|
Bailey
Newkirk
|
Brief
Overview Questions
to consider Intended
audience Keyword
searches: |
|
|
Print
resources Non-print
resource |
|
|
Infotrac Academic
Search Elite |
|
Sirlinksalot-Reality
Television Show Link
Reality
Television Forum Billionaire
Inc. the TV Series |
|
Living in a World of Interactive Television Viewers Reality television
has come a long way since the debut of PBS's An American Family, an unsettling,
yet fascinating documentary series, in 1973. The members of the Loud family
opened up their home and lives for seven months to producer Craig Gilbert,
who shot 300 hours of footage. Only 12 of those hours made it to television.
An astonishing 10 million viewers watched the marital breakup of Bill
and Pat Loud and the coming-out of their son Lance.1 Thirty years
later, the world of reality television is at the forefront of the entertainment
industry, as people are continually fascinated with the concept of becoming
famous for being yourself. In the early days of television, even scripted
dramas were more "real" than reality television, for the simple
reason that they were broadcast live. Today's reality television is heavily
edited, musically scored, and constructed with overlapping time-frames
that present a participant making voice-over analysis as he and the viewers
watch him in a situation taped much earlier.2 Today’s producers
try to create situations that will make for good television and keep viewers
tuning in week after week. With Internet
technology so readily available to so many people, it seems viewers can
become involved the programming as well. On one hand, viewers can voice
their opinions on that night’s show as soon as it airs, with the
aid of discussion forums and chat rooms. Web sites, such as Reality Television
Forum, have specific discussion groups for almost every reality television
show on air. Additionally, the Internet savvy viewer can use the site
to access their favorite shows’ official Web sites to do everything
from read cast profiles to participate in fantasy league games for prizes.
For example, both Survivor and MTV’s The Real World/ Road Rules
Challenge have fantasy leagues where viewers compete against each other
weekly to win a grand prize at the end of the season. The new TV
series Billionaire, Inc. has taken it one step further, by sharing the
lifestyles of billionaires and giving people the chance to win the “American
dream”. The pitch is, that anyone with a dream of having their own
business, an idea or, an invention will have the chance to become a contestant
on the show and win a minimum of $100,000 every year, for life. It will
also be the first time ever that viewers will have the opportunity to
win stocks of Billionaire, Inc. by choosing the winning contestant via
the internet, I-TV, text messaging, or telephone. The first 100,000 viewers
that choose the winning contestant each episode will win one share of
Billionaire, Inc. stock per episode and have the opportunity to win the
grand prize of 100,000 shares of Billionaire Inc. (The TV Series) stock
on the final episode. The TV viewers will see their vote show up live
on their TV screen until the C.E.O. of Billionaire, Inc. announces the
winning contestant of each episode. Viewers hoping
to become directly involved can try out to become contestants on one of
the many new shows in development. There are Web sites dedicated to the
casting calls of all kinds of reality shows, including one called Be the
Next Reality TV Star, which lists all of the shows currently casting for
the new season, as well as the locations of the casting call events. This
site is updated daily and only posts notices for shows that are currently
searching for talent. While it seems
that reality television is far from being a new idea, it is also far from
being over. In fact, on April 28, Blake Mycoskie, who finished third in
The Amazing Race and his partner, E! Entertainment TV founder Larry Namer,
are expected to announce the launch of Reality Central, a 24/7 channel
dedicated to America's latest obsession.3 Essentially, what have emerged are new opportunities for average viewers to become involved in the “reality” of the show. Whether it is contests, polls, discussion forums, or auditioning for the show yourself, today’s television viewer has a lot more influence in the programming that they watch. ______________________________ Sources: (2) Siegel, Lee. “On Television- Reality in America.” The New Republic (June 23, 2003): 26 [online] available from Infotrac, http://www.Infotrac.galegroup.com (September 23, 2003) (3)Grover, Ronald. “All Reality TV, All the Time; Some former contestants are banding together for a new challenge: Launching a 24/7 channel of "reality" thrills, new and old.” Business Week Online (April 28, 2003): NA [online] available from Infotrac, http://www.Infotrac,.galegroup.com (September 20, 2003)
|
Top of Page |
| Home | Resume | Portfolio |