[qam1]

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.  

[Antonello]

Unless I miss my guess, reality show contestants (then and now) knew the possible outcomes, knew that the network was doing it to entertain their audience and not for the benefit of the participants, and willingly agreed to sell a piece of their lives for the fame and a chance to win.

I don't much care for these type shows myself, but if there is a market for them (and there apparently is) and no one is forced to participate then I don't see any reason they shouldn't be aired.

[weegee]

There were basically the three main networks, no matter where you lived. ABC, NBC, and CBS. I don’t think that the educational channel PBS was in existence yet. This was also during the days before the UHF channels came out, so you got to watch three channels, take it or leave it.

And you know what? Somehow we managed to survive, fancy that!

That is STILL the mentality when it comes to news broadcasts. An upstart comes in and offers a slightly different perspective and they are considered "partisan balance to any perceived bias among the rest".

[weegee]

Queen For A Day was rigged. Lenny Bruce disclosed this in an account of one of his relatives in his autobiography, "How To Talk Dirty And Influence People"

[JimSEA]

If I am not mistaken, “Queen For A Day”, was initially a radio program. It was also one of my Mother's "rants". She got so angry at the sponsors of this program which encouraged women to debase themselves to try and compensate for tragedy they had suffered. She would never buy the products of the sponsors or listen to or watch the program.

My Mother frequently helped folk who were down on their luck but she always remembered being ripped off by a con in the 1920's that had kids collect money for the "poor starving Armenians" (which there were in large numbers) but the collected money ended up in the pockets of some sharp promoters (sounds like today's UN). As a result, her aid was usually "face to face".

[jmc813]

Even after 44 years, reality shows bite – big time.

While the vast majority of reality shows cater to the lowest common denominator amongst viewers, there are some that provide a fascinating look into human psycology and sociology. Big Brother on CBS is a good example of this.

[moog]

Queen for a Day.”

Nowadays that takes on a whole different meaning.