The Origins of Reality Television

Section I:

American Idol, Big Brother, Dog Eat Dog, Meet My Folks, these latest reality television shows dominate entertainment headlines and capture our attention. Some Americans may complain that such shows are meaningless and demeaning, but America watches and makes these some of the most popular shows in TV history. What seems repetitive today was once a fresh new idea. Today the popularity of reality television is overwhelming and its reach far-fetched, but it is not a new phenomenon to everyone. For those of us who can remember the "old days," it all started with one cable network and a group of seven strangers. MTV debuted its reality show, The Real World, in 1992. The Real World began as a documentary/soap opera that placed seven diverse young adults in a trendy New York City apartment and followed them with cameras around the clock to document their interactions with each other and their reactions to the world around them. Now in its twelfth season, The Real World remains one of MTV's most popular shows, and is credited as being the show that started America's obsession with reality television.

Through this research I hope to answer several questions. What was it about The Real World that resonated with viewers and TV executives? Was it a sentiment evocative of the times? Has The Real World itself changed? What do the latest reality hits have in common with the original and how do they differ from it?
This topic will be of interest to anyone interested in television and the phenomenon of reality programming, especially the younger generations who follow shows such as Survivor and American Idol so closely. This topic is of special interest to those who watched the original The Real World and have followed its development.

Keyword Searches:

UNC Library Catalog:
MTV AND The Real World
TV programming AND reality

LexisNexis Academic:
Reality TV with MTV
Reality television and copycats

Search engine on Web: http://www.google.com/
Rise of reality television and The Real World
Reality television in early 1990's

Section II:

Print Sources:
Friedman, James. Reality squared: televisual discourse on the real. New Brunswick,
N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Call number PN1992.8.R4 R43 2002.

Glynn, Kevin. Tabloid culture: trash taste, popular power, and the transformation of
American television. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000. Call number PN1992.8.R43 G59 2000.

Non-paper Source:
Desire, sex, and power in music video. Written, edited and narrated by Sut Jhally.
57 min. Media Educational Foundation, 1995. Videocassette. Call number 65-V6105. NOTE: This video is not directly related to my topic, but it deals with MTV and their controversial programming that ties in with MTV's groundbreaking reality TV programming.

Section III:
Electronic Indexes and Databases Sources:

Blankstein, Andrew. (1996, October 16). Aspiring Actors Go to Great Lengths for Shot
at MTV's 'Real World'. Los Angeles Times [Online]. p. 2 (906 words). Available from InfoTrac Custom Newspapers. [10 September 2002].

Gay, Verne. (2002, August 4). Get REAL; Not exactly new and different, reality shows
are big in an industry looking for something new and different. Newsday
[Online]. p. D18 (1332 words). Available from LexisNexis Academic. [10
September 2002].

Goodale, Gloria. (2002, August 9). Reality TV's fall mix: dogs, dating, and circus stunts.
The Christian Science Monitor [Online]. p. 18 (700 words). Available from LexisNexis Academic. [10 September 2002].

McConville, Jim. (2002, April 1). MTV's scheduling plan calls for dose of reality. The
Hollywood Reporter [Online]. 637 words. Available from LexisNexis Academic.
[10 September 2002].

Rivenbark, Celia. (2002, July 18). Some lives not worthy of reality TV. Knight-Ridder/
Tribune News Service [Online]. p. K6568 (502 words). Available from InfoTrac
Student Edition. [10 September 2002].

Rosenburg, Howard. (2002, June 10). The Blurred Lines of Today's 'Reality'. Los
Angeles Times [Online]. p. F-1 (959 words). Available from InfoTrac Custom Newspapers. [10 September 2002].

Section IV:
Web Sources:

1. Title of Web page: Reality World TV
Web address: http://www.realityworldtv.com/
Brief Description: A reality TV fan created this Web site for other reality TV fans. It features daily postings by registered members as well as comments and updates from the creator. Message discussion centers on recent episodes of current programs and the development of future reality based programs. There are links from this site to over 100 reality TV shows.
Source of Web site: Unknown

2. Title of Web page: The Real World
Web address: http://www.mtv.com/onair/realworld/
Brief Description: The official site of MTV's The Real World. This site offers updates on the most recent episodes, profiles of cast members, message boards and a brief history of The Real World. Information on previous seasons of the show is available in the archives section.
Source of Web site: MTV

3. Title of Web page: Big Brother 3
Web address: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother3/
Brief Description: The official Web site of CBS's top-rated reality show. This site provides the latest updates on the houseguests, a synopsis of each episode and in-depth profiles of the houseguests.
Source of Web site: CBS

4. Title of Web page: The Original Game Show Page! - TV Game Shows and Reality
Shows
Web address: http://www.chris-lambert.com/GSP.html
Brief Description: One of the best Web sites out there for everything reality TV. This site features reality TV characters in the news and links to official home pages. One of the best things for fans on this site is the upcoming schedule, which lists the dates and times of all reality TV shows and reminds fans of the premieres of new shows.
Source of Web site: Chris L! Productions

5. Title of Web page: Online NewsHour Forum: Reality TV
Web address: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/july00/reality.html
Brief Description: This is an online discussion sponsored by PBS's NewsHour from July 2000. It raises questions on the reasons for reality TV's immense popularity and proposes interesting reasons. There are question and answer discussions and links to reality TV home pages. This site provides a lot of background information and asks a lot of intriguing questions.
Source of Web site: PBS

Section V:
Mini-Essay on an Internet Issue:

TITLE: Internet Plagiarism among College Students
(TOPIC AREA: Net controversy)

The vast wealth of information on the Internet has undoubtedly made research easier, faster and more convenient. But does this "Information Superhighway" come at a price? The Internet is not just used for legitimate research; it can be a source of pre-written papers for college students. Many academics believe that the ever-increasing information and businesses available online is leading to a decrease in original thought from students.

Today there are dozens of online "paper mills" that sell papers to students. These paper mills charge between $7 and $15 for papers on a wide variety of topics (1). Gone are the days of library research and late nights spent writing, today's Internet-savvy student can produce a finished paper with just the click of a the mouse and a credit card. These term paper Web sites are raking in big money at a low cost by charging for the same papers over and over again and by reaching audiences worldwide (1).

But college professors are beginning to catch on to this new form of cheating. Turnitin.com designed a program to detect Internet plagiarism by using sophisticated search engine technology to compare a student's paper against the entire Internet and to previously submitted papers (2). Other professors around the country are taking the matter into their own hands and designing individual computer programs. A physics professor at the University of Virginia designed a program to flag papers with similarities among six or more sentences. In a scandal that rocked the prestigious university, over 148 students were accused of cheating and faced honor court charges (3). The UVa scandal brought the issue to the national stage and reminds students that they can no longer get away with Internet cheating. They will be checked.

NOTES:
(1) Dizikes, Peter, "Pay Grades Term-Paper Business Flourishes on the Internet - Or Does It?" ABC News (online), 7 May 2002. Available: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/DailyNews/plagiarismbusiness020507.html (Accessed: 5 September 2002).
(2) "Turnitin.com - Solutions for a new era in education" Available: http://turnitin.com/services_1.html (Accessed: 6 September 2002).
(3) "UVA Investigation 72 cheating cases," CNN Education (online), 26 November 2001. Available: http://www.cnn.com/2001/fyi/teachers.ednews/11/26/uva.ap/ (Accessed: 5 September 2002).

Three Web sites:

1. Title of Web page: Plagiarism.org
Web address: http://www.plagiarism.org
Brief Description: An online resource for educators who are concerned their students may be using the Internet to cheat on assignments. This site includes information on the problem, sites students frequent, and proposed solutions. A great Web site for teachers!
Source of Web site: Turnitin.com

2. Title of Web page: Internet Plagiarism in America's Schools
Web address: http://firstclass.wellesley.edu/~sparks/cs100/rp1.html
Brief Description: Research outlining the prevalence of online plagiarism in American schools. Includes links to sites containing related information and delves into the evolution of Internet plagiarism as well as some proposed solutions.
Source of Web site: Wellesley College

3. Title of Web page: Plagiarism and the Web
Web address: http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfbhl/wiu/plagiarism.htm
Brief Description: An article by a Western Illinois University student explaining Internet plagiarism on college campuses. The article lists several well known online "paper mills". There are also suggestions for professors to detect cheating.
Source of Web site: Western Illinois University