“Viewer, You’re on the Air”: The Follies of Interactive Programming
Talking back to your TV isn't a metaphor anymore, a fact that's posing a lot of problems.
Cary O'Dell
Quick, Before It’s Gone: Should Networks Cancel Shows Early?
When broadcast networks rapidly cancel new shows, it undermines their own efforts to reach out to audiences and make quality programming.
Love, Divorce and Drama: Reality TV’s Short-Lived Loves
Relationships don't last and winners don't really matter on reality TV -- but, of course, that's not what we're in it for.
The Class Conciousness of Judge Judy
Judge Judy has been on the air for almost 20 years now, a legacy that continues to be built on the exploitation of others.
Supply and Demand Stokes the Fires of the Illicit Press
Tired of the Kardashians and their kind? Sorry, but they are keeping an industry alive.
Every (Not So) Secret Thing: Post-Trauma Witness Interviews
Why is it that broader culture doesn't give victims of disaster and trauma the choice to say "No?"
Reality TV’s Enduring Racism (and Other Proclivities)
Sometimes, reality TV lives up to its name and casts "by the numbers". Most of the time, however, it casts according to race and sexual orientation.
The Plight of ‘Secondary Sex’
On TV and in the movies, there's no time after the "first time'".
Why ‘The Amazing Race’ Can’t Lose
With rare exception CBS's Amazing Race has had a lock on the annual Emmy, but its wins are more about formula than quality.
The New Unholy Alliance of Kids and Reality TV
Reality television has come for our children, and there’s not a damned thing we can do about it.
Bravo’s Shaky Future
When it comes to its programming, what put the cable channel on the map may soon also lead to its downfall.