Entertainment or Exploitation: Reality Television and the Inadquate Protection of Child Participants under the Law
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ENTERTAINMENT OR EXPLOITATION?:
REALITY TELEVISION AND THE
INADEQUATE PROTECTION OF CHILD
PARTICIPANTS UNDER THE LAW
CHRISTOPHER C. CIANCI*
Fame is a powerful ruler .... There's a societal structure that we've
built, in part thanks to television, that says this is the thing you want,
desire, and aim for. That's a powerful lure for individuals in our society.'
I. INTRODUCTION
Reality shows have undoubtedly changed the business of television in
America while also having an enormous effect on the American television-
viewing experience. Considering the form's immense success as a major-
and recently crucial'-part of network programming over the last decade,
reality programming has evolved past delivering content to a niche market
of television viewers to now receiving mass, even global, appeal. Further,
reality programs are still inexpensive to produce as compared to the
production costs of scripted programs, a concept friendly to producers and
to broadcasters, both nationally and internationally.3 While viewed as a
natural money-maker by producers and production studios, reality
television has been, and still is, a thorn in the side of the artist unions, like
the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Writers Guild of America
(WGA),4 with producers of the genre continuing to dodge proper use of
* J.D. Candidate, University of Southern California Law School, 2009. I would like to thank my Note
advisor, Professor Heidi Rummel, for her guidance during this process. I also would like to thank my
colleague and friend Stephanie Aldebot for her continued assistance and support.
Maria Elena Fernandez, Is Child Exploitation Legal in 'Kid Nation'? CBS Faces Barrage of Questions
on a Reality Show about Children Fending for Themselves, L.A. TIMES, Aug. 17, 2007, at I [hereinafter
Fernandez, Child Exploitation] (quoting Matthew Smith, chairman of the Department of
Communication at Wittenberg University in Ohio and editor of Survivor Lessons: Essays on
Communication and Reality Television).
2 In consideration of the WGA strike (beginning November 5, 2007) and its profound effect on the
yroduction of scripted television shows.
Beth Seaton, Reality Programming, MUSEUM OF BROADCAST COMMC' NS,
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/RlhtmR/realityprogr/realityprogr.htm (last visited Mar. 1, 2009)
(This factor of cost is crucial for countries such as Canada, where both public and private broadcasters
have always been dependent upon the availability of inexpensive American shows for their
programming schedules, much to the demise of an indigenous product. It may be argued, then, that
reality programs are especially attractive to countries outside of the United States. Because of their low
cost, each country can create its own version of the programs, which then qualify as indigenous
productions and therefore enjoy the privileges of state support.).
Tension between the production studios and the unions came to a head in 2004 and 2005 when
negative effects in employment trends of union members became noticeable. See Jesse Heistand, SAG:](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/scid18&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
Entertainment or Exploitation: Reality Television and the Inadquate Protection of Child Participants under the Law
Entertainment or Exploitation: Reality Television and the Inadquate Protection of Child Participants under the Law