Reality Television

The Television Industry is an integral part of the entertainment industry. TV is most widely used telecommunication medium. It is considered the main source of entertainment and news.

Reality Television

Reality television is a genre of television programming. It is different from other tv programs because it is unscripted, depicts real-life situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people not professional actors.

This genre has been around since the early years of television but reality television is often associated with programs produced since 2000. Documentaries and nonfictional programming such as news and sports shows are not classified as reality shows. Reality television offers a wide range of programming formats, from game or quiz shows to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions such as Big Brother. The contestants are sometimes coached to act in certain ways possibly to up the audience rate.

Events on screen are sometimes manipulated or edited to get the maximum effect. Some scenes are deliberately cut to offer more surprises or elicit more responses from the public. In this so-called reality, it is often hard to determine how much of it, if any, is actually real. Producers seem to give more importance to good copy. Editing what actually transpired in the show becomes a liability to the truth.

Benefits of Reality TV

There are numerous benefits derived from reality tv. Reality TV, for instance, features ordinary people not known personalities. The money paid to people in reality shows come in the form of prizes unlike professional actors who received vast amount for their appearances. Aside from lower costs of producing, reality TV also does not offer repeats.

Some scripted shows would feature repeats instead of continuous story lines. Most of the reality shows feature original material and would not show repeats since that would destroy the continuity of the program. However, some reality shows do have reruns. Encores of reality shows are often shown in marathon format. This is because it would be useless to show it in weekly episodes considering the winner is already announced. To solve this dilemma, tv producers opted to run the show in its entirety in one setting. Often this reality marathon is shown not for ratings but to generate excitement for the show's succeeding season.

Another contention for reality tv is that the audience need not contend with lackluster story lines too like in some scripted materials. Some reality shows may not add much value to the viewers’ lives except for a few laughs but more often these shows offer audience perspectives on lives based on people we could relate to. If properly utilized, these perspectives could help overcome emotional, mental or psychological problems. These reality shows also offer viewers escape to reality.

If things appear to be painful, watching the reality shows give them the diversion they needed. It is sort of safe haven against the onslaughts of thoughts of terrorism and war, personal problems and job pressures. The difference with casting bigger-than-life people in scripted shows and reality shows is basically that the former is a kind of escapist entertainment. Reality programming on the other hand is more like a catharsis. This is because viewers witness actual, real-life events unfolding. They are able to observe the show’s personalities and able to identify with the characters that best reflect their values.

Also, comparing these characters with the people in their surroundings offer them deeper insight into how other people think and act. The TV industry and the public also stand to gain from reality shows because the scriptwriters and all other people involved with the production are forced to produce only the best materials in order to compete with low-budgeted reality shows. Reality shows that truly feature relevant issues, have substance and not based on fads are actually beneficial. These shows do not only tackle weighty issues but also provide the viewers some good laugh. Reality TV has changed the way the public view the TV industry as a whole.