Are there really only 5,000 Nielsen boxes measuring the TV viewing habits of the entire United States? (p. 293)
The overnight ratings are measured by only 5,000 devices. But during sweeps periods, Nielsen sends out paper diaries to tens of thousands of additional homes in order to get a more accurate sense of who's watching what.

Of course the diary system is so antiquated that even the Amish are laughing at it. That's why Nielsen has been trying to phase out the diary in favor of the Local People Meter, a more sophisticated version of their electronic box that measures the viewing habits of individuals, instead of households.

Unfortunately, they're getting widespread resistance from the major TV networks, who would prefer favorable ratings over accurate ones.

On page 294, you detail the ideological difference that Maxina and Scott have over the media's trashing of Hunta. Maxina thinks it's because "the press always finds a way to make the black man the bad guy." Scott thinks it has more to do with our collective sexual neuroses. What do you think?
I'll put it to you this way, Scott's argument at the bottom of page 294 is far and away my favorite passage in the whole book.

What does Scott hope to gain by foreshadowing Harmony's confession?
He's mostly doing it for comfort and artistic perfectionism. Strategically, there's not much of an advantage. Alonso was on the winning side of that debate.

Would Panasonic really spread an awful rumor about Hunta just to get one of their cameras in the news? (p. 298)
Yes, but so would Sony, Hitachi, JVC, and every other major corporation who realizes that a brand cannot survive by advertising alone.

Did Madison really conduct her informal school survey about Hunta (p. 300), or did she fake the data?
I think her data, although unscientific, was genuinely obtained. For starters, I doubt she'd have the heart to trick Scott, her mentor and idol, with fake survey results. And furthermore, I imagine Madison would get a self-important buzz out of polling her classmates on Hunta's behalf.

At the end of Madison's talk with Hunta (p. 301), she says "Wow. That's beautiful." What did he say to get such a reaction?
Let's assume that Hunta quotes one of Tupac's more profound lyrics. And let's assume you'll never know what it is because I couldn't get permission from Tupac's estate to include it in SLICK. And then let's move on.

In real life, did parents really form vigils outside the movie theaters that played Hannibal?
Yes. Many parents were quite determined to make sure theaters enforced the R rating when it came to Hannibal. In SLICK, they were fiercely determined, mostly thanks to the "Annabelle Shane" reaction.

Is it really possible for a person to type 220 words a minute (p. 305)?
Using the 10-key touchpad, top stenographers have been clocked at nearly 300 words a minute. Bow before my knowledge of all things trivial.

What was the compliment Jean censored on page 308?
No idea. But you know it would have been good.