Litigation

10 Things Your Reality Show Won?t Tell You

By Tracy Coenen

AOL and SmartMoney had a feature article this past weekend about reality television, and how realistic (or not) they really are. It’s no surprise that a lot of scripting and planning goes into those “reality” shows. You didn’t know? Where have you been!!!!

Here’s a brief rundown of the 10 ways reality shows aren’t so realistic…

1. “Step aside, crime dramas. There’s a new sheriff in town.”

Reality television is ruling the airwaves, filling up about 20% of prime-time programming. Why? Partly due to the low cost of producing the shows… which is about 1/3 of the cost of a regular nighttime drama show. The bigger factor is the ratings, as reality TV is taking up more of the top slots in the ratings.

2. “The reality is, it’s fake.”

Truth be told, lots of the stuff on reality television is really somewhat scripted. Producers choose players who will fuel controversy and people on set have been known to push participants to pursue certain controversial story line. Former reality television stars also have experienced the phenomenon of producers stringing together sound-bytes which are out of order or out of context.

3. “Once you sign our release, we own you.”

Death, injury, embarrassment…. they’re all considered “too bad, so sad” once you sign your release.

4. “Our background check’s a joke.”

Background checks seem to be nothing more than a formality, and in fact, those with troubled pasts might provide more interesting content for the show.  (more…)

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Full post as published by The FRAUDfiles Blog on January 29, 2008 (boomark / email).