the first runner-up.

Thus, the decision to upgrade a pageant is not based solely on the quality of stage or production number or what cause it is pursuing. It is more than that. So many important factors must be considered. There is no doubt though that when a pageant attracts global media coverage or that its final results are displayed on the covers of major newspapers, it is truly a deserving Big4 Pageant.