# Reader's Digest article about reality shows.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 12, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691 "2013-09-12T20:00:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/1 "2013-09-12T20:00:25Z")
[Here.](http://www.rd.com/slideshows/13-secrets-reality-tv-show-producers-wont-tell-you/)
Nothing really surprising though.
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/2 "2013-09-12T20:23:15Z")
Thanks. At the very least I learned a new word: “frankenbiting”.
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### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/3 "2013-09-12T20:39:06Z")
I learned a new one too. “Perosnal” (on number 8). Apparently it’s some kind of life.
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### Author:  [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/4 "2013-09-12T20:48:22Z")
Haha, I didn’t see that one. I don’t think it was that way in the print edition.
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### Author:  [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/5 "2013-09-13T13:53:06Z")
And don’t forget “maniuplation”. Who proofreads these things?
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/6 "2013-09-13T23:01:32Z")
Another groundbreaking exposé by the Digest.
I didn’t learn a thing.
mmm
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### Author:  [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/7 "2013-09-14T01:13:02Z")
I think Gordon Ramsay got wise to #4 - in the credits of MasterChef, it says that. while the producers consult with the judges concerning eliminations, the judges have the final say. Of course, the producers have the final say on which of them get to come back as judges next season…
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/8 "2013-09-14T01:17:00Z")
Well, Gordon Ramsay is one of the producers of Masterchef, as well as one of the judges, so my guess is that the show is run as he wants.
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### Author:  [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/9 "2013-09-14T09:14:46Z")
I think it’s funny that the Biggest Loser has to have the walk up to the scale 5 times, to get all of the angles. Glad to hear that they’re not wasting any money on more than one camera.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/10 "2013-09-14T10:34:54Z")
So exactly what is real in “reality” TV? I guess that they’re “really” making a show, right?
Not that I care - I don’t waste my time on them anyway - life’s to short for fake drama.
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### Author:  [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/11 "2013-09-14T13:51:50Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#):
>
> I think it’s funny that the Biggest Loser has to have the walk up to the scale 5 times, to get all of the angles. Glad to hear that they’re not wasting any money on more than one camera.
Just think of all the excess fat that get burned by walking four superfluous times!
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/12 "2013-09-14T15:31:11Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> So exactly what is real in “reality” TV? I guess that they’re “really” making a show, right?
>
> Not that I care - I don’t waste my time on them anyway - life’s to short for fake drama.
Well, if you take Survivor, it’s a game show. The game and so forth is real. In a way, it’s the most real reality show of all…in the sense that it isn’t even a reality show. It’s just a game show that takes place over 39 days.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/13 "2013-09-14T15:36:33Z")
I’ve been surprised and frustrated by how the Reality Show format has taken over How to/DIY shows and cooking shows. Classic shows like This Old House, New Yankee Workshop and Julie Child were completely different from whats being aired today. They didn’t need to fake anything or add fake drama. There was some production, retakes, shot planning etc. But nothing like what they are doing today.
It’s kind of sad that even on a DIY project show they feel it necessary to fake timelines, reported budgets, and even the quality of work that was done. The Reality show approach just poisons HGTV and the Food Network.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/14 "2013-09-14T15:55:11Z")
Anyone else surprised by Reader Digest claims that Reality Shows are cheap and only pay travel and 30 bucks a day? That doesn’t sound right to me. The guys on Pawn Stars are getting rich. I’ve heard the homeowners on DIY shows get big discounts on the work done in their homes. Even the people on Survivor got to be making more than 30 bucks a day.
I have wondered about the blue collar guys working on DIY shows. Like a real carpenter that ends up on camera only because his boss is a contractor doing work on a DIY project. Do they even get paid for being on camera?
> [@](#):
>
> We’re always trying to get as much talent as possible while spending as little money as possible. Ninety-nine percent of the people on reality TV get their expenses covered and maybe a daily stipend of $20 or $30, but that’s it.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/15 "2013-09-14T16:05:24Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#):
>
> I think it’s funny that the Biggest Loser has to have the walk up to the scale 5 times, to get all of the angles. Glad to hear that they’re not wasting any money on more than one camera.
it is not cheapness but it is stealth exercise.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/16 "2013-09-14T16:42:58Z")
The stars of the show can make a lot of money. When Dave Hester sued the producers of Storage Wars, details of his contract were included in the documents. I can’t remember the specifics, but he was making over $500k/year. It was something like $25k per episode plus $100k for expenses.
Most of the times, the producers don’t need to have a heavy hand in the manipulation. They cast people who like drama, being in the spotlight, and being famous. They know if they want screen time, they have to make themselves interesting. So the talent will manufacture drama so they get more screen time. Like in Dave’s situation, he knows his big salary is because he is good for ratings. He’ll stir things up, buy a crappy locker, or whatever it takes to make him more integral to the show and he can ask for more money. The producers don’t have to tell him to mess with other people–he’ll do it all on his own.
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### Author:  [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/17 "2013-09-15T18:32:13Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> So exactly what is real in “reality” TV? I guess that they’re “really” making a show, right?
>
> Not that I care - I don’t waste my time on them anyway - life’s to short for fake drama.
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> Well, if you take Survivor, it’s a game show. The game and so forth is real. In a way, it’s the most real reality show of all…in the sense that it isn’t even a reality show. It’s just a game show that takes place over 39 days.
It could also be that it uses “real” people (ordinary folks as opposed to established celebrities.) Or that it’s supposed to be real life instead of something (entirely) scripted.
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/18 "2013-09-15T18:39:37Z")
I have always maintained that if it were a real show about survival, they would have eaten the camera crew first.
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### Author:  [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/19 "2013-09-15T19:20:51Z")
This is an article about Pawn Stars, so fake and dishonest it’s beyond belief.
> [@](#):
>
> I watched a rerun of History’s (cable’s newest reality television network) Pawn Stars the other night. (Season 2; Episode 5). In this episode a man named Rod brought in — what he “believed” to be — his 1960 Les Paul Custom guitar. Rod claimed to have gotten the guitar during the 1980s while touring with bands Toto and Triumph.
>
> I got curious as to just who he was in relation to those two bands, so I hit the internet to investigate. What I found was not exactly a surprise, even if it was a disappointment.
>
> The segment was completely staged. The guitar used in the show belonged to local Las Vegas vintage guitar store, Cowtown Guitars. The “customer” was played by an employee of that same store. And the “expert” brought in to appraise it was yet another Cowtown Guitar employee/manager.
[http://centraltendencies.com/2011/03/pawn-stars-is-fake/](http://centraltendencies.com/2011/03/pawn-stars-is-fake/)
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/readers-digest-article-about-reality-shows/668691/20 "2013-09-16T03:31:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> Anyone else surprised by Reader Digest claims that Reality Shows are cheap and only pay travel and 30 bucks a day? That doesn’t sound right to me. The guys on Pawn Stars are getting rich.
In the case of shows like Pawn Stars, there’s a big difference between the “stars” of the show (i.e., the guys who own / work at the pawn shop, and who are recurring “characters”), and the “customers” who come in with their crap to pawn. It’s the latter who probably get paid very little.
Competition shows like Survivor are largely populated with wannabe actors, who are likely willing to deal with being paid little, in hopes of getting their big break.
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