Alice Cleveland is a former television home shopping host on HSN and most recently an on-air vendor representative on QVC.
A home shopping host is the on-air host that partners with guests on television shopping channels, such as HSN, QVC, Jewelry Television and Evine. The job of a home shopping host is to introduce new presenters and guests to the television audience, and help these guests explain the values and features of the product being showcased.
HSN, formerly Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, the home shopping channel has former and current sister channels in several other countries. HSN also has an online outlet at HSN.com.
QVC is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping that is owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts to more than 350 million households in seven countries, including channels in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Italy, along with a joint venture in China with China National Radio called CNR Mall.
She was fired from HSN shortly after being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease; HSN maintained that her dismissal was based on the network's dissatisfaction with her hosting style, and because she appeared in an unauthorized infomercial on another station. A court awarded Cleveland $495,000 in actual and punitive damages, believing Cleveland's claim that she lost her job because of her illness, which would be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. [1]
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, drooping eyelids, trouble talking, and trouble walking. Onset can be sudden. Those affected often have a large thymus or develop a thymoma.
Neuromuscular disease is a broad term that encompasses many diseases and ailments that impair the functioning of the muscles, either directly, being pathologies of the voluntary muscle, or indirectly, being pathologies of nerves or neuromuscular junctions.
An infomercial is a form of television commercial, which generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), long-form infomercials are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming. This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight, outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off. Some channels air infomercials 24 hours. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours mostly on weekends to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurred during the early morning, daytime and evening hours, or in the afternoon. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.
