Reality Television

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Mia Consalvo

Reality-based television is an amorphous collection of syndicated thematic shows and one-time episodes that have one unifying basis: they rely, in some fashion, on real or true events. This reality can take numerous forms, and the television industry has defined the genre broadly to include tabloid news, talk shows, comedic style shows, and crime-based shows. Examples include shows such as Hard Copy, A Current Affair, The Jerry Springer Show, America's Funniest Home Videos, Cops, America's Most Wanted, and one-time episodes such as "When Good Pets Go Bad," "World's Most Shocking Medical Videos," and "Scariest Chases and Shootouts." These shows rely on film or video footage of actual events, re-enactments of events, and interviews with individuals involved with a specific topic. But the importance of these shows stems from how they shape "reality," emphasizing some aspects over others and limiting some details to create a "news" story. The phenomenon of reality television first gained momentum in the mid-1980s, and due to its popularity and economical production costs, has proliferated into the late 1990s.

Tabloid news shows are a less recognized form of reality television, because shows such as A Current Affair and Hard Copy have a format that resembles mainstream broadcast news. The tabloids actively try to position themselves as closer to the mainstream news media by using conventions such as reporters and anchors, a reliance on sources for information, and the occasional presentation of pieces that could be seen as "hard news." Despite complaints from mainstream broadcast journalists who insist that tabloid news shows are very different and very inferior to their own product, in actuality both types of broadcasts have begun to mimic even more of each others' practices. Both investigative broadcast news and tabloid news take a moralizing tone with their stories, and both present a clear villain and victim. Both also rely on real events, and both occasionally turn to re-enactments and amateur home video to tell their stories.

While tabloid news had shaped itself to look like mainstream news programs, the popularity of the tabloid news shows has prompted some mainstream news programs to adopt conventions of tabloid news programs. News magazines such as Dateline NBC and 48 Hours have begun using these techniques, as well as the intermittent use of music and emotion in telling their stories. Although the practice cannot be confirmed, some researchers believe that these more mainstream outlets are employing some form of checkbook journalism, or paying sources for their story, as well. Yet, while news professionals may object to these cross-overs and fight the blurring of these lines, these practices ultimately serve to place tabloid television news more within the broadcast news genre than within the reality television genre.

Television talk shows also have elements of "reality" within them, as they often feature individuals and families presenting their problems to a host and studio audience. Yet, the shows have more in common with radio talk and call-in shows, and tend to identify themselves more as talk shows than reality shows. It should also be pointed out that charges have been leveled against some of the more sensational talk shows, such as The Jerry Springer Show, that some of the stories are fabricated, and some of the guests are given scripts directing them how to act and when to become less talkative and more physical.

Comedic style reality includes such shows as America's Funniest Home Videos and one-shot specials that rely on audience submitted home videos of their embarrassing moments, funny pets, and precocious children. Often, these shows provide prizes for the best or funniest video clip submitted, which is voted on by a studio audience. Although many of the clips appear to be staged or planned, this does not seem to matter to the shows' producers as long as the results are humorous. Additionally, the continuous advertising for the submission of more clips, often with specific themes, seems to acknowledge and approve of this activity.

Other forms of reality television include shock shows that draw together home video and other amateur video, such as police surveillance footage, on a certain shocking theme. These are often one-shot shows, which occasionally have a sequel. This first one of these specials was World's Most Dangerous Animals, which appeared on the Fox network on January 25, 1996. The show collected film clips from nature documentaries, including an elephant stomping on a trainer and a bear attacking a woman. The show had a moral messageCthat humanity was to blame for what had happened to these animals. Due to the high ratings it received, this show spawned a series of successors, but without the pro-social message. According to George Gerbner, a communications professor and scholar who studies violence on television, these shows "exploit the worst fears and nightmares of people." NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer called Fox's video of animal attacks "one step short of a snuff film."