Reality TV

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that reality programming, an unscripted and unrehearsed show, has been around in some form since the beginning of television broadcasting days, but "The American Family," which was shown by PBS in 1973, was a more deliberate attempt to use this genre. The author points out that money is an obvious motivation both for the participants, who can take home a million dollars and bankroll their fame, and for the networks, who pay much less to produce these very popular programs than they pay for most quality programming. The paper relates that the purpose of reality TV, much like the rest of television, is to grab the attention of the viewers and keep them watching by using sex and drama. Reality TV has raised this approach to the highest level.

From the Paper:

"While Mark Burnett's "Survivor" has become a cultural phenomenon and the second installment, set in the Australian Outback was destined for worse ratings than the first, it remains relatively benign and family friendly. Fox's latest entry, Mark L. Walberg's "Temptation Island", however, is anything but family friendly. Indeed, the show that could be dubbed "Prostitution Island" is so morally corrupt that several advertisers, including Best Buy, Quaker Oats, and Sears, have pulled their commercials from the controversial and utterly entertaining show."

More papers on Reality TV:

• Research Paper # 96686 : "Research Designs and Reality TV"
• Analytical Essay # 111941 : "Reality TV"
• Analytical Essay # 146905 : "Reality TV and American Culture"

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