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Reality Television
Description
One of the most recent and freshest trends to come out of television is the phenomenon of "reality television". Spurred by trend setting programs like CBS's Survivor and MTV's The Real World, reality television was launched as a new genre. With such recent hits as Laguna Beach: The Real OC, Flavor of Love, and American Idol, reality television, as a genre and a staple of pop culture, has only begun to grow. In an analysis of various articles studied from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and, The Los Angeles Times within the last three months has confirmed a recent trend in reality television itself. The articles tend to state the popularity and lucrativeness of reality television and its continuing growth, with no downfall in sight.
Analysis
According to a survey by PollingPoint.com, almost half of our nation's younger generation watches more reality television than last year. The average American television viewer only watches four to five shows on television regularly. Eighteen to twenty five year-olds the target audience for much of the programming for reality television - watch close to four reality shows a week. Even people who were over the age of 55 were keeping up with at least two reality shows. This increase of viewership in reality television has shown that reality programming is strongly popular with a wide variety of ages. And with networks devoting their programming towards reality television (VH1's Celebreality block of programming; ABC's WifeSwap, Extreme Makeover, Dancing with the Stars; MTV's ever growing roster of reality shows, Fox's American Idol), it is easy to see that the popularity of reality television is an immediate trend in not only...
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...ork Times. (14 Feb 2007)
6. Stanley, Alessandra. "Reality Check for a Generation That Knows Best." The New York Times. ( 12 February 2007)
7. Verrier, Richard. "Reality check: Unscripted TV a hit for L.A. economy; Production of such programs jumped in 2006 as films and commercials declined." The Los Angeles Times (11 Feb 2007)
8. Vranika, Suzzane. "Creator of Show 'Blow Out' Weighs In on Reality Television." The Wall Street Journal. (14 Feb 2007)
9. Yuan, Li and Sarmad Ali. "Your own Next Top Model; TV show moves to cellphones; CBS gets revenues, Advertising, Fans pick Dresses and Makeup." The Wall Street Journal. (11 Feb 2007)
10. Miller, Martin. "Network patience (yes, it exists) pays off; Four sophomore series -- `Close to Home,' `Supernatural,' `Bones' and `How I Met Your Mother' -- benefit from careful nurturing." The Los Angeles Times. ( 12 Feb 2007)
Reality shows sent a much-needed lifeline to the television networks industry. These shows have found a new way to bring much needed viewers, and even more important they brought in much needed money. The money came rolling into CBS after premiering Survivor, which brought in a profit of around $30,000,000 to the network. Even though Survivor is the must costly reality show, costing close to one million dollars to produce and hour of programming. In comparison to other shows, which cost far more like CBS’s series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” which cost over 1.6 million to produce per hour. With the amount of money coming in such large sums to networks have had to close monitor how much is being spent. Clearly’ the reality shows have brought in much needed assets to the flattering television networks.
McCarthy, Tyler. “Sitcom success a reflection of changing society.” Daily Campus. 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Sipple, L. (2011). The appeal of reality television for teen and pre-teen audiences. Journal of
Palmer, Robert. "POP LIFE - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 17 June 2010. Web. 17 June 2010. .
How Reality TV affects the audience and the characters who were participating into it? Does it really give knowledge to people who were watching and supporting? Or is it just the sake of money and exposing their appearance on television? When it comes to watching television, people at home can choose which types of program they want to want for many reasons. Some people look to television for inspiration; others want to be kept informed about their surroundings and the world. In the article entitled, “Reality TV and Culture” by Jack Perry, he argues, there are some good points to how reality television are formed and offered. Perry explains that, not all of the shows are designed to encourage and promote dangerous and unrealistic. However,
Reality based television has a broad landscape ranging from competitive game-like shows to programs following the daily lives of a group of people. Every major network now has some form of reality programming because the genre’s shows are high in viewership and require low costs for production. The genre is appealing to viewers because it provides them with a first-hand look into the lives of everyday people, which allows them to observe social behavior that helps them determine what is appropriate or not (Tyree, 2011, p. 397). Since the majority of modern reality stars start out as unknowns, frequent viewers of reality programming believed that fame is obtainable if they appear on a popular show (Mendible, 2004). According to Mendible’s evaluation of the genre in the article Humiliation, Subjectivity, and Reality TV, people enjoy reality programs beca...
The first effect of reality shows is the image it gives viewers. Reality shows give misconceptions of everyday life; the Real World and Jersey Shore show young adults relaxing, having a good time, and partying every day. The...
If T.V. news or radio have morphed into reality shows, then it is only a reflection of the viewers. As a former news reporter, the author should understand that the success
Tikkaken, Amy, Erik Gregersen, Swati Chopra, Darshana Das, and Grace Young. "Television (TV)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 01 Dec. 2006. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Do you know the guiltiest pleasure of the American public? Two simple words reveal all—reality TV. This new segment of the TV industry began with pioneering shows like MTV’s The Real World and CBS’s Survivor. Switch on primetime television nowadays, and you will become bombarded by and addicted to numerous shows all based on “real” life. There are the heartwarming tales of childbirth on TLC, melodramas of second-rate celebrities on Celebrity Mole, and a look into a completely dysfunctional family on The Osbornes. Yet, out of all these entertaining reality shows arises the newest low for popular culture, a program based on the idea of a rich man or woman in search of the perfect marriage partner. The Bachelor, and its spin-off The Bachelorette, exemplify capitalist ideology founded on the Marxist base-superstructure model and establish the role of an active American audience.
CQ Press. Web. 26 Jan 2012 Thompson, Robert. " As the TV World Turns. " Interview.
Papacharissi, Z & Mendelson, AL 2007, ‘An exploratory study of reality appeal: Uses and Gratifications of reality TV shows’, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 51, issue 2, June, pp. 355-370.
Reality Television has changed television in a way that no one could have imagined. Being the one of the most talked about genre in history, it is seen by millions of viewers. It has more ratings than any other kind of show (Breyer 16). From its start, there have been many Reality Television shows. Shows like The Real World, Survivor, Big Brother, and Jersey Shore. All of these give off a negative portrayal of reality. While Americans watch these shows, it seems that the show is real life, but in reality, no pun intended, before the show is even filmed, it’s written, edited, and produced (Breyer 21). Writers humiliate and degrade people just for the plot of the show, making their private lives public (Breyer 16).
In this day and age, there isn’t hardly a person who doesn’t watch some form of reality television. Whether it is an adrenaline pumping baking competition, a talent based show with singing and dancing, or the pure entertainment of a day in the life of celebrities most everyone watches some form of reality television. There seems to be a few different sides of reality TV that make it so entertaining for people to watch. There seems to be the shows that lure people in because of the motivational aspect, the drama, or the deep down genuine appearance. However, most people are oblivious to the fact that the screen they are watching isn’t usually what actually happens in real life. James Poniewozik explains the manipulation going on behind the camera
Have you ever wondered why people are so addicted to watching their favorite shows on TV? Have you ever wondered why reality TV is so popular? This paper is an explanation of why large numbers of people watch reality TV shows. Proof and facts will be provided showing that reality TV provides entertainment, inspiration, the stirring of emotions, vicarious living, and a substitute for social life for many who watch. Here are a few examples of these statements.