Editing Reality television (section)

=== "Reality" as misnomer ===
The authenticity of reality television is often called into question by its detractors. The genre's title of "reality" is often criticized as being inaccurate because of claims that the genre frequently includes elements such as premeditated scripting (including a practice called "[[soft-scripting]]"), acting, urgings from behind-the-scenes crew to create specified situations of adversity and drama, and misleading editing. It has often been described as "scripting without paper".

In many cases, the entire premise of the show is contrived, based around a competition or another unusual situation. Some shows have been accused of using fakery in order to create more compelling television, such as having premeditated storylines and in some cases feeding participants lines of dialogue, focusing only on participants' most outlandish behavior, and altering events through editing and re-shoots.<ref name="washingtonpost">{{Cite news |date=August 10, 2004 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html |title=Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say - Hollywood Scribes Want a Cut Of Not-So-Unscripted Series |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 26, 2009 |first=William |last=Booth |archive-date=September 20, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920001557/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web |date=April 15, 2009 |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30092600/ |first1=Michael |last1=Ventre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410033804/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30092600/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2009 |title=Just how real are reality TV shows? - Shows may exist in a middle ground – not fully scripted nor completely true |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref>

Shows such as ''Survivor'' and ''Amazing Race'' that offer a monetary prize are regulated in the United States by federal "game show" law, {{UnitedStatesCode|47|509}}, and are monitored during the filming by the legal staff and standards and practice staff of the parent network. These shows cannot be manipulated in any way that affects the outcome of the game. However, misleading editing does not fall into altering the fairness of the competition. 

Beyond concerns about authenticity, media critics have argued that reality television may have broader societal consequences. In 2022, Time magazine TV critic Judy Berman wrote that "to the extent that the U.S. has become a harsher, shallower, angrier, more divided place in the 21st century, reality TV, which has helped normalize cruelty, belligerence, superficiality, and disloyalty, and rewarded people who weaponize those traits, bears a share of the blame."<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2022-08-04 |title=Reality TV Has Reshaped Our World, Whether We Like It or Not |url=https://time.com/collection/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6199108/reality-tv-influence-on-world/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref>

Reality television shows that have been accused of, or admitted to, deception include ''[[Real World (TV series)|The Real World]]'',<ref name=EW>{{cite magazine |url-status=live |last1=Fretts |first1=Bruce |date=July 21, 1995 |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/07/21/real-world-returns-fourth-season/ |title=The British Invasion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222215151/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,297971_3,00.html |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |page=3}}</ref><ref>Reality TV World. [http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/real-world-chicago-cast-admits-their-september-11-reactions-were-staged-546.php {{"'}}Real World: Chicago' cast admits their September 11 reactions were staged"]. August 19, 2002. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101133010/http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/real-world-chicago-cast-admits-their-september-11-reactions-were-staged-546.php |date=January 1, 2012 }}.</ref><ref name=Westword>{{cite web |url-status=dead |last1=Roberts |first1=Michael |url=http://www.westword.com/1996-03-14/music/the-unreal-world/ |title=The Unreal World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132305/http://www.westword.com/1996-03-14/music/the-unreal-world/ |archive-date=January 28, 2015 |website=[[Westword|Denver Westword]] |date=March 14, 1996}}</ref> the American version of ''[[Survivor (American TV series)|Survivor]]'',<ref name="TodayMSNBC">{{cite web |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603071531/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726792/ns/today-entertainment/t/last-secrets-survivor-revealed |archive-date=Jun 3, 2011 |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726792/ns/today-entertainment/t/last-secrets-survivor-revealed |title=At last! The secrets of 'Survivor' revealed |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |website=TODAY |first1=Andy |last1=Dehnart |date=October 7, 2008}}</ref> ''[[Joe Millionaire]]'',<ref>''Reality TV Secrets Revealed'', [[VH1]] documentary, 2004</ref> ''[[The Hills (TV series)|The Hills]]'', ''[[A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/01/03/as-shot-misses-tequila-aims-anew/ |title=As 'Shot' misses, Tequila aims anew |work=Chicago Tribune |date=January 3, 2008 |first=K C |last=Johnson |access-date=November 30, 2012 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061440/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-03/news/0801020939_1_mtv-shot-affections |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Hogan Knows Best]]'',<ref>[[Hulk Hogan|Hogan, Hulk]] (October 2009), ''My Life Outside the Ring'', [[St. Martin's Press]]. pp. 175 - 178, {{ISBN|0-312-58889-5}}</ref> ''[[Extreme Makeover: Home Edition]]'',<ref>Christensen, Kim; James, Meg (May 13, 2007). [https://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/13/business/fi-extreme13/2 "And then the roof caved in"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061622/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/13/business/fi-extreme13/2 |date=September 21, 2013 }}. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Page 2 of 3.</ref> ''[[The Bachelor (American TV series)|The Bachelor]]'' and ''[[The Bachelorette (American TV series)|The Bachelorette]]'',<ref>{{cite journal | title = Jesse Csincsak Talks About Ashley Hebert And Last Night's The Bachelorette | journal = Reality TV Magazine | date = June 28, 2011 | first = Christine | last = McDow | url = http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2011/06/28/jesse-csincsak-talks-about-ashley-hebert-and-last-nights-the-bachelorette/ | access-date = July 10, 2012 | quote = The viewers are seeing the PRODUCED side of her show and not so much the genuine stuff, and she looks silly because of it... A LOT TAKES PLACE IN THE EDITING ROOM! | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120422035811/http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2011/06/28/jesse-csincsak-talks-about-ashley-hebert-and-last-nights-the-bachelorette/ | archive-date = April 22, 2012 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://realitysteve.com/2009/02/27/update-on-the-megan-interview-and-more-news-coming-later-tonight | title = My Interview with Megan Parris | access-date = July 16, 2012 | last = Carbone | first = Steve | date = February 26, 2009 | archive-date = March 1, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130301075027/http://realitysteve.com/2009/02/27/update-on-the-megan-interview-and-more-news-coming-later-tonight/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> ''[[Pawn Stars]]'',<ref name=AutoBio>Harrison, Rick (2011). ''License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver ''. Hyperion. 2011. New York. {{ISBN|978-1-4013-2430-8}} pp. 70, 89</ref> ''[[Storage Wars]]'',<ref>Oldenburg, Ann (December 11, 2012). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/11/storage-wars-star-dave-hester-says-show-is-rigged/1761603/ {{"'}}Storage Wars' star says show is rigged"]. ''[[USA Today]]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901135152/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/11/storage-wars-star-dave-hester-says-show-is-rigged/1761603/ |date=September 1, 2017 }}.</ref> ''[[Squid Game: The Challenge]]'' and ''[[Keeping Up with the Kardashians]]''.<ref>Maresca, Rachel (March 13, 2013). [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/real-re-shot-kim-divorce-docs-raise-issues-article-1.1287568 "Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries divorce case heats up: Court documents show marriage scenes were 'scripted, reshot or edited' for reality show"]. ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316025734/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/real-re-shot-kim-divorce-docs-raise-issues-article-1.1287568 |date=March 16, 2013 }}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |last1=Tate |first1=Amethyst |date=March 14, 2013 |url=http://m.ibtimes.co.uk/kim-kardashian-annulment-marriage-fake-scenes-court-russell-jay-kris-humphries-millions-divorce-446047.html |title=Kim Kardashian Faked Kris Humphries Scenes: Show Producer Reveals Star Wanted To Make Humpries Look Bad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055226/http://m.ibtimes.co.uk/kim-kardashian-annulment-marriage-fake-scenes-court-russell-jay-kris-humphries-millions-divorce-446047.html |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |website=[[International Business Times]]}}</ref>

In contrast, critic [[Matt Zoller Seitz]] praised ''[[Deadliest Catch]]'' as having "brought old-school documentary sobriety to a genre more often known for shamelessness."<ref>{{cite web|last=Seitz|first=Matt Zoller|authorlink=Matt Zoller Seitz|title="Deadliest Catch": Reality TV's first on-screen death|url=https://www.salon.com/2010/07/13/deadliest_catch_finale/|website=Salon.com|publisher=Salon Media Group, Inc.|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805031816/https://www.salon.com/2010/07/13/deadliest_catch_finale/|archive-date=August 5, 2012|date=July 13, 2010}}</ref>