There are many articles and books examining various aspects of the question of how real is reality TV. First examined is a look at why viewers watch reality TV. The results of a survey showed that reasons for watching reality TV included an interest in competition and revenge as well as an interest in watching participants achieve status from instant fame (Reiss & Wiltz, 2001). These results show that there are forces that contribute to why reality TV shows are structured the way they are. Elements of fiction are added in order to appeal to what the viewers want to see such as competition, revenge, moral lapses and achieving status. The elements which keep the viewers watching may not otherwise occur if these shows were kept true to a documentary style reality.
What elements of fiction are added to keep viewers watching? There are a number of ways reality shows are altered to be more entertaining. Situations are contrived, whole sections may be scripted and scenes are sometimes edited out of order or spliced in a way to alter reality. For their part, story editors feel they have the freedom to alter or imply situations regarding real people for entertainment purposes. According to Poniewozik (2006), story editor Ryan Stradal downplays the modification by stating, “We’re using things said at different times, put together to imply a statement or observation that may not have been succinctly demonstrated” (p. 3).
Further evidence that reality shows are less like documentaries, and more like scripted drama, is the use of writers. In order to avoid dealing with writers unions, producers call writers different names like “story editors” and “segment producers.” Daniel Petrie Jr., president of the Writers Guild of America West, said, “shows don’t want to call the writers writers because they want to maintain the illusion that it is reality” (Booth, 2004). On the other hand, studio executives say that these shows are shaped and edited, not written. Nevertheless, reality TV is widely considered to be written whether the credits demonstrate that or not. The shows have been so contrived and shaped so that they are in essence, written.
Producers say substantial editing is also required because people act in unforeseen manners which cannot all be viewed on television. Also, the entire footage filmed can cover several days. To be viewed in an hour show format, this footage needs to be cut drastically. “As soon as you start pulling those seconds out, you change the reality. Some people on the show, when all is said and done, will say they weren’t fairly represented, and that’s a truth of this format. This is not reality. This is entertainment,” said Chris Cowen, executive producer of the reality show Temptation Island (Levin, 2001, para. 13).
Despite all the manipulations, these shows are still seen as reality by the industry. According to UPN chief Dean Valentine, “If you’ve created a response beforehand or given them a script of how to respond, that would probably be crossing the line. The fundamental compact with viewers is you’re watching people behaving spontaneously” (Levin, 2001, para. 8).
In order to present itself as being real enough, certain elements are very important. According to the results of a focus group study on the reality show Survivor, first and foremost, the use of non-actors is essential. Honest emotions and a degree of suprise and unpredictability were also noted. Viewers felt the show Survivor, “despite having elements of other genres, presented the real (authentic) emotions, interpersonal actions, and individual ethical choices of its ‘real’ participants. And viewers actively looked for the ‘reality’ contained within the artifice of this program” (Escoffery, 2002, p. 73).
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