Reality blurred? : the ethical challenges and responsibilities presented by reality television

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Reality television combines various genres of entertainment to produce material that hasin recent years gripped the attention of audiences across the globe. It is presented invarious formats such as game or talk shows, which each reveal different ethical dilemmasto media practitioners. Reality shows place ordinary persons in exotic locations orsituations where cameras capture non-scripted scenes that reveal the joy and heartache ofparticipants. These programmes often lay the lives of normal people bare to all and, thus,the question arises as to whether it is ethical for the media to subject participants to thescrutiny of the audience in this way.Reality television has highlighted the ethical challenges and responsibilities presented tomedia practitioners in the modem media industry where competition may adverselyaffect ethical choices. In this assignment the function of journalists and their ethicalposition is touched on, while the medium of television, its entertainment value and theeffect of commercialism on the media industry is examined. Various international andSouth African reality television productions are considered in an attempt to discover howcurrent media practitioners deal with ethical challenges, and weigh up financial gainagainst upholding the moral values of society. The role of media practitioners as moralagents and the effect that the material they disseminate may have on their audience isfurthermore discussed by using case studies.The future of reality television, particularly after the terror attacks of 11 September 2001in the USA, is speculated and it is determined that it appears that reality-basedprogramming will be a feature of television in the short term. Media practitioners need torealize their place in society and make ethical decisions that encourage artistic values anduplift society. Reality television presents a number of challenges in this regard and hasthe potential to continue to raise ethical issues in the future.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University