Reality tv hits all new rock-bottom

Except that the interview is being conducted by...wait for it...
the woman who runs the publishing company that's releasing his book.
(She's Judith Regan, and ReganBooks is part of HarperCollins.) So it
isn't even journalism or news analysis; it's a two-hour commercial for
the friggin' book.

Patty Winter (patty1...

No, of course it isn't. I wasn't disagreeing with that. Reality TV
and tabloid/news analysis aren't the only two possibilities. This
one, as we've both said, is basically advertising.

Barry Margolin...

Or it could be considered a documentary TV show based on the book, like
Nova episodes that are based on science books (e.g. The Elegant
Universe).

Patty Winter (patty1...

From what I've heard so far, it's just an interview. Dunno whether
they'll have any re-creation inserts.

Patty Winter (patty1...

HarperCollins could be paying them. I doubt it, but it's possible. Or they
may have wanted it so badly that they went ahead and bought it without
being certain that any advertisers would buy time, in which case they'll
run Fox promos during every break. :-) Or they really are trying to get
advertisers. The NYT article simply said that Fox wouldn't comment, so
what their plans are isn't public knowledge yet.

Obveeus...

Of your choices, FOX doing all in-house promotion seems the most likely.

I'd like to think that this 'special' will be the lowest rated TV show on
FOX this season, but...

(Oh, and by amazing coincidence, HarperCollins is now owned by News
Corporation. Although the NY Times article about the broadcast says
that NBC passed on the special, so maybe HC didn't automatically offer
it to their sister company first.)

Invid Fan...

Best to get another company to pay you, instead of just transferring
money from one division to another.

Patty Winter (patty1...

Because it looks less like a put-up job?

Invid Fan...

And you actually make money on it, regardless of how ad sales are. Fox
companies selling each other shows is like a woman giving money to her
husband: the actual amount in their joint bank account hasn't really
changed...

In any event, thumbs up to NBC. And thumbs way, way down to Fox.

I just found out about this while driving home and listening to KFI
in Los Angeles. Their evening talkshow host was apoplectic about it