Why Every Comm Major Should Watch Reality TV (Seriously)

By Katherine Schreiner

Every person has a type of content they enjoy consuming: Anime, Soap Operas, etc. Every form of content has its benefits and can enact specific thoughts and feelings within the viewer. This content can provide more than just those ideas, though. Content can be a teaching moment. 

Reality TV is not known as a content type that brings about any feeling of education most times, but for communications majors, the benefits of reality television are endless. Who knew you could learn while you’re watching The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives or The Golden Bachelor?

Journalism

Hard news and sports are usually the places a journalist will be looking for the hottest stories, but a story can show up anywhere. Between the gossip shared between cast members and the exposure the audience gets into this new world, reality tv can provide a story idea. It can be super on the dot, such as a record being broken in the show, or it can give you an idea of a more serious topic, such as a large scandal like The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which showed Teressa and her ex-husband, Joe Guidice, for bankruptcy fraud.

Also, entertainment journalism is just as valid, and if that’s the way you go in your career, reality tv has even more value to your work.

Film Production/Telecommunication

The clearest learning factor out of the five comm majors, reality tv does not exist without film production. The production of a show applies directly to the skills and content available in film production classes. Between camera work, production step-ins, and editing styles, how an unscripted production comes together can help give ideas and a better understanding of that style of work. Reality TV production would not be the only type of content that could be learned from watching this style, but all kinds of unscripted production.

Many of these same ideas apply to telecom, which falls in similar jobs as film production. Live reality tv shows such as Dancing With the Stars may be better for a telecom major to watch, but the same skills can be learned and applied to this major.

Ad/PR & Media Studies

Our Ed2010 article, Beyond the Villa: How PR Professionals Build the Love Island Brand, gives a great look at a specific way Ad/PR and Media Studies can learn from reality tv. Reality tv uses advertising and PR to push their show to a maximum. There are reasons Whitney and Jen from SLOMW are on this season of Dancing With the Stars: it all acts as press for the show. The Tush Push NFL ad with Huda from Love Island: another press moment. Everything acts as press with a reality show, and interpreting why something or some campaign is made can be beneficial to understand good (and bad) advertising and press.