Embed Notice

Characteristics of reality TV:

- Contrived circumstances create narrative drama
- Behavior of visible stars shaped by invisible producers and writers
- Selective editing spins simple narratives out of complex behavior
- Editing emphasizes / invents conflict
- Show rewards the attention-grabbers; ignores the diligent & reasonable
- Focus on personalities over outcomes
- Showrunners make sure the worst people stay in the game to keep it interesting / addictive; outrage drives viewership
- Showrunners inject conflict if things are going too well
- Abusive backstage environment, wrapped in coerced silence
- The story you hear is the one the showrunners decided to tell, not what actually happened
- Total unconcern on the part of showrunners with well-being of either the participants or the viewers
- On-show outcomes are contrived; actual outcomes not shown

Characteristics of modern political news coverage:

- See above